Captain Sensible | 21 Sep 2024 12:36 a.m. PST |
So I sprayed 10 minis with white primer from a well respected supplier we all know and noticed at the end that they all had that bumpy peach fuzz we all hate to see. FYI, soaking them in rubbing alcohol and cleaning with a tooth brush does a good job of stripping it off. My question is do you think some cans are just mixed badly and prone to the peach fuzz? I shook it it very well and the room wasn't overly humid or too hot or cold. I think I did everything right, but can't discount that I did something wrong. Is it unreasonable for me to blame the spray can? |
blacksmith | 21 Sep 2024 12:53 a.m. PST |
It happens the same to me and I do it in the same humidity conditions as usual and shake the can for more than 5 minutes and still happens from time to time. It had happened to me with Vallejo, Citadel and AK which are the brands I've used to far. |
doubleones | 21 Sep 2024 2:59 a.m. PST |
It just happens sometimes, but I always thrown the paint away when it does happen. So frustrating. |
robert piepenbrink | 21 Sep 2024 5:30 a.m. PST |
As a completely amateur guess, I suspect everything leaves the factory functional, but not all of it survives warehouse conditions. You get batches of "bad cans" moving through the system sometimes. |
ZULUPAUL | 21 Sep 2024 6:28 a.m. PST |
That's why I use brush on primer. Had some bad experiences with spray cans. |
John the OFM | 21 Sep 2024 6:30 a.m. PST |
I've been preaching for years that ZALL "hobby primers" are suspect. No matter who makes them. I am convinced that it is small production lots, combined with the store's inability to demand proper quality control. Walmart has in the past that they can bully suppliers into proper quality control. So, for primers, I go with Rustoleum or Krylon. Any manufacturer that has a huge display. They don't even have to be labeled "primer". Flat or Matte white is fine. Camouflage paint is good too, since they come out Ultra Matte. Avoid Satin or Gloss, unless you have a specific need or experience with them. I've never had a problem with them. While I have had problems with just about every "hobby primer", from Floquil to Ral Partha and so on. |
John the OFM | 21 Sep 2024 6:32 a.m. PST |
The key is that the big retail outlet can bully suppliers into better quality control. Any chain that guarantees return for defective products. |
Lucius | 21 Sep 2024 6:50 a.m. PST |
Even the big retail outlet brands fail if you keep them on the shelf too long. Krylon is my go-to, and I used to buy 6 cans at a time, because the Lowes in my town is out of the way. Unfortunately, if my painting speed slows down, and I wait too long to use them, cans #4-#6 may have lost enough pressure to get clogs and fuzz. The solution is to buy only 2 cans at a time. |
smithsco | 21 Sep 2024 7:11 a.m. PST |
I'm with John the OFM on this but info farther than spray primers. Most paints are better from them than from hobby suppliers. There are exceptions of course but I've never had a bottle of acrylic from Wal Mart, Michaels, or Hobby Lobby that has been bad. I've had some from hobby companies that dried poorly, were overly thick and needed a lot of thinning or were watery to begin with. |
Grattan54 | 21 Sep 2024 9:30 a.m. PST |
Yes, it depends on the can. My current can of primer has worked just fine and is almost out. Yet, the can before, same brand, same color primer and spraying in the same location, is not work well at all. Maybe got a 1/3 of a can out before it failed. |
aegiscg47 | 21 Sep 2024 10:26 a.m. PST |
I definitely think the quality control across the various brands has suffered and there's probably some issues with the materials that they are using, i.e., cheaper supplies. For most of 2023 the white primer I would purchase from Lowes and Wal Mart would barely give me a few sprays before the can failed. Tried soaking the nozzle in thinner, cleaning the opening in the can, etc., but to no avail. I finally for about a year turned towards the Testors flat white at Hobby Lobby, which although it was around $9 USD a can, at least it worked. I just recently tried a Rustoleum can from Walmart again and it seemed to do pretty well through 3/4 of the can and that was it. Not sure what a good answer is at this point. |
CeruLucifus | 21 Sep 2024 10:36 a.m. PST |
Captain Sensible FYI, soaking them in rubbing alcohol and cleaning with a tooth brush does a good job of stripping it off. Good tip. There was a me decades ago that wished he knew this. I've switched to bottle primer (Liquitex gessos) and airbrush or brush so it's been years since I ran into this, but I remember all the concerned discussions. Fuzziness can be caused by low humidity but like some others here, I always suspected some cans were more likely to manifest it. I wonder if it can be a mix or propellant problem. John the OFM… ALL "hobby primers" are suspect. No matter who makes them … inability to demand proper quality control. I'm convinced this is the case for a wide array of hobby paint products. It's part of why I've switched to artist paint lines. But you're right it's a bigger problem with spray cans. I guess because a paint jar can be badly mixed and sometimes rescued but more importantly the owner can evaulate it as he uses it and intervene. |
Bunkermeister | 21 Sep 2024 12:15 p.m. PST |
I buy Rust-Oleum from Walmart. I use their 2X primer in white or gray and rarely have a problem. When I have a problem I take it back to Walmart and get a full refund or exchange for a new can, no questions asked. Take the receipt if you can. Thank you John the OFM for mentioning it years ago. Rust-Oleum owns Testors as of a couple years ago. I use a lot of Testors spray cans, particularly the Flat Olive.
