Black? White? Grey or some other Primer thats the question!?

[traiNscale]

Hi All

Iam watching different diorama builders on youtube, some are good and some are outstanding.
i started with airbrushing some months ago, and was always working with grey or white primer on the models.

some of the youtubers are always using a pretty dark primer, some use black when they prime there structures and buildings.
some are also building the whole structure to finish and then prime the whole building and starting detailing afterwards.

so my question is, did i everything wrong? i assemble some parts, prime and color them and put them together afterwards.
and always with grey or white. but iam thinking could a dark primer also work? is there a difference at all?

what are your go 2 ways to prime and color your structures or landscapes?

thnx for sharing your ideas and opinions.

cheers
jay

 

[bnsf971]

Generally, if what you're doing involves a lighter color or lighter finished look after any weathering, use a lighter primer. The weathering at the end will reflect the area it's going to inhabit. If you are in a grimy area, what you put on it should be similar to the area. If you are building a structure for a coal mine, use a darker primer so you don't have to put a lot of paint on it, covering details.

 

[Mopac Junkie]

speaking from past experiences, lighter colored primer makes primary and secondary colors brighter whereas darker primer tones these colors down. it has the same effect on earth tones but not to the same degree. if you put the same color over two different primer colors it wont match.

 

[TLOC]

Did you do everything wrong? NO!

Painting and weathering are PERSONAL and very SUBJECTIVE actions. What you may love I may dislike intensely! If you are happy with it that’s good enough. Don’t let others bias worry you

So the actions you take to get there also are a personal. SO, do it your way, or create your way after experimenting…

There are some good responses above my posting and they work for the writers. Will they work for you or me? Yes, most likely but that doesn’t mean you have to do it. I know lots of model painters that do not use primers. I know some that put the parts on a sheet and prime or paint or both before assembly.

Find what works for you and continue from there.

 

[C&OMtnMan]

speaking from past experiences, lighter colored primer makes primary and secondary colors brighter whereas darker primer tones these colors down. it has the same effect on earth tones but not to the same degree. if you put the same color over two different primer colors it wont match.

I can see this being used to incredible effect in some circumstances: a building shaded by trees on one side could be primed on that one side with a darker color to highlight the shaded effect, which doesn’t always come out naturally in scale work.

Or a building or other structure that is blighted by the sun from one direction.

Maybe even dark primer with hints of green in it, so that it lends itself to the north side of a structure - very little sun, and perhaps moss & mildew starting to take over.

It might produce the same effects as a post-painting fade, but it might produce some unique effects.

 

[AirbrushNo5]

Not train related, but primer related…
The grey plastic of this KV-8 was primed in black and white before the green was applied…

 

[logandsawman]

I use the rust colored auto primer on my trucks and wheelsets, followed up with an acrylic grey/India ink wash for a weathered look. I will coat my cardboard buildings with the same auto primer.

For a landscape base, I use brown or dk green acrylics. I generally do not use primer on my buildings or landscape. None of my stuff is going to be out in the weather.

Dave LASM

 

[santafewillie]

I generally use primer only on white metal castings or laser-cut wood structures. I use the rattle-can white on the metal and the outside of the wood structures. I generally use gray on the insides of those structures. I have used black on the inside of light colored plastic structures that I plan to add lighting to, to prevent bleed-through, although it is not always primer.
I like C&O MtnMan's suggestion regarding shady sides of structures. I'll have to try that sometime.

​

 

[kjd]

The tank looks good, what parts were primed black and which white? I’m guessing the darker green was over black and lighter over white, sort of pre-shading/pre-fading.

 

[traiNscale]

thank you all for this great discussion.
so many insides and ideas. i think i will try it out.
and see what fits best for me

cheers

 

[NVSrr1500]

I find the armour and diatoms guys use the black to help the weathering effects. Some rust cover the model. The. Chipping fluid, then the color coat to get less layers to get weathering. It is interesting to watch how they use the primer coat to aid in the finished result. Not just use it as priner

 

[AirbrushNo5]

The tank looks good, what parts were primed black and which white? I’m guessing the darker green was over black and lighter over white, sort of pre-shading/pre-fading.

Thanks…exactly pre/shade-fade
The black was applied to the panel lines, joints, edges and shadow areas…the white applied to the centre panels, raised areas..
Then a not too heavy topcoat of green

 

[kjd]

The tank is probably about 1/35 scale, have you tried the technique on HO trains? Wondering how it would work in the smaller scale. I don't have any paint from scratch projects at the moment but will for sure try it next time. Currently have some RTR models that need touch up after modifications.

 

[flyboy2610]

I know lots of model painters that do not use primers.

Lacquer's and enamel's are solvent based paints. They have chemicals in them that help them 'bite' into the plastic. Tamiya, and a couple other acrylic paint brands, are alcohol based so they can also be used on clean plastic with no primer. But their adhesion will be enhanced by the use of a primer.
Vallejo is an example of a water based acrylic. A water based acrylic really needs to be applied over a primer. They do not have any chemicals in them to help them adhere to bare plastic.
Whether or not to use a primer depends on the type of paint being used.