"Primer Not Needed, If You Seal Your Miniatures?" Topic

Thinking about this issue, for small, finely detailed, 15mm – 18mm SciFi minis, but it could apply to other small scales as well, and I'm not sure the question has been asked in this way before.

Yes, I know some/many recommend using a paint primer for their metal figure miniatures (and small-scale vehicles too), and some go without.

So, my question is, does sealing the miniatures afterwards with a gloss coat, flat coat, or Future Floor Wax coat make priming unnecessary, since it binds the paint to the mini, by creating a top coat over it, to prevent flaking off?

Perhaps the paint types being used might make a difference, e.g. enamels vs. acrylics, so please comment on that, if it is appropriate. My guess is enamels, either brush painted, and/or sprayed on, probably adhere to metal minis better than acrylic paints do, but I'm not 100% sure about that.

If that is true, seems like a primer would be unnecessary for metal minis, and I'd be less likely to cover up, or otherwise obscure fine figure (or micro-armor) detailing.

So, we have the following choices, for your voting pleasure:

1. Yes, sealing the mini afterwards, over the paint makes priming unnecessary;

2. or, No, it is still a good idea to prime your metal miniatures first, before painting and sealing.

If you select #2, please provide details as to why priming of metal minis is still a good idea, before painting, and then sealing them.

That's it, ladies and gentlemen, a simply Yes, or No poll.

No wiggle room for "I don't know" – if you don't know, there's no need to participate.

Also, no room for no opinions either. With all due respect, if you're unsure there's no need for you to vote.

Obviously, people with direct, first-hand experience in the matter are preferred, rather than mere speculation, or conjecture, but obviously some may not have tried the above, but have read about the success of others that have, so that's useful info too.

2 – The acrylics I use require primer. Otherwise it is just to irregular in coverage and often rubs off before the figure is finished.

2 for cover – would need a second coat of the actual paint aanyway if I didn't use a primer.

2. I am with 21eRegt. I need to use primer with the acrylics I am using, or it is just an uneven mess, with rub offs etc. Especially true if I do any dry brushing.

I even prime Reaper Bones miniature, which you are not supposed to have to prime. That said, using Tamiya fine detail primer or Armory primer on them, I get great results, and am a much happier painter.

2. Plus (2) 21eRegt.

2. Primer is more important than sealer. The entire paint job is only as strong as the bond between the bare metal and the first layer of whatever you put over it.

If I had to chose between either I'd go with the primer and not seal.

However, I do both and use a white acid etch primer made for tricky metals. Once dry you can't scrape it off with your fingernails as you can with every other primer or undercoat I've tried. Whether such a degree of protection is necessary is up to the individual to decide but I throughly detested having to touch in chipped paint so I choose belt and braces.

2.

Yes prime, yes seal. If you don't prime regardless of sealing the failure will be from the bottom up (if you don't rub it off first!). The sealer will hold it in place for a while but you are risking ultimately having some failure.

2. Priming gives you much better coverage and helps the paint adhere.

2. I use artist's Gesso, from Michael's Craft Stores in the USA, but any artist Gesso should work. By the way, the Gesso is acrylic. It shrinks into the depressions of the figure, forming a very tight skin over the surface; this "skin" takes acrylic paints very well. The Gesso may leave pinholes, but don't worry about them -- just apply your acrylic paints, no need to touch up the Gesso. Cheers!

2 What Timmo said. Two completely different issues.

Priming with the right coloured primer can also help improve the strength of the colours in the paint job. Not much of a problem if you are trying for a muddy indistinct paint job but for some colours white or black undercoat is a must.

2. For all of the above reasons.

The long time controversy in this space is whether to use primer intended for miniatures or just use spray paint or some other non-primer paint.

2. Apart from the above mentioned reasons it also makes (for me at least) seeing the details on the figure better.

As others have said primer serves two purposes:

a) binds to metal and paint

b) provides "tooth" (roughness) to pull paint from the brush

It can also be useful for giving even flat color that makes it easy to see seams or vents that one missed during figure cleanup and assembly. Of course an undercoat using paint will do this as well, but if you're undercoating, you might as well use a primer specific to the material of which the miniature is made.

It depends on what paint you use. I recently tried to strip the paint off of some minis I painted back in the mid-80s wirh Testor's enamels… I would up painting another layer of primer over the old paint, it wasn't going anywhere. That was unsealed, over bare metal.

As above, primer and sealant serve two different purposes.

2

2

Wow, surprised the responses are so overwhelmingly in favor of option 2.

Does the answer change any if using enamels applied with a spray can, onto metal minis?

Prime AND seal.

I use a mix of enamels, acrylics and watercolours, plus some effects using artists's oils. Both on metal and plastic figures.

Primer? Undercoat?

The oil, watercolour and acrylic all require an undercoat (which for my technique is generally a black, white or sand enamel) …

The enamel does not need any priming or similar, just it pays to do a second coat to get the depth and resilience.

Then I varnish.

So it depends on the paint. I have old plastic Airfix painted in Humbrols 40 years ago – no primer, no varnish – still going strong (no plastic decay, no rub off, just a little flaking in the obvious bendy bits but often no wear at all) so enamels are fine, enamels plus varnish is nearly bullet-proof.

Phil

2, once again, for all the above reasons.