Best Prime Color

[Rurouni Benshin]

Hey guys,

Got a question about primer.  I'm trying to decide between white and black primer for the Space Marines.  Some people have given me pros and cons from both colors, so I'd like to hear what your opinions are.

I know that depending on the shade of the primer, it'll accentuate the paint applied on it to be darker or lighter, with black and white primer respectively.  Other than these reasons though, are there any others for why one would be better than the other?

I'm painting the Space Marines the traditional blue, that is shown on the cover of all the boxes.

Thanks guys!
~Ben

[Captain Bryan!]

I also paint them blue and I really like the GW black primer

[jhobin]

The only time I do not use white primer is when the model is going to be all black.

The reason I use white is it is easy to darken over white, not to easy to lighter darker color's. Also a lot easier to see the detail.

[Ian Mulligan]

Black is the easiest for beginners. It will hide more mistakes.

[Rurouni Benshin]

Thanks for the tips guys.  After talking to a few other people, the consensus seems to be that black would make a better primer, and like Ian said "for beginners", b/c with white, any and all mistakes would just be very obvious, and possibly cause more frustration to beginners at painting.  And I'm very OCD when it comes to certain things, and I'm afraid that this will be one of those as well.   

At any rate, I have another question concerning technique on priming.  Is there an optimal way of doing it with a spray can?  I've heard putting it against the end of a shoe box (or any kind of box) helps because it blocks the primer from getting on other surfaces, (ie - the table I'm priming on).  Are there other ways of doing this that would be more efficient?  Also, as I'm priming, is it important to cover the entire mini from head to toe in it?  Being that the mini's are plastic, I don't think it'll be easy for me to tell if it's been primed over or not.  Would it show in my second coat of painting if I "miss primed" my mini?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, guys.  I know better than to prime indoors, as I would probably suffocate under the fumes within minutes, but if there's something else I'm forgetting, please do tell.

Thanks again,
~Ben

[the_trooper]

Humidity.  Try to make sure it is on a warm / dry day.  50-60% humidity is the best.

I would coat the model once.  Any other spots can be corrected later. Nothing is worse than over priming a model.

[Rurouni Benshin]

Don't overcoat.  Got it!

And as for the method, is priming them the way I mentioned effective?

[Ian Mulligan]

What you're talking about seems fine. I wear a rubber glove and hold the mini so I can rotate it fully. I would prime a test mini first, just so you can get the distances down.

I recommend Armory over any of the other model primers. Its more resistant to humidity interference, dries faster, costs less, and coats thinner.

[Rurouni Benshin]

Thanks Ian.  Do you use the glove too when painting?  Someone recommended that I glue the mini to a piece of cardboard, a little bigger than the base itself, and to grip it by that piece of cardboard to paint it, instead of holding the base with my fingers.  And while I do see some logic in that, unless I'm painting the base itself, I think holding it while wearing a glove seems fine.

What do you think?

~Ben

[the_trooper]

I agree with Ian on both the type of primer and the method.  I now keep lots of gloves on hand for priming. 

Also, something to remember with spraying indoors is that it is extremely hard to keep the overspray going where it should unless you have a spray box which is a fully enclosed box meant for spray painting.  Also, the smell will make your housemates rather annoyed.

In regards to gloves while painting- rather unnecessary as primer is made from something different (or is supposed to be) so it is more absorbent which makes it harder to remove from skin.  Normal paint comes off quick and easy.

[Rurouni Benshin]

So a small mishap occurred with my first experience with the primer.  Apparently, I overprimed a few of my mini's after seeing some "less primed" spots on my mini's after my initial attempt.  I was at the shop when this happened, and a lady named Susan had helped me with the issue.  She suggested that I use Simple Green to take off some of the primer, or all, and just start all over.  Riley also suggested I use a file to chip off a little of the primer, which did work for those mini's that weren't THAT overprimed.

Later that day, I went to Lowes, and coincidentally, ran into Cary, and he suggested I soak the mini's very briefly in water diluted Simple Green for no more than 1/2 an hour.  Then using an old tooth brush, gently brush the excess off.  And to my amazement, it worked.  And any other excess that the brush couldn't get, the file did.  And the best part is that it didn't take all of the primer off, and the mini is still left with a good coat left.

So a special thanks to Susan, Steve, and Cary for all your help!  I've already started painting a few pieces, and I have to say it's very fun.  I'm a very meticulous person when it comes to small details at times, but I do see myself enjoying the small bits of painting I'll be doing.  With any luck, I'll have my army assembled and painted by mid-September.

Anyone up for a game then?   

[Captain Bryan!]

I'll play you if you want, I'm the kid who helped you with the Space Marine Commander/Captin issue.
Are you gonna be around this Saturday?

[Rurouni Benshin]

Hey Bryan,

Unfortunately, I probably won't be back until September.  Most likely the weekend of the 12th.  I don't know if you'll be around then, but if you are, feel free to msg me.

Thanks again for the advice!
~Ben