"Tamiya and Vallejo spray primers with GW Contrast paints?" Topic

Does anyone have experience with trying/reading/seeing the Contrast paints used over the Tamiya and Vallejo spray primers?

Especially the white primers from each company?

I have used cheap B&M stores and Halfords car primer, grey and white without a problem, painting horses, 15 & 28 mm Napoleonics and FPW and even 28mm Landsknechts.

Tally Ho!

As far as I can tell you can use contrast paints over any primer you like.

the only primer I've had trouble with is the pre-primed Deep Cut figs…
not sure what they are primed with, but half the time I'd get major surface tension looking problems (puddling and run off)

I know the primer colour affects how Contrast paints turn out.

I also know the smoother the primer, the better the result.

I have never used the Tamiya Fine primers nor the Vallejo spray primers, so I was hoping someone may have experience before I purchase both in white (to hopefully give a lighter highlight and get more contrast).

The GW Wraithbone primer really IS noticeably smoother than their Corax White and it really helps with how the Contrast paints work.

I've also used Halfords car white primer with no issues either.

Halfords really ought to take out adverts in the wargaming mags :)

I've used the Contrast paints with Halfords Grey with a quick blast of White for highlights.

Used vallejo white primer, it has a good smooth finish and works well.

I think the answer could easily be that Contrast paints can work with any primer, but you don't get their full effect if you use a different, more normal primer. As people say, Contrast paints are a variation of sorts on the old staining method, and any method could work to some degree on any primer, but the real issue is relative performance.

I wonder how many of those people who posted elsewhere that "meh, contrast paints are nothing new or special" used those paints over a normal primer, and therefore did not see any special results that they might have seen if they used the dedicated primers.

YogiBear,

That is exactly why I wanted to find out the performance of the primers before I had to spend extra money in buying them to find out if they were as smooth as the ones specifically recommended by GW for their Contrast paints.

I have tried automotive primers and others and they do work with Contrast paints, but the relative performance compared to Wraithbone, for instance, is nowhere near as good!

Grey Seer is not white. It's a light grey. The smoother the primer (and you can actually feel a SIGNIFICANT difference in smoothness between Wraithbone and any other primer I've tried – automotive or not).

Just to follow up, I tried Mr Finisher 1500 white. It's a lot smoother than Wraithbone from GW.

Mr Hobby used to be Gunze Sangyo.

It works good and leaves a very light highlight (I wanted a white I could use for Stormtroopers with Apothecary White – I think the paint should be thinned with medium as it is still grey. White dry brushing should help).