Tamiya primer?

I use Krylon in much the way Richard just described.  A steady stroke across the model, let it dry then another until it is covered... mind you I don't try to get even coverage across the whole thing. (i.e I don't try to get a complete white coat with no plastic color peaking through) I just make sure the primer is all over the kit then I paint it!  It doesn't take a lot to get it to where the paint will stick good.

Usually this is 2 maybe three coats moving at a steady pace across the whole kit.

I use Tamiya Primer L (fine, gray) which is actually a lacquer and comes in a rattle can. I love the stuff. Really bites into the plastic, fills any small scratches and gives a smooth, semi-gloss, hard finish. Dry to the touch in about a half hour, ready to take paint overnight.

The key with rattle cans is to never get too close to the model, and never let the can stay still while spraying. It takes a little practice. I like it because I don't have to "dirty up" my AB with lacquer. Zero clean-up. I always have a can on top of my cabinet.

Rich

Hey scott, bill, have you tried using Mr.Surfacer 1200? the one in the bottle. i tried comparing the tamiya fine and Mr.surfacer and the results are quite the same! they are both very fine when dried, plus you can use an AB for the Mr.S. the only difference is:

For Mr.Surfacer..

1.you'll need to thin it with Mr.Thinner(laquer)

2.if you spray for a long time you'll also need Mr.Retarder

3.tamiya fine comes in white,Mr.S comes in grey.

other than that it's great. Oh and one more thing,tamiya is also a "metal" primer which the Mr.S is not. . Thanks!

Bgrigg wrote:

That's the one, and you're welcome, I like to help, makes me feel important and raises my post count, too!

Well, at least your no JUST in it for self gratification and its good to see that you have your prioritys in order to! I decanted a little bit of old paint to try it out, worked pretty good. I was, however, quite dissapointed, I shook it up and nothing happened? I was hoping for at least a nice spray, but nothing??? Maybe I need to wait longer?

I also found that my first coat of Testor's Acryl did not want to stick to the Tamiya primer.  A very, very faint first coat was needed, then the rest stuck.  Anyone else have similar experiences?

QT

That's the one, and you're welcome, I like to help, makes me feel important and raises my post count, too!

Yeah, I have that one, I think? Is that the one where they were doing the Corvette? If so they said it would blow up if you shook it up??? That sounds like a new paint gun weapon, paint grenades that will burn the skin! Anyhoo, thanks Bgrigg, you are helping me out a lot today!

You simply spray the can through a straw into a jar. The trick is to get a straw that fits. I've managed to find one that fits snugly into the spray head on the rattle can, then I stick that inside a large diameter soda straw which goes into the jar. I use a fairly large jar as it bubbles something fierce, and put tape across the top with a hole for the straw to poke through. There is an excellent example in the November 05 issue of FSM (you do have that, don't you?) on page 38.

It's not a lot of fun, and I try to avoid it when I can...

How do you guys decant these paints? I would love to use my A/B for this instead of the can that has a lot less control!

You can decant the paint, you'll need a good quality straw of the proper diameter. Let the paint stand until it stops bubbling before using.

Cold paint is unfun to use. Even on a summer's day I still warm rattle cans in a pan of warm water to help it spray properly. The propellent also causes the can to freeze, so I paint in short blasts and re-warm the bottle. Mind you I only use rattle cans for car bodies.

I don't use "primers" myself. What I mean is I don't buy a specialized primer paint. I have laid down a coating of light grey or white paint to help cover dark coloured plastics. I've read that people have good results using plain ordinary Krylon primers, which are half the price for three times as much paint. Again you can decant the primer and use the airbrush.

I guess you can decant it for airbrushing but I've never found the need to.  I use it a lot and while it does spray rather heavy it is quite thin after it cures.