[rafis117]

Hello LO,

I am just barely starting into the wide world of painting, and sought the advice of people who, well, have actually done some amazing things in that regard. I know one person like that but he is a self-assured jerk, and probably wouldn't give me the time of day.

I have recently run into the problem that there are no cans of primer in my immediate vicinity, and the closest hobby shop is in order of a two hour commute. Bleh.

Since I am strenuously lazy, I wondered whether or not simply not using primer was an acceptable solution.

For context; I play Warhammer 40,000 Eldar, have about 30-40 infantry to paint (eventually) and a couple of tanks (of which I want to paint the pilots before gluing the whole thing together). Can one get away with not using primer? Are there times when primer can be bypassed? Lastly, drybrushing is the opposite of using primer, right?

Thanks,
Rafi

 

[Johnnysd]

Not sure if I'm the best to answer this, but I'll give it a shot.

The reason to use primer is so the other colors will stick to the model. If you don't use primer, you will have to use much more paint to make it look uniform and neat, at least in my experience.

Drybrushing is when you put paint on your brush, and wipe most of it off, so there's barely any paint left on the brush. Then you paint, and get a slow buildup of color.

Hope this made sense

 

[rafis117]

Aha. That makes sense. The trade-off of using less primer is using more paint to achieve the same result that might have been made with a primer-ed model. Sound right?

 

[Dreachon]

The main reason you use a primer is to make sure that there is a layer that will allow paint to better attach itself to.
If you were to just start painting on a metal model without first using a primer there is a good chance that paint will start to come of whenever the model bumps into something else.

 

[rafis117]

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That is my "holy s***" face.

 

[matus]

You must use primer, but this does not have to be spray on. It can be simple layer of brushed on choas black or skill white. Doing so is slower and does not give quite as even a finish, but it works. Its also worth noting that grey car primer works a treat on resin models and I have no reason to suspect it wont on plastics and metal. If you have a automotive store around, like halfords in the uk just pop in there. The internet is also usefull. A can of black primer from whatever company and a can of acrylic in whatever colour your army predominantly will be should save you many hours of painting.

For a new starter bluetacking 20 guardians to a strip of wood, spraying on a primer coat, leaving to dry then spraying on, say grey, painting the helmets all green and the guns back to black, a drybrush of a light grey and a wash of badab black will give you a simple painted Biel-tan force, to a reasonable gaming standard. You can go back and paint on eyes, soul gems and other details straight away of leave until you are more practiced with the brush.

never ever paint straight on with no primer though, the paint will rub off like Dreachon said and just painting thicker layers will give you the same problem but with less detail. No primer = bad

 

[Dreachon]

I do have to second Matus about using a matt car spray, I've been using it sometime now and it givesd me a better result than GW's, so if you can get your hands on Halfords dupli-colour you'll be set for life.
It even works like a charm on FW\s resin models but resin does take a different appraoch which isn't so important for you yet.

 

[rafis117]

Wow. That is in-depth, specific, useful advice. I'm going with the "craftworld scheme" instead of "death-clowns" scheme, and all of the new models that I'm painting (yes, I bought some on eBay because it saved me $200 USD) are going to be pitch black with bright-blue highlights, and at the moment I'm leaning towards red gems (although if someone has a better idea please let me know.)

So that reference to Halfords was perfect. Thank you very much matus.

Edit: If this works, rep for you.

 

[Ancalagon]

Yeah, like the others said, there are plenty of spray primers out there other than GWs.

Spray Primer in general helps the paint to adhere to the model, but you can just paint the entire model chaos black as an alternative. That's what I used to do - living in big college accomodation blocks, I didn't fancy taking my models outside to prime them. I didn't like the idea of inquisitive people wondering what I was doing! Simply painting a coat of black over the whole model isn't quite as effective as it's not a proper primer, and it does take longer, but it works.

 

[Markive]

I do have to second Matus about using a matt car spray, I've been using it sometime now and it givesd me a better result than GW's, so if you can get your hands on Halfords dupli-colour you'll be set for life.
It even works like a charm on FW\s resin models but resin does take a different appraoch which isn't so important for you yet.

