Primers

So, while we wait out these last few hours, I thought that I would put a post out that has been sitting in the draft folder for a few months. This all started about 18 months ago when I bought some new primers to use with my new airbrush compressor, and as yet I have actually yet to use them with the compressor. I have however used them several times with the good old brush and I have a few thoughts that I have decided to put down on to paper.

The primers in question are Vallejo surface primers, in both black and white.  I chose these primers after looking around on-line at various forums and the like, where lots of different primers were being discussed. These seemed to be a good choice between cost and effectiveness. 

Vallejo Surface Primer, in both black and white

The primers themselves are very different, the black works very well, the white less so. The black primer is very good, but it does require a bit of mixing first of all, otherwise it seems a little watery. The primer covers nicely but sometimes it still fails to "grip" on to the model and not coat properly. The white primer however, even with a good stir, doesn't really cover very well. It usually requires at least two coats of paint and even then it still doesn't seem to cover as effectively as the black. One thing I have found is that by mixing the two up, usually 2 to 1, white to black, that the primers covers quite nicely and evenly, giving a good base and also still showing up the details nicely, something that can be hard with the black primer.

GW Primer

Next up was the GW primer, or Citadel Technical Imperial Primer, this is the first primer I bought, mostly because it was in the GW shop. The primer works well, not quite as good as the Vallejo black primer but it does cover nicely and evenly. Its not quite as good and at the price, its not worth it. It was be a lot better if it was the same colour as the GW Abaddon/Chaos black, or whatever its called. This would be mean that it would fit in nicely with the rest of the range, namely the GW spray paints. 

On the spray paint front, I have used the GW ones in the past and found that they are pretty good. I have always had good experiences with them but I moved away from them as they are quite expensive. Hence the reason that I got the compressor in the first place.

The various subjects

You can see the various primer tones that the Vallejo mix created. As you can see the black makes it hard to see all the different details and layers, but the other shades of grey are better. It can make it hard however, to see what bits you've actually primed and which bits you haven't! I think given the choice I will continue using the mix, as it covers nicely and will make the various primers last longer. I would like to see what the primers look like through the air brush, hopefully I might get a chance one day soon.

Overall, I would recommend the Vallejo black primer to anyone. Its a good mix of cost and effectiveness and it does have the option of using the airbrush or the brush. The GW primer is also good but is a lot more expensive and doesn't match with the other GW range black paint and so the extra expense isn't really worth it.