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Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Been a bummer of a week for painting.

I hate writing this because I think The Army Painter products are truly awesome but this past week we've been running into some snags.

I bought a can of white primer at a local game store this past weekend. Upon application of it on a poor unsuspecting space marine I noticed little white dots peppering the entire mini. It looked like snow and appeared raised. Gone was the expectation of a smooth coverage that I am used to with this product and expectation was replaced with a servant of the Emperor being covered with a primer that felt like sand paper when it dried.

That was the second time I used it.

The first time actually ruined one of my Flames of War US Paratrooper stands. As I sprayed the mini thick droplets sprayed out of the nozzle. I tried to work fast to clean the white off and I am sorry to report I wasn't successful. I just got word that the defense department has already sent letters out to the families of these brave soldiers informing them of the incident.

If that wasn't enough this morning I went to use my can of gray primer for some more Confederates and guess what??? The propellant inside the can got used up before all the primer was out of the can. Now I'm stuck with a quarter can of primer that I can't get out! That ever happen to anyone?

I wrote Neal at thewarstore.com to see if I can get an exchange or something.

I've been painting minis for a hot minute now and I've never run into these kinds of problems with primer before. I'm bummed. I totally wanted to paint today and now I'm sitting in my chair not sure what to do.

*Shrug, Sigh...Tear* :(

5 comments:

Col. Corbane said...

Dodgy cans of spray are probably the reason that my mini's are matted up.

I've just heard so many horror stories of mini's ruined by purity seal. I know I've got to do it but I'll be suicidal if it wrecks my mini's.

Keep your fingers cross that it's just a bump, they say things go in three's

Farmpunk said...

hmm didn't happen to be a can of Armory Brand primer did it?

I've had poor luck with Armory black. The first 3 cans I bought of that stuff produced a similar effect to what you talk about. I took a toothbrush to all my minis to knock the stuff off. I had shaken the cans for 30 mins, my wife thought I was nuts. It wasn't until I talked to some other painters I found my primer shouldn't need a brushing to remove the snow.

I have heard good things about some of the Krylon Automobile primers, and of course anything by Testors has been good to me.

MIK said...

I use generic spray paint for primer, I have for years, with nary a problem. I pay just .99 cents a can, can get the same brand anytime (24 hour store) and it covers my minis great. I usually go with flat black or flat white, but have used gloss on occasion and it works equally well.

Ed Mlynar said...

And that's why Eddie doesn't spray anymore. After putting together my men I get a tank brush and a foundation paint. It hits every bit of the model, goes on super-smooth, and I get the total control I want to avoid globbing, over-spraying, etc.

Yeah, it takes longer, but I'm tired of sand-paper minis.

the other Kevin said...

I've had this problem before. For me it was the distance I was holding the can from the model. Too slow and close and I get paint puddles. Too far away and some of the spray dries before it hits the mini. You may be having the same experience here.

I now use gray Duplicolor sandable primer, because I like its quality and color. I've also used the Camouflage Paint with Fusion Technology over primer with great results.

The Painting Corps [http://thepaintingcorps.blogspot.com/] has a couple good articles on priming. He's also offered the challenge to let him know if you've had a problem with a primer, he'll "try to find a way to make it work."