Couldn't find any "dupli-colour" on halfords website Dreachon, does it look like the following?

Halfords own matt black spray paint: >Link<

 

[Dreachon]

It looks very different but then that could just be because I live in the Netherlands and they use a different paclaging for it here.

 

[Deadstar_MRC]

I know you've already had your questions more or less answered, but there's no reason not for me to put my contribution in!

I have recently run into the problem that there are no cans of primer in my immediate vicinity, and the closest hobby shop is in order of a two hour commute. Bleh. Since I am strenuously lazy, I wondered whether or not simply not using primer was an acceptable solution.

I would say no. On the odd occasion where I've attempted to paint part of a model that the primer has missed, it's quite frustrating. The paint just runs off and doesn't adhere at all. That's why the primer is used - the primer sticks to the plastic/metal and then the paint sticks to the primer.

I've recently experimented with non-GW primer. I went to an automotive shop and picked up something that's called 'Acrylic Primer Surfacer.' Its grey, which is somewhat problematic in that it's a very similar colour to the plastic, so I can't really tell if I'm priming it or not! But it has worked fine, and I'm actually quite liking the fact I don't have to work up from black.

So yes, non gw primer in my experience works fine, and you could probably find something suitable in a hardware or automotive shop if you can't get to a GW. You can always ask the staff for advice if you're not sure what would be most appropriate.

Lastly, drybrushing is the opposite of using primer, right?

Not really... Drybrushing is primarily used for quickly and simply highlighting edges or raised areas, things like fur or the aquila on a space marine's chest. As was explained by Johnnysd, you get most of the paint off your brush and lightly brush it over the surface you want to highlight, and it should only leave paint on the edges or the higher areas of the bit you're painting.

So, hope the tips help, and good luck with your painting!

 

[rafis117]

Thank you everyone for clarification, advice, links, and general helpfulness.

 

[margali]

Be aware, painting bright colors over black primer can be problematic. The colors tend to come out dull or muddy looking. Apply brush on white primer, or white paint to the parts that will get bright colors.

 

[Typhus the Herald]

Yeah primer is a must!!! Without it painting can be a frustrating ordeal. If there is no hobbyshop around you and you do not want to test automotive primers go to a craft shop (micheals for example in the US) and get some spraypaint. Testors flat black works well along with Krylon spraypaint. Do not feel that you have to go out of your way to get primer, it should be something simple compared to the actual painting process. As for your paint scheme, you mentioned a highlight of blue on black. That isn't really what highlighting is. To highlight you use a lighter shade of a color, so for example scorpion green over snot green. You usually don't highlight black with blue. If I were you I would look up some begginer painting guides or buy a book. The CMON e-book is good CoolMiniOrNot Store > The Ultimate Miniature Painting Guide, Along with GW's book How To Paint Citadel Miniatures | Games Workshop

Hope this helps
-Typhus

 

[rafis117]

I didn't mean highlight in that sense. I do art on 2D materials, this is the first time I've done it on a 3D medium.

Basically, I imagine that it would be black with bright blue trim. Imagine the ODSTs from Halo 2, Halo 3, and H3ODST.

 

[Daniosis750]

I have to say, in my experience of painting models, car sprays (such as the one from Halfords, thank you by the way i'm going to go pick some up now lol) have served me much better on my models and in my wallet than GW. Also for the spirit stones i suggest red or blue and use some glaze to make them seem like stones.

-Danny-

 

[Deadstar_MRC]

Basically, I imagine that it would be black with bright blue trim. Imagine the ODSTs from Halo 2, Halo 3, and H3ODST.

Sounds somewhat similar to how the GW studio team paint their Sisters of Battle. If you want some reference pics, I'm sure the GW website has plenty!

 

[Typhus the Herald]

Oh thats what you meant by highlight. I thought you meant you were going to do a standard highlight on black with blue.

 

[rafis117]

Oh thats what you meant by highlight. I thought you meant you were going to do a standard highlight on black with blue.

The six months of any new job is spent learning the terminology.