Amory Grey Primer - What went wrong??

[Tonboko]

So in lue of Testors which I have used before, I decided to suppport the local gaming shop and got a can of Armory Grey Primer. I waited semi-patiently for the weather and my time off from work to cooperate. It is currenty in the low seventies and the humidity is hanging around thirty percent. Perfect weather for priming (or so I thought).

After shaking the can thoughly, my fist few passes did not seem to be covering well, so I shook the can some more. When I finally did get the stuff to stick, it had a fuzzy flocking like texture to it, rendering my figures useless. Thankfully, I was able to strip them all with nail polish remover ... another indicator that something had gone horribly wrong as most people use much stronger stuff to strip metal minis.

So is this just a bad batch of primer, or have others had issues with Amory primer?

 

[Ritual]

Nail polish remover should work fine, I think. What distance did you spray from? If the spray goes on fuzzy or grainy it could be a sign of the paint drying before it hits the mini. I haven\'t tried the brand you\'re talking of, so I can\'t say anything about its quality.

 

[Tonboko]

No more than ten inches at anytime. Doing a little more research on another site has shown me that the primer seems to be hit and miss ... leaning more towards the miss.

So I guess I need a new can of a different brand.

Any suggestions? Or should I just stick with the Testors I know?

 

[Ritual]

If you\'re happy with the Testor one, it\'s not too expensive, and you can get it easily, then I see no reason to change. If you answer no to one of the questions above then you might take a look at automotive primers. Plenty of people here use those. They\'re generally cheap and of good quality. Someone with experience from using those might give you a bit more info.

 

[cassar]

primers

try halfords or another car supplies shop they do excellent grey primers that are consistent, also when spraying apply the paint in single sweeps back and forth from aproximately 5 inches from the model also try not to apply too much at once let the primer dry before applying a second coat and use a really fine wet n dry sand paper to get rid of the orange peel effect, it smooths the paint surface down and fills in the blemishes. if you are still having problems getting it to stick smoothly sometimes its grease from your hands can prevent adehesion so a wipe down withe paint thinner/white spirit can help. any moisture will cause a crackle effect in the primer simular to the crackle ageing products. good luck hope this helps:beer:

 

[ScottRadom]

I use the armory stuff exclusively. I have never had a problem with the white, grey or black! But I keep hearing about other people having problems. I\'ve gone through at least 20 cans over the years, I guess I am just lucky!

 

[DaRat]

Each brand of can primer seems to come out at a different rate, so it can take a few trials to learn how to spray that primer. For example, I find that Krylon requires a lighter touch than Duplicolor.

That said, sounds like you have a bad can. Whether using Armory often means having a bad can is another matter.

Like cassar, I recommend looking at an automotive primer (Duplicolor in the States). My experience with Duplicolor is that it works very well providing a good smooth coat. Not as smooth as Tamiya, but plenty good enough. At $4.87 locally (with tax), Duplicolor is quite affordable too.

 

[Trevor]

It can be the weather conditions as well. I had a can GW white worked great for months, then one time I went to undercoat a GD entry and it went all grainy, it was a hot day and I think it was drying in the air. Fortunately it was a desert base and it added some great texture.

 

[Trevor]

oh, and nail polish remover is often made of acetone, which is a well known paint stripper for metal minis.

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by Tonboko
Doing a little more research on another site has shown me that the primer seems to be hit and miss ... leaning more towards the miss.

Once you get the knack it\'s rare you\'ll go wrong with a primer that\'s worth using. I haven\'t had to strip something in about seven or eight years because of a primer incident.

Originally posted by Tonboko
So I guess I need a new can of a different brand.

Might be nothing wrong with it - the same primer (even the same can) will give different results depending on various factors.

Try warming the can in hand-hot water in addition to fully shaking it for as long as the directions say. Spray from about 8\" or so. You can use light passes but you can also get good results shooting bursts directly at models, as long as you\'re careful and watch for buildup.

If there\'s a ghost of metal showing through the primer coat that\'s okay; you don\'t absolutely have to have solid coverage (although some people prefer this).

Einion