$6 Krylon CoverMax vs $18 Citadel Chaos Black

[Hythos]

I was a bit hesitant to try Krylon's CoverMax (just by the name), but I decided to try it out.
From this photo, I don't think I had shaken the white up enough (it's likely it's been sitting on a shelf for a long time) as it's not really "max" cover.  Though, it was just a light dusting.

The Gray came out great. Just a light dusting from 3 angles beneath, 3 from parallel, and one from above. You can see I missed a tiny spot on the inside hip/shoulder corner; but it should still paint just fine.

The Black, I'm a bit disappointed in.  This was the "premium citadel primer" that I was expecting far more out of... and it's satin, not matte/flat.  Perhaps that's their "Chaos Black", but it was the only type of premium primer the local store carried and I wanted it for comparison.

It's really hard to tell whether the gray or white have blocked any more detail than the black has... But I'm off to paint!

[mdauben]

I've used inexpensive Krylon ColorMaster Black Primer for years now with no issues.  The last time I used an (overpriced) can of GW Chaos Black it came out grainy and I had to strip and scrub 20 miniatures to get the crummy stuff off. 

[Ratboy]

I find that the P3 primers from privateer press and the Army Painter primers are the best aerosol hobby primers for the money. They are very fine, but not too fine.

[Hythos]

I have some examples, but the white gabe me awesome results.
The gray was pretty good.
Either held paint well.

The black; well; paint doesn't stick. It could be bacause of its satin finish? Maybe the intended result?
The last model-brand I had used was most likely RalPartha gray primer, about 1988.

Citadel does cover very well, but what good does it do if paint beads up instead of coating.
Am I doing it wrong?

[greatsarcasmo]

Walmart Colorplace spraypaint. 99 cents a can.

And I listen to Meg.

http://arcanepaintworks.blogspot.com/2014/10/lessons-in-priming.html

[Hythos]

Unless I try to sell the Citadel can to someone else, I'm open to try it some more.
The reason I liked the Krylon, was of how well paint took, was primarily because of the rougher surface, which, after 4-5 layers of paint, creates too much build-up.

If I could figure out a way to actually have paint bond to the Citadel without it pooling / beading (almost like the primer creates an oily-surface, despite never being touched by anything after drying // hot-glued to a wine-bottle cork for easy handling), I expect the surface finish would better preserve detail.

[Xtrahmxwohld]

I like the Krylon white primer, been using it for years.  But the can I just bought at Wal-mart was only $3.50 :o

[Cache]

I've used Krylon for years, gray primarily, and have had great results.  Can't complain about the price either.

[StoneRhino]

Brush on primer  >:D Cheap and easy to control, no worries about spray cans, or over coating

[manticore72]

I have been using Rust-oleum Painter's Touch Ultra Cover with good results. It holds on to the mini well and holds paint well too.

[mbear]

Hythos, I just wanted to thank you for this thread. I recently asked a similar question over on the main mini board and seeing these responses has given me some confidence that the Rustoleum will work. (And if it doesn't, well, I've picked up a can of Testor's.)

Thanks all!

[abou]

I'm a big fan of the Vallejo Model Air primer; however, it means you probably have to get an airbrush. Sure, you can paint it on, but meh...

I haven't used the Krylon stuff. Army Painter gave me a lot of trouble unless I shook the can for an incredibly long amount of time. The GW stuff was always more trouble than it was worth.

Testor's primer worked very well for me. So did Tamiya's metal primer, which goes on clear.

I just used Zinsser spray primer on my windows that I'm repainting. That worked great! But it was for wood windows.

I'll have to follow Meg's example an try priming less than I normally do.

[cypher226]

Sounds like you guys got cans of GW primer from a bad batch. I used there primer for c.20 years and only very occasionally had problems. There are some known issue with them that this happens from time to time. I've had the same problem with Army Painter.

There are a few questions - first, did you shake the can for the full 2 minutes? If the paint's not atomised correctly, it'll come out badly.
Second, what's the humidity like where you are? High humidity can ruin a primer job.
Third, did you apply multiple thin coats or one thick heavy one? The heavier the coat, the more slick it is in my experience.
Fourth - what types of paint are you applying over the top?

There is a trick where you can loosen the paint by standing the can in hot (but definitely not boiling) water to help it flow, but you then still need to give it the full 2-minute shake.

There's a somewhat lengthy thread over on a GW-focused forum (Dakka) where a guy did a proper test (using a micrometer to measure the thickness of the coat) on a whole bunch of different spray-on primers and found the GW and PP ones were the finest (in terms of actual thickness on the mini).
If you have a yard/garden/garage to work in, getting yourself a cheap airbrush and compressor off amazon or ebay and a couple of bottles of Vallejo air primers is hugely more cost effective in the long term. Put it this way, my buy in to airbrushing was a (approximately) $120 compressor and airbrush set and a bottle of black primer ($20 I guess?). I must have sprayed over 300 minis with that one bottle of primer and it's really easy to get the hang of.
If you want something you can brush on, I've heard good things about gesso - but not tried it, I hear it takes some practice.

[Jackmc]

Save yourself some serious money and go buy a cheap single action airbrush kit w/ low-end compressor and then buy primer from Ammo of Mig.  For about the cost of 5 cans of Citadel or Army Painter you'll get a system that gives superior results at a much lower cost.

-Jackmc 

[Charger3604bbl]

I have to second Wal Mart $0.99 paint as a primer.  Worthless as regular paint,  but gives a nice surface for painting minis.  Dries nice and thin so there is no fear of clogging detail if you get a little nuts.

[Elbows]

While I'm a die-hard Army Painter fan now (about $9 online per can, so right in the middle)...I've used just about everything with varying results.  I've never ever had paint bead up on a surface though, that's odd.

Armory has very hit or miss paints, but when they work they work pretty well (on the extremely chalky side normally).  GW...skip it, for the money no reason to bother.  With the Wal-Mart paints and the like, some are good, some are not.  Some simply don't have a fine enough nozzle for proper miniature priming (some intended for priming vehicles or patio furniture so they have a big heavy flow nozzle).

Just play around until you find what works for you.  As far as colour goes...personally I prefer black for pretty much everything short of white miniatures.  Provides some natural shading and provides shadows in cracks and bits you don't get your brush to.  With a white miniature you'll end up chasing each corner and crook to get your brush in there.

[Maverick__]

Second about using Krylon primer, it works good and is cheap.  If I would just bite the bullet and get an air brush...really it seems the air brushing on primer is the best way to go.

I tend to always warm up the paint can with a bowl of hot water during the cool half of the year too.

Also, to limit the loss of detail, one should not spray on so much primer that said primer starts to run...or even completely cover the mini's surface.  You should still be able to see the mini's surface thru the primer.  I prefer to just "dust them" with spray on primer.

Even with brush on primer, I tend to water it down with rubbing alcohol.

I have tried that primer/paint combo.  I tested the black primer/paint combo to  almost completely cover the mini when painting a black paint scheme (like wolf dragoons)...only need to touch up with some black from the pot.  Saves a couple of steps.