 Hello everybody and welcome to another hobby cheating video and today we're going to talk about something that I can't believe we haven't talked about in 320 videos and that is Primer so this is the ultimate guide to primer. Let's do it The strict techno man sir that is Vinci V. Let us get to the technique and learn it Vinci V Okay, so there are three Basic types of primer I have them all here in front of me type one Rattle cans will get into the specifics of each. Don't worry type two airbrush primer type three brush-on primer Now as a point of fact you can use airbrush primer as Brush-on primer, but we're going to count them as separate since some things are specifically labeled that way so let's get into the brands the strengths and weaknesses of each and Talk about just these primers in general how we use them How you're going to best apply them different tricks with them? It is an ultimate guide after all. Okay, let's start with rattle cans. So there are Effectively two basic types. There is a third we'll talk about briefly, but there are two basic types of rattle cans the first is Spray primer that isn't really meant for quote-unquote miniatures and These are just Rust-Oleum or Krylon or anything like that that you pick up at your local hardware store They're generally cheap they come in a wide variety of colors You can have things like this which are two-in-ones which are paint plus primer One of the keys when you're looking for these is you want to make sure they say flat or at the very minimum satin You don't want anything that says gloss and there are a lot of glossy versions of this stuff around the other type is Effectively, let's call it miniature rattle cans here I have one from army painter but games workshops makes these as do other brands. These are Rattle can primers more specifically made for the miniature hobbyist And the difference between the two is that this one costs a few dollars and this one costs many more dollars There are not really other differences between them They says more or less the same stuff just Repackaged I know people really want to swear that this is different But it's the same mix of materials in here with an accelerant to make it come shooting out of the front of the thing and They both coat a miniature basically the same Airbrush primers airbrush primers come in many different varieties But for my money, you're basically in one of three brands only have two on stock right now because I burnt through all the third But the three airbrush primers. I trust are one Vallejo surface primer to Steinal res from Badger and three monument hobbies Primer all three are quite good. All three have some slightly different strengths weaknesses Some work better in higher humidity some work better in lower humidity In all cases these are nice the strength of these is that they you get a lot for cheap The downside is that you have to generally have an airbrush to use them So but any of those three will work for you and will work for all the tasks We're gonna talk about as we go forward brush on primer the last one. I will be completely honest with you I do not have or see any value to brush on primer nor to applying primer by a manual brush It takes a long time. It is slow. It is inefficient. It is generally thick it Often can easily obscure details, which is something we'll talk about later, and I've never really liked it It's just the wrong way to apply primer I know some people swear by this if it works for them. That's fine I'm not gonna challenge their lived experience But my lived experience with brush on primer is that it is not worth your time It is try to find any different way to prime The real advantage and why people sometimes use it is because it's not temperature weather or space or cost independent With rattle cans, you need the right humidity. You need the right temperature to be able to spray with an airbrush you need an airbrush and you have to have the space and or the money to invest in that and If neither of those things are true people can fall back on brush on primer, so I get it It's just I've always had an airbrush. It takes about three foot of three foot space You can get a decent airbrush set up for about $80 US. I Don't understand the challenge So I'm sure it's out there and if there are no other options for you Then getting a brush on primer is perfectly fine It's not the best option, but if it's the best option you've got it's better than nothing Rattle cans versus airbrush primer the age old battle. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each? Well, Rattle can primers seem cheaper at first blush because they do not require the investment of an airbrush Or some other thing to apply them in the long run Especially if you buy the miniature ones that are as I said more expensive for the same product You will end up spending more on a ton of these cans. They can go bad often times. They have unreliable tips So these are more expensive in the long run than say buying a 60 milliliter or 200 milliliter bottle of this stuff Which would let you prime a thousand figures easily so There is a if you're just starting out in the hobby by honest answer is Rattle cans are the way to go It is cheap. It has a very low startup cost, which can be highly advantageous because why You know why spend a bunch of money when you're just starting out your first one month three months six months a year But in that time my high recommendation as I said in my recent Getting started guide for your first six months of purchases linked up in the corner An airbrush should be basically your investment six months in the hobby In which case these primers open up to you and you can prime anytime day night winter summer whatever you need to It's easy. It's simple. It's fast. It's effective. I've primed thousands and thousands of figures with airbrush primer So I know where my bias lies other strengths and weaknesses Rattle cans are fast if you have a whole big horde of stuff You need to get primed if you've got a big thing of terrain you need to prime That's what these are for That's where these excel your airbrush covers a relatively small amount of space Which is fine if you're working in one two three five miniatures But as a point of fact this Can and the style of this thing