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Vallejo surface primer


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Guest PetrolGator

I picked up a bottle of this on a recommendation from a hobby store I frequent. The guy insists this stuff dries tight and is some of the best in the business.

 

Well, either I suck at air brushing (likely), have not used it properly (also likely), or it stinks (unlikely.)

 

I don't thin the stuff. It's supposed to be airbrush ready, according to the hobby store owner. I've tried tweaking my compressor pressure to get it to cover more uniformly, but haven't had the luck. Has anyone used this stuff? Advice would be helpful. I need to prime a IPMS show build which is due in a month.

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  • 3 weeks later...

For whatever it's worth, I always thin every paint I ever use. It is a bit obsessive, but I would rather deal with paint that is too thin than paint that is too thick. If I'm in doubt, I use one or two drops until I'm sure that the mix is going to work. And I always have a surface (old model or paper or wood) that I hit with the airbrush before I hit the model -- every time I fiddle with anything -- brush adjustment, paint mix, after the brush has been sitting for a minute or so.

 

So, I don't put paint on a model until I'm sure that the mix is going to work.

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Guest PetrolGator

David, I think you may be correct in this one. I shotgunned the same question around various sites and it appears this stuff is GREAT if you thin it down and add a drop of detergent. I'll try it on another build, or on my test model I've dubbed the USS Canvas.

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I've successfully shot Vallejo Surface Primer (the grey stuff) at 15-20 psi unthinned with a gravity feed airbrush. I tried thinning it a bit with windshield washer fluid (which is just water and alcohol; a good cheap thinner for acrylics) but it didn't improve it. While spraying it looks like it pools up in corners, but does indeed dry tight and smooth. My notes say it tends to dry on the needle, and if you mix it with lacquer thinner it makes goop, so don't try that.

 

Overall I like it. Tamiya in a spray can is easier to use, though.

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