aussie modllers, i need ur help!!

Be VERY careful with Auto Primers as a lot of them are "hot" lacquers and your model kit will suffer.

I got a large can of Tamiya for $13 last night, enough for 3-4 1:72 model kits

Citadel's skull white primer is a cheap alternative at 2-2.5 x the size of Tamiya's cans and under AU$20

cheers

Mike

yea ive seen the cans for sale at my lhs.... but theyre kinda expensive aswell........ i wish tamiya would sell them in bottle form, along with all their spray colours...(i hope someone from tamiya reads this!! ;))..... i picked up some gunze mr base white and ill give that a go... after that i might try some auto primers and c how i go with that...

I'm a Tamiya White fan as well but have been trying the new primer by Alclad. It's amazingly fine & light, as you would expect it's ideal for prepping NMF's. My only gripe about it is that it's pretty transparent & hence not so good for identifying flaws for that final fix-up before laying down colour. It will become opaque but takes several (uncessary) coats before that happens. Like all Alclad products it comes pre-thinned & ready to spray.

The best primer I have found IMHO is by Tamiya. Fine White or Grey straight out of the can. Two mist coats are all is needed with no obscuration of detail or damage of the plastic. Tamiya Spraycans are lacquer based so they really provide a stable base for subsequent acrylic or enamel paint.

cheers

Mike

Yeah i luv Spotlight! lol. They have the white, grey and red oxide Krylon primers, but they are around $18 each here!!! I also just recently bought the circle cutter...to do a template for the "red sun" on my Honda RA273. I guess i should add to my previous post that i only use my airbrush and not spray cans, which i find spray way too thick. I use the Duplicolor automotive pressure packs, but decant out the paint and thin it at least 50:50 with lacquer thinner. I can spray it through the airbrush without killing the fine details or melting the plastic. Just remember, the acrylic lacquers etc in the pressure packs spray "hot" and will melt plastic if sprayed on too thick in one coat.

dolittle: spotligt hey? i would have never thought,,,, i got some cool tools from there once, a circle cutter which comes in handy... ill check it out 2day maybe...ive though about using automotive priomers, but i was scared theyd damage the plastic...what brands do u use, ill keep an eye out 4 them....
bilko: ive used these paints, but not the proimers, just the flat paints, and i think they attacked the plastic, but i did also ue the grey primer and had good results with that, shame the primer only comes in grey :(
i found some white knight paint at bunnings and am giving that a go 2day, fingers crossed!!

I'm not Aussie but you can get better results if you heat the can before you use it. You can use a bucket of warm water or put the can directly under a running faucet. Adjust the water temp until you can just put your hand in it and then shake the paint can, and put it in the water (leave the top on). Let it stay there for 3 to five minutes, remove the can, shake it a few times, wipe excess water off with a rag and then spray. Elevating the temperature seems to thin the paint and raise the pressure in the can. Again a word of caution, Don't put the can under the water for much longer than 5 or so minutes and especially don't put the can into water that you can't put your hand (Hot water only under the faucet and boiling water is a definate no no - you wouldn't believe the mess you've got to clean up if you do those things)

I'm in Queensland and I go to Sollys or Crazy Clarkes and get their $2.50 cans of export gray primer. Straight from the can it is OK - sometimes comes out with a slightly "lumpy" surface which can be sanded back no problems. (Might just be the operator!!) It is thin enough that it doesn;t fill in the details.

Bilko

I'm in Tassie and i've found the Krylon to be readily available in craft stores...Spotlight for instance. This stuff isn't cheap though!...and it goes on quite thick straight from the can. Best to decant it , thin it down and shoot through the airbrush. Personally i prefer to use the cheaper automotive primers...just as good and easier to spray imho