and the design of this thing and the amount of paint comes out of this thing Was never designed for miniatures was never designed to coat something the size of my index finger This is designed for doing a chair on your back deck. All right. That's what this is made for This stuff is made for model projects and when it's put through your airbrush, it's the right amount of paint the right pressure But if you've got really big things or a big project This is where I still use rattle cans when I make display boards to rain all that kind of stuff I keep these rattle cans because that's absolutely what I use them for The weakness to rattle cans is that you have to apply it very carefully And it has to be the right kind of temperature and humidity to use them now when you're applying it, it's very easy to over spray these the tips are relatively touchy let's say and So you can get yourself into a situation where you stop way too much paint over the thing And now you've obscured detail and on miniatures modern miniatures Which are either clogged full of teeny tiny baby details because they were sculpted digitally or Soft details because they came in a board game Either one of those things it's dangerous to use a rattle can primer for Because if you obscure the detail with the primer if the prime goes bad Your only choice is to strip it The other limitation when I say temperature and weather is that rattle cans work best generally between let's say 50 and 80 degrees With a low humidity if there's too much humidity in the air Then what happens is some of that moisture can get trapped and you can get a sort of orange peel effect on the miniature Never good again if it happens your only option is to strip it Basically, if you get a bad prime, you've got to take it back to base and so that's always the risk with these guys Airbrush primers as I said their main weakness they require an airbrush Which means you need to have about three foot of three foot of space in your house and you have to have some kind of way to To buy an airbrush, I guess The Advantages to them are numerous. They apply paint in extremely thin layers. They easily preserve all the detail on the miniature Both of these come in a wide range of colors. So there's actually no color advantage to either primer So no matter what you're looking for and we'll talk about when to use colored primers later You can always find the color you need either in rattle cans or an airbrush. So that's fine But to me the advantage is I can do it in any weather. I can do it in any temperature I don't have to worry about humidity. It's very hard to get a bad prime out of an airbrush primer we're gonna talk about application here in just a moment, but the Thinness of this is what I value all your details preserved. You get a solid easy coat primers in general are a mix of acrylic and sort of polyurethanes and That's why they're there that polyurethane addition makes them tougher makes them adhere and grip better to the miniature And you need an uneven surface for acrylic paints to adhere to and a sort of molecular level That's why you never buy gloss primers. Your paint's gonna slide right off it I know that sounds silly But that's why it's glossy because it makes a really really smooth finish at the molecular level and so with These guys if they're met if they're flat or if they're Even satin and same with the airbrush primers. You'll get a nice prime that still has teeth For the acrylic paint you put on top of it to grip. All right, let's talk about how to apply these primers So with rattle cans, you are taking them and spraying them in a sort of singular motion Over and over again in thin lines You do not push the trigger directly at the thing you're priming you start off the thing you're priming move the Rattle can across it and then so and then do another pass and do another pass depending on how big the thing you need to cover is Never just start with the rattle can pointed directly at the miniature and then depress the trigger Doing that is a great way to get that sort of liquid gummy overspray That's gonna cause drips that's going to increase the chances that you gum up details But that's effectively all it is. It's point and spray With airbrush primer, well, obviously you're gonna fill up your airbrush and then prime it ha ha But a couple tips one Still use thinner most acrylic primers that are for airbrush say oh you don't have to thin this That is a lie You should always have a few drops of thinner in your airbrush It keeps everything flowing smoothly Primer is very apt to dry and when it dries it's stickier and tougher in the same way that primer Adheres very well to metal miniatures. It will adhere very well to the inside of your airbrush So it will behoove you to not keep the paint in there for too long to prime the miniatures And then clean the airbrush every say 10 to 20 minutes So that way you don't get dried paint stuck in there and to use a few drops of thinner into the airbrush Before the primer goes in to make sure that everything's still flowing smooth and effectively give you a nice Coating of the thinner before the primer hits it and gets into the nozzle area often with airbrush primers you want to Apply a couple coats of it because it is so thin and that helps to increase durability But not always required in both cases. You do want to give them some time to dry now Rattle cans usually say on the on the sort of back of them on the directions You need to give at minimum one hour to dry. I've often found it longer Here's a tip if it is in the middle of winter or something you can still use rattle can primers keep them in your house Where it's warm put them in a bucket or something of warm water before you take them outside to spray not not boiling water Not hot water warm water let them sit there for a few minutes and warm up all the way above room temperature Keep your miniature inside keep the rattle can inside you walk outside you hold up your miniature you spray the miniature You take the miniature back inside you put it in a room in your house that has a fan Like if your bathroom has a fan in it or something like that Somewhere where there's a vent because the air bra or the rattle can needs to primer needs to degas That's what's happening all that