Primer for painting miniatures

I primarily use water based acrylic paint for miniatures. Most of the time I tend to use a grey car primer, partly because I already have lots of it that I use for other things. Some paint schemes lend themselves to a darker base.

I have used hand painted primers on miniatures in the distant past, but that was never as satisfactory as a spray finish. Up until recently I tended to use Vallejo airbrush primer for models and miniatures. It has a good finish but it is very time consuming to apply. Recently I've been experimenting with rattle can primers as a quicker alternative.

I've selected a few from Amazon. I'm in the UK, so the paint vendors are likely to be different to those found in other countries.

Hycote grey is the one I've used for years on larger projects. It is the best value that I can find in the UK, followed closely by the Motip black. The Army Painter black is more than twice as expensive. The Citadel Chaos black costs so much more that I have not bought any to try.

So far I've established the following;

Drying time: I established a long time ago that primer needs to be allowed to dry thoroughly to ensure reliable compatibility with the top coat paint. To that end, I let primer dry for at least 24 hours.

Temperature: My experience is that all commonly available paint has poor adhesion when applied to cold surfaces and it dries with a better surface if the first couple of hours of drying are in a warmer environment. This may be academic for those who paint inside their home but I usually paint in my shed.

If it feels cold to me, I run a small heater to warm up the model and the paint before use. Not in any scientific way. I also keep the area warm for the first hour or so of drying time.

Ventilation: I am sure that anyone who has tried using a paint spray can inside knows the problem with the solvent smell. Even though I have a spray booth, my preference is to use rattle cans outside when the weather is suitable. It does not really matter what the temperature is because I'm only outside for a minute or two, but it needs to be calm and dry. Wind makes the surface finish uneven and frequently rough rather than a nice smooth coating.

If I have to spray a rattle can inside, I'll use my spray booth and then leave the room until the worst of the solvent smell has dissipated.

Vallejo airbrush primer

• Adhesion: Good on plastic but not robust on metal.
• Application: Time consuming but a smooth result.
• Cost: £, the bottle goes a very long way.

Hycote grey primer

• Adhesion: Good on plastic and metal.
• Application: Quick, slightly thick but a good result.
• Cost: £

Motip black primer

• Adhesion: Good on plastic and metal.
• Application: Quick, fairly liquid with a smooth result.
• Cost: £

Army Painter black

• Not yet used.
• Cost: ££

Citadel Chaos black primer

• Not purchased. 
• Cost: £££, noticeably more expensive than the others.

As I try them more, I'll update this page with my conclusions.

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