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Post by clanoneillguy on Aug 29, 2013 9:44:52 GMT -5
Hi, I just read a post in which the author mentioned Walmart primer for about a dollar a can. I had bad luck with some indoor primer I took a chance with that I got from Lowe's. My local hobby shop charged me $15 or $20 for a brand name, specifically for minis primer. I'm using craft store acrylic paints so I'd love any suggestions on an inexpensive alternative anyone might have. I'm in New Jersey so we have most of the big chain stores commonly mentioned on the site.
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Post by clanoneillguy on Aug 29, 2013 9:45:51 GMT -5
Oh, I forgot to mention, I'd be using this primer for miniatures.
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sgtslag
Paint Manipulator
Posts: 102
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Post by sgtslag on Aug 29, 2013 10:15:23 GMT -5
I use Wal-Mart's house brand of gray, automotive spray primer, $1-$2 per can. I also use, and actually prefer, brush-on artist's Gesso: water-based; comes in white, gray, and black; not inexpensive, but relatively cheap, as a large bottle goes quite far, especially on mini's! It is intended to be used as a primer for easels, for painting watercolors, acrylics, and I believe oil paints. It is chalky, in consistency, and it goes on thick, but it shrinks, as it dries, and it may even leave tiny sub-pinholes where it does not quite cover -- check carefully, before you begin painting. Gesso is one of the newer, more popular priming techniques. It has been discussed, at length, on TheMiniaturesPage.com. I've used it on numerous figures, made of metal, resin, and plastic, without issue. Cheers!
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Neil
Paint Manipulator
Posts: 160
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Post by Neil on Aug 31, 2013 20:52:23 GMT -5
The best cheap primer (can of spray paint) I have found that works for minis is Touch 'n tone flat black primer. I get it at the local Auto Parts store (Auto Zone) for about $2.5 per can. A wargame friend told me about- I was VERY skeptical that it would work. It does a great job - in my opinion as good or better than the 9-14 dollar made for minis primers. On the back of the can it says 25485 flat black primer UPC 20066 19892 - it could be sold under different names in different parts of the US - its distributed by ROC Sales inc - address 11 Hawthorn Pkwy Vernon Hills IL 60061.
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Post by monkeywithtacos on Sept 1, 2013 11:59:57 GMT -5
For metal/lead/pewter and Games Workshop plastic and failcast finecast minis I use Krylon Gray Primer (make sure it says primer, not just flat gray or flat black) from Walmart that usually runs about a buck or two per can. On the Reaper Bones and the D&D and Pathfinder Battles plastic ones I have been using/testing Vallejo Brush Surface Primer #73601 (paid about $7 for a 60ml. bottle.) I have found with the latter that it is taking at least two coats to cover the minis and then I am having to come back with a layer of the craft store type acrylic (the inexpensive stuff ala Apple Barrel) and brushing on a layer of that so that my miniature paints have some texture to grab hold of. The results have been pretty good but it does add a lot more time into the painting process. I have used the same gray primer, that I use on the metal minis, on the Bones minis to good effect as well, so I may go back to that once the Vallejo runs out. One very very very important tip: Always wash your minis very thoroughly before you primer them!
And if you live in a hot area like I do, store your primers and sealers in the coolest place you can find and use them only during the cooler parts of the day. Otherwise you risk having the paint already becoming dry before it hits the mini as it leaves the nozzle which can lead to horrible results on your basecoats, and crystalized, dusty looks on your sealer coats that can only be fixed by stripping the entire model and starting over. =( As far as the tiles go, I just use the cheap, dollar or less a can, Wal-mart flat black spraypaint, then a light coat of the texture paint to liven things up before using the craft paints on them.
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Post by clanoneillguy on Sept 2, 2013 11:25:24 GMT -5
Thanks for the tips. I have Wal-mart and Auto Zone near me. I learned about washing plastic minis after I had already painted a bunch. That makes a big difference. I'll definitely look into the Gesso. Might be something I use for character minis or something special. I finished painting all three D&D board game systems figures & my Zombicide horde. I'm spending most of my time converting Cheap HeroClix and Star Wars minis for one game or the other. I still have a whole pile of unpainted Reaper Bones and other plastic minis for D&D to paint though.
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sgtslag
Paint Manipulator
Posts: 102
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Post by sgtslag on Sept 2, 2013 22:41:31 GMT -5
Well, if you want to get them done quickly, try block-painting, and either The Dip, or Magic Wash, to 'finish' them, followed by a matte clear coat. It produces GETGW figures (Good Enough To Game With -- they look good at arm's length) -- nothing more, nothing less. If you combine this with assembly-line painting techniques (group identical poses, apply the same brush stroke, and color, to each figure in the line, then apply the next stroke/color, and so on, until that group is finished), you can spend an average of 5-10 minutes actual painting time, per figure! You will also finish them in lots, which means it takes longer to finish a figure, but when you finish one, you actually finish 5-10-?? figures, all at once. Just a suggestion for a fast, effective means of deconstructing that pile of unpainted mini's... Cheers!
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kyral
Paint Manipulator
Posts: 121
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Post by kyral on Sept 3, 2013 6:53:02 GMT -5
A lot of times I buy cans of Rustoleum primer for my minis and use that. Recently menards had a sale on black 2 in 1 primer and paint, 2 for $5, I got 2 and I really like them, I have to watch them for that same again so I can get some white for my D&D/Reaper minis and Grey for my Battletech minis.
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Post by clanoneillguy on Sept 29, 2013 11:40:12 GMT -5
I try to keep my crafting OCD at bay and assembly line paint my mini's as much as possible. I frequently find myself squinting or using a magnifiying glass to touch up things that no one but me would ever notice though. Good enough to game with is the standard I'm aiming for though.
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