Speed Painting: The Best Reason to Use a Color PrimerĪ word about speed painting or batch painting a lot of models. The consensus among miniature painters is that you should only use a colored primer when it’s going to save time or improve the quality of your final paint job. I don’t think it’s worth using color primers for most paint projects unless there is a significant time savings. However, if you’re painting a small number of miniatures, and each model needs to be painted with different colors, a colored primer is probably not worth the cost. If you’re painting a horde army, e.g., a collection of Warhammer 40k Tyranids, and the miniatures are similar in color across a lot of models, a colored primer can save you a lot time. To achieve high quality results you may need to avoid relying on colored primers. You may need to lower your expectation for how much you can do with a colored primer. This is another potential risk of speeding up with your workflow with a colored primer. Of course, you may have to live with the possibility that a colored primer will not match the color of your regular paint. This is because spraying any color will produce a different appearance than if that same color was applied with a paint brush.Īirbrushing primer and paint can speed up the early steps of painting your miniatures, e.g., quicker priming and base coat applications. You expect the color of your primer to be the same as your regular paint, right? In my experience, this is often true if you’ve got a fresh can of colored primer, shaken well, and apply a solid coat on your model.īut, it is also possible that a colored spray primer may have a slight sheen or tonal difference than the regular paint. When you’re using a colored spray primer, you’re probably choosing a primer color that matches the regular paint you’re trying to skip. How Close Does Colored Spray Primers Match Original Paint Color? These metallic primer undercoats will let you prime and paint your models in a single application. There are also a lot of other metallic primers for things like gold, copper, and other metal surfaces. The Army Painter has a similar steel colored metallic primer called Plate Mail Metal. Games Workshop has the Citadel Leadbelcher Spray primer, which is the same model color as the Leadbelcher base model paint. These are spray primers that have a metallic finish. To speed up a miniature paint job with metallics, a number of paint brands have metallic colored primers. It can often take a lot longer to paint models well with metallic paint. Over-thinning metallics can make the reflective metal pigments spread out and make the layer appear splotchy. You’ll also have to do so without thinning the metallic paint too much. To get a nice coat of metallic paint, you will have to apply several layers of paint. This is because metallic paints are more transparent than non-metallic paints and take more layers to create an even coat. Painting a good coat of metallic paint is more difficult than painting with non-metallic colors. For those who are frustrated with applying a solid, even base coat with a regular brush–an important step in any painting–a colored primer can simplify this process. However, what you get in return for paying more is the ability to paint your models faster with fewer steps. They are more expensive than a primer or a paint alone. Primers with different color tones can speed up your project!Īs mentioned, colored primers aren’t cheap. There are three popular companies that make colored primers for miniatures: Citadel, The Army Painter, and Vallejo.Ĭitadel or Games Workshop makes a bunch of colored primers that match the colors of their main paint layer colors, e.g., Macragge Blue, Retributor Armour gold metallic, and many others. (Games Workshop | “Ogroid Myrmidon” miniature) RELATED: COMPLETE PRIMER GUIDE AND REVIEW FOR MINIATURE PAINTING When should you use a colored primer? If you have a lot of models to paint, a color primer can help speed up your work. Primers are used by professionals and novice hobbyists alike. Here’s a quick definition of what a primer is used for in painting miniatures or scale models.Ī primer is a product that painters use to cover the surface of an object, such as a building or a model, to make it ready for painting by filling in imperfections in the surface and providing a surface that the paint will stick to. Does the color of your primer matter, and are they worth their expense and limitations? In this article, I share my thoughts on whether it is worth buying and using a colored primer.
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