accelerant and gas and stuff that's in there that made it shoot out of the thing Has to then dry out and off and evaporate from the miniature that takes at least an hour Often longer your safest if you let your rattle your rattle can primes chill for at least two three hours Depending on the humidity in the local area with airbrush primers. You can paint on them after about ten minutes I know some people say they have to let it cure for a day. They must be in the highest humidity situations in the world I paint on my airbrush primers and have for years after about five to ten minutes of drying time That's generally all you need assuming you're in a normal humidity situation. So five to ten minutes of drying Let's call it two to three hours to be safe There's your application of your primers Next up we're going to talk about the difference between colored primers and neutral tone primers This exists for both rattle can and airbrush primers and frankly brush on for that matter When do you use each? Okay, let's start with colored primers because this is easier now There are colored primers for both your rattle can and your airbrush. They come in a wide variety of colors and When do you choose to use them? When you're going for a single color as the dominant color on your miniature? This is a great cheat to make your life easier, especially if you're trying to produce a tabletop quality force relatively quick So if you've got a bunch of ultramarines or something like that space brains being a classic example because they're mostly one Type right there mostly one type of material that is to say their armor their ceramite armor but this can be true for things like other warriors and fantasy games it could be true for things like Mostly flesh-covered miniatures anything like that You can use a colored primer to start yourself off in a strong position So you're not needing to lay down a base coat of that color You've got your blue ultramarines great Go find a nice shade of blue either in the rattle can or the airbrush as appropriate lay down that colored primer Call it a day and then get painting all your base coat work on your main piece This is already done from that point. You're only working on shading and highlighting if you're trying to get an army on the table Quick at a decent quality. This is a great way to go neutral color primers are when you're trying to get Maybe trying to do a better quality job. I don't mean to impugn tabletop quality. There's nothing wrong with it I just mean if you're trying to push toward display painting or something like that You probably want to start from a more neutral tone The difference between black and white and Xenothal we'll talk about Xenothal is completely separately in a later section a Lot of people start from black primer There's nothing wrong with starting from black, but it does make your life a lot harder This is starting from a straight black and painting over it is the most time-consuming way to paint and often waste a huge amount of effort I see a lot of new painters do this And this is exactly the wrong type of painter to be using just black and going over the top of that alone again Rattle can or airbrush doesn't matter if you're trying to if you're starting out and you want to do a single color neutral prime because The miniature isn't a single color largely. Let's say it's a mix of a lot of different textures or materials then a mid-tone neutral color a Gray or an ivory or a mid-brown Something like that is going to do you a lot better if you want to do a single color prime and That's because your colors in your paint bottle will show more true will layer more easily It will be much easier to paint colors like red and yellow and orange over a color over something like this Then over something like this These lighter color primers can make your life a lot easier They're all if they also enable you to use things like contrast paints or inks or the new speed paints or anything like that To great effect because those paints will have basically no effect over dark colored primer But a great effect over a neutral to bright colored primer So if you were starting out my best recommendation and you didn't want to get into zenithal my best recommendation is a nice neutral ivory color something warm white like what you see right here in front of you and Use this to start from your miniatures. It's going to be your best possible solution It will make your life so much easier painting your miniatures so much faster and generally Time is the only thing in your life. You never get back. So don't waste it working up from black Lastly, let's talk about how you can combine Different primers for good effects in what's called under shading or zenithal lighting or grise It has lots of names, but no matter the colors or the exact terms the point is the same You're using multiple different primers Before you put on your real colors to establish Value contrast value contrast means the difference between light and dark in the in real lighting situations There is a difference between light and dark as you can see on me right now on the bottom side of my hand There is an arm. There is shadow and on the top side. There is light. That's because there's lights above me That's value contrast light Shadow, okay You can use either rattle cans or airbrush primer to establish those initial values and make it much easier To get single coats of paint on or any amount of paint on and achieve Value contrast quickly and contrast is king when it comes to painting miniatures The standard implementation of this is what's called zenithal priming. Again. I have videos on this linked above Zenithal priming effectively means black or some dark near black all over and then some kind of white or near white from above meant to simulate a neutral light source be a sort of diffuse neutral light source from above in other words what we all experience most days when we're outside and there's some clouds in the sky or It's or it's you know later in the day something like that But that isn't the only way you can do it You can also integrate colors into it so you could start with the dark red as your base color And then put the ivory over top that's going to give you a much warmer tone That's going to be better for