"Brush on primer" Topic

I typically use spray primer but I would like to have a good brush on primer for the winter and summer. Any recommendations?

Ideally I would like a brush on primer that can be used on both metal and soft plastic figures.

I have heard of gesso so any other suggestions would be great.

I just use black or gray Americana Acrylic paint from a craft store.

About a buck a bottle….

I use Liquitex Gesso in white, do think a grey would be better but it is what I have.

I use Liquitex Gesso as well. I have white, grey and black. White is for most figures. I use grey for terrain, and black for vehicles and WWII figures. I'll also tint the gesso with regular acrylics for certain projects.

What Rich Bliss said. I also mix Liquitex gesso with their airbrush thinner so I can spray gesso as well.

Gesso as well.

I've had great success brush painting Vallejo acrylic-polyurethane primers.They come in several colors besides the usual black, white, and gray. I usually use the primer in my airbrush when I have a lot of figures to prime in one sitting, but I just brush it on when I have only one or two items and it's too much of a bother to set up the airbrush gear. Either way, it works great.

Grey Liquitex Gesso.

I found Gesso to be too thick, but maybe I got the wrong type. I was using the canvas Gesso. Vallejo primer worked for me.

Just note that Gesso becomes brittle when it dries. It covers well and bonds well, but if it's flexed to a certain degree, it will crack, and take the paint with it.

@45th Div

Yeah but as it is glue mixed with chalk, it shrinks quite a lot. It takes some faith to "glop" it on, but I've been using it for years and now use it willy nilly.

Here is a video of Gesso drying. Note how thick it starts out!

YouTube link

White Gesso for me. I've used it for years, dries tight to the model, does not obscure any details.

Extra Crispy, I've never seen that before!

Looks like a huge mistake has been made and then some sort of magic $#*% happens.

I have never had gesso crack on one of my metal figures. Generally I spray my larger plastic units.

I have had success with Valejo primer for small projects.

One thing to note about the Vallejo primers is they can be quite soft and scrape off until they are actually dry.

Depending upon moisture levels, this can take DAYS…

I use artist's acrylics straight from the tube as a primer. Works well.

Thanks for the suggestions

I use white craft paint & have had no problems on metal or hard plastic.Significantly cheaper than many others.
Paul

Another vote for Gesso. I use Liquitex brand, but I've seen videos online about how to make your own out of paint and white glue as well.

I have Gesso and Vallejo, Tamiya and Testors brush-on primers in my panoply. It's nice to have choices.

I like Gesso because it's easily tintable and cleans up with water. It's basically just like acrylic paint. It adheres well to rough or dull surfaces, not as well to glossier ones. It seems to stick to most metals pretty well, but will rub off of exposed edges (like spearhead or bayonet edges).

I like Vallejo primers because they come in a variety of basic colors, go on really thin, stick to metal well, and cleanup with water. It is almost impossible to get an even coloration over a large area, though, so I mostly use these for spot repairs, not for a basecoat.

The Tamiya brush-on primer is goopy and can fill in fine details if I'm not careful, but it adheres to gloss and semi-gloss enamel and lacquer surfaces better than anything else, and to smooth plastics like polystyrene or polyethylene (no surprise – Tamiya is a model company). This is useful if I used a Tamiya or Testors paint as a base coat, or when repainting a part of a gloss-clearcoated miniature. This primer is smelly, comes in white or gray, and cleans up with lacquer thinner.

The Testors enamel primer has all the same advantages as the Tamiya, except it goes on thinner, has kinda poor coverage, comes only in gray, and requires paint thinner to clean up.

- Ix

And Liquitex Gesso makes great white out on paper, use it all the time.