Priming Miniatures 101

How I undercoat my miniatures. Rustoleum is the way to go in my book.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• 40k
• Painting
• Primer
• Undercoat
• Warhammer

[mikedtheartist]

@redfox4242 No. The primer has a slightly porous finish that holds the paint you will put over it very well. It is also an even coat that is nearly impossible to get using a brush. The great thing about a primer is that it goes on even, quickly, and costs very little.

[ODMSys]

Do you get spots that haven't been properly coated when spraying from two sides? When I prime minis I use 35mm (1.5") square wooden dowels and blue tack, and try to get an even coat that will dry together on a single go.

[mikedtheartist]

@ODMSys Occasionally I will get a spot that doesn't get a full coat of primer. 9 times out of 10 I don't worry about it.. After many layers of paint and a coat of sealer it's not a problem. If you want to be extra thorough you can water down some paint and brush it into the crevasses after the undercoat has dried. That takes care of any problem spots. This method is the fastest and most reliable I've found, but I don't think that any method is 100% reliable. That's why painting is an art.

[Mattarias]

Sweet video! Do you lose any detail this way? I keep hearing you should spray them all with one stream of paint, thassit..

[mikedtheartist]

I have lost a lot of detail with OTHER primers, but never with Rustoleum. It really is like magic.

I've found that if you spray in one stream that you end up putting more paint on the minis at the end of the line. This happens because you stop moving momentarily in order to switch directions, from left to right. So you end up with more paint on the ends.

Also, the spray can is pressureised. When you spray continuously the can gets cold and you run out of pressure quite quickly. That's bad.

[4nc3st0r]

maybe you can answer it yourself. he probably is not goimg to paint them dark.

[fearisaphobia]

Depends on what color you are going to be painting your army later on, you can't just say "use black primer".

[rushontherun]

can u use krylon

[vtec407]

mikedtheartist, have you ever used duplicilor sandable primer and if so how does it compare to the rustoleum one?

[vtec407]

miketheartist, have you used the duplicilor sandable primers and if so how does it compare to the rustoleum primer?

[redfox4242]

If I apply the Games Workshop Skull White all over a plastic model with a brush would that work as well as a spray primer?

[Ydouneed2nomyname]

If you spray the minis while holding them in your hand, you don't have to spray every angle because the priming agent is in the air and will surround the mini. So you don't have to cover every little spot. that's how I prefer to do it. just one quick shot right on the mini on one spot, move over do another quick shot,and move all the way around. You don't need to get every tiny crack and crevice But if you lay them down, that's when you have no primer in air and you will have to get every spot.

[baconcow]

Do you flip them over to spray the bottom, as well, or does this method cover that?

[ODMSys]

@mikedtheartist

I usually prime minis in smaller sets, too. Most figures have a mold split plane which won't have crevices, that'd be a natural direction for two coats.

[mikedtheartist]

@fearisaphobia Rustoleum makes several good colors of primer.  You can use whatever one you like, depending on what you will paint them. I generally use white, black, gray, and maybe their rust brown sometimes.