things like oranges or yellows Anything like that. So you can integrate colors I think a lot of people get tripped up on the term zenithal because they see it as only black and white Really what it just means is some kind of dark color as your base prime And then some kind of lighter color on top Generally your lighter color Should match to what you're trying to achieve if your colors that you're going to go over it are mostly cold blues Blue greens things like that Didn't you want to use a cold colored primer like a traditional white if they're going to be warm Reds oranges yellows, then something like an ivory over top will make your life a lot easier I have a whole exploring color series all about that where you can see these different under shades in action And how much of an effect they have Also linked above Now I will be honest. I use zenithal prime probably 99% of the miniatures I paint Many artists I know do but not everyone Many artists who are incredible quality do paint over a single color and to me That's usually because they're trying to establish a very particular Light situation i.e. some kind of atmospheric lighting or environmental lighting that a standard zenithal Will get in the way of because they're not trying to replicate a diffuse even light So let's talk about when do you use a zenithal when don't you and Why am I even doing this if I'm putting opaque paints over the top? One of the most common critiques I hear when I tell people you should zenithal prime and by the way I do believe especially if you're newer in the hobby you should be zenithal priming all the time every time It will make your life easier. You'll get such better-looking miniatures. It's the ultimate cheat when you start out but One of the big pieces of pushback I get on it on zenithal priming is It doesn't help me. I put opaque paints over the top Why should I even bother if I'm gonna cover it with a whole base coat? I don't understand Okay, multiple reasons even if you're gonna cover it with completely opaque paints So a zenithal prime in the way people often think about it is that it allows you to put thin transparent paints over and all acrylic paints are Transparent to some degree or another and it lets you put those over the top something like contrast speed paints inks thin down regular paints Whatever and let the under shade show through so that you can still see The light to dark transition and it does your value contrast work for you and people think if you're not doing that There's no value to zenithal and I highly disagree Number one. It makes the miniature more readable. This is really important Understanding the read on the miniature seeing the different elements of it Can be really difficult when it's primed in a single color Nothing stands out from anything else when there's contrast on the miniature when it's just to start You can actually identify with your eyes the different parts of the miniature a lot easier it gets much quicker to Notice the different areas plan out their colors understand how you're gonna attack them, etc And it helps keep your eyes relaxed. I often paint for 12 to 16 to 20 hours at a time That's not a joke and If you're sitting there staring at something that's hard to read Your eyes are going to tire long before that So be good to your eyes and a zenithal prime can do that It also helps you understand where to place those highlights Even if you're going to cover them with opaque paint You can do a zenithal take a picture of it with your phone and then you've got that light sketch reference Ready to rock Okay, so anytime you're referencing later. You can say, oh, where am I putting my highlights over those opaque paints? Right there. I've got a nice color map. When don't you zenithal prime? Well, as I said, there are a couple different situations there It's where it's not going to make sense If you're really just starting out like, I mean, these are your first miniatures Don't feel bad about going with a single color. It's fine. It's workable. It'll get you going I would recommend you because you can zenithal with either two rattle cans or two colors in the airbrush It doesn't matter. I would recommend giving it a shot early, but it's not immediate As you continue on when don't you zenithal? Well, if the miniature is going to be mostly metal Okay, mostly one Like actual metal paint true metallic metals then there's no reason to zen because Your metal paints are so opaque. They leave nothing to get through and they create their own light reflections In that case, you're better off just laying down a flat black Spraying it with the metal and then working the metal from there with its highlights The other situation where you're not going to want to zenithal prime is when you're Trying to create a very particular lighting situation Some kind of atmospheric environmental lighting something like that So this is something like an object source lighting or what's commonly called osl It might be a figure under moonlight or with two different light sources at unusual angles Now almost all of those situations are pretty high level stuff And so you'll know if you're there if you can do them The point is You're either not zenithaling because the paint is so opaque and metallic and going to cover everything over There's no point to it at all because once it's metal it will have a nice shine to it and be very readable on its own Or because a diffuse Average lighting situation isn't the lighting situation you are going for If that's what you're doing then there's no reason to zenithal. You need to create your light with the brush So that's everything primer Did I miss anything? Is there anything you disagree with that I said? Please drop it down in the comments below. I very much appreciate you watching this one I hope this gave you everything you needed and answered your questions About primers how to apply them how to use them when to zenithal when to use colored primers If there is anything I didn't answer drop that down in the comments I always answer every question and every comment down there Don't forget to give this a like subscribe if you haven't already We have new hobby cheating here every Saturday, but as always I very much appreciate you watching this one And we'll see you next time