Mike Bunkermeister Creek Bunker Talk blog |
Shagnasty | 21 Sep 2024 1:00 p.m. PST |
Walmart used to sell an absolutely great grey primer and good flat black and white for $1 USD a can. No more primer and the flats are over $2. USD This is progress? |
Yellow Admiral | 21 Sep 2024 1:03 p.m. PST |
Just last weekend, I had to strip a set of 1/2400 ships that I had sprayed with Army Painter Colour (sic) Primer, because it made a grainy surface like the OP reported. Unfortunately, the weather turned, so a week later those ships are still bare lead. I have used a lot of 2x Ultracover, but not on small scale miniatures with a lot of fine detail. I also discovered the hard way that it doesn't cure on many 3D prints, so I no longer use it on those either. Given what's happening to our hobby, that's narrowing my use cases for it quite a bit. I still use it on 15mm and larger miniatures, buildings, and terrain. I have also used a lot of the 2x Ultracover color paints as one-shot coloring on craft projects (e.g. the bases I use for airplane games). I found the Midnight Blue satin to be a perfect single-coat color for late WWII gloss navy blue USN planes. The most reliable primer I have used for miniatures is Tamiya spray primer, which comes in white and light gray. It's expensive, but as far as I can tell it never goes bad, it goes on in very thin layers, it never clogs the spray tips or makes a grainy surface, and it adheres to everything I've tried it on – metal, styrene, cast resin, 3D printed plastics, etc. |
Maggot | 21 Sep 2024 1:16 p.m. PST |
I'm a common victim of the "grainy surface" primer; this is regardless of what brand I use; I've had the most problem with Army Painter, but the expensive GW and the cheap Rustoleum primers suffer from this on occasion as well….guess that's what I get for living in an area whose name ends with "Swamp." I've always got a few figs built up and ready to go, on those rare occasions it drops below 60% humidity… One trick I did find was that the primer and the figures need to be at the same temperature. Don't bring out your figs from the HVAC controlled environment into a hotter/colder outside and immediately start spraying; super tiny drops of condensation, particularly on metals, form pretty quickly on the figs. It helps, but does not solve the problem completely…I'd move to the high desert, but working in an industry that requires lots of water….. |
Hitman | 21 Sep 2024 7:53 p.m. PST |
Hey Shagnasty. Be grateful it's that cheap. Same cans in Canada are $14.99 USD at Walmart. |
Wolfshanza | 21 Sep 2024 9:30 p.m. PST |
I use Dupli-Color auto primer, white, sandable. Has worked great for me fer years :) |
VonBlucher | 22 Sep 2024 7:42 a.m. PST |
I've never had that happen, but I've had flat black primers by Army Painter come out as a Glossy finish instead of flat. I switched to Vallejo with no issues so far. |
Oberlindes Sol LIC | 22 Sep 2024 7:40 p.m. PST |
I'm with the chorus, I think: Rustoleum and Krylon, primers and camouflages. I have gotten good results with Army Painter, which is too expensive. I have had the worst results with hobby spray cans. |
Dn Jackson | 23 Sep 2024 3:19 a.m. PST |
"Are some spray cans just no good?" It depends on how they were raised. |