The Energon Pub

I've heard some say that a can of flat coat can double as primer to give the surface of a fig "tooth" to adhere to.

Now I'm heading to the Tamiya's proprietary specialist shop tomorrow, and as a relative beginner to serious modeling and customizing, I've already got a crapload of stuff to buy. If I can help it, I'd like to save some money by having the flat coat double as a primer, instead of buying a dedicated can of primer. Or would that be foolhardy, if in the long run, primer is actually cheaper than flat coat [don't know the price of either one yet]?

In any case, is it actually A MUST to prime the parts of a fig before hand-brushing and/or spray painting? Can Pledge Floor Finish for Tiles and Vinyl f.k.a. Future floor polish double as primer?

I've also heard of Tamiya Wax. Does is work on unpainted figs, if I just wanted to give a TF's alt mode a glossy shine and protect it from scratches [like ROTF deluxe Sideswipe's silver paintjob]?

This is going to sound like a stupid question, but do I need a mask even when spray painting outdoors?

Thanks in advance.

I don't use primer except in very specific cases (painting light color over dark plastic, painting PVC pieces); then again, I generally sand my figures (especially moving parts and pinch points) so tooth isn't a problem. That said, I can see how it'd work.

Future or other glossy clears on the other hand wouldn't work; hell, they'd make things worse AFAICT. Now, Future does work as a sealer, as a final coat.

I've never bothered with a mask when painting outdoors.

Varnishes tend to have a shiny finish and are designed to protect what's underneath and stop things sticking to it. That's the opposite of what you want in a primer!

Skyfire77 wrote:I don't use primer except in very specific cases (painting light color over dark plastic, painting PVC pieces); then again, I generally sand my figures (especially moving parts and pinch points) so tooth isn't a problem. That said, I can see how it'd work.

Future or other glossy clears on the other hand wouldn't work; hell, they'd make things worse AFAICT. Now, Future does work as a sealer, as a final coat.

I've never bothered with a mask when painting outdoors.

Thanks for replying, Skyfire77!

One more thing: does Future work on silver paint as well? I've heard that metallic paints usually react badly when sealed with the wrong clear coat.

Thanks in advance.

Mykltron wrote:Varnishes tend to have a shiny finish and are designed to protect what's underneath and stop things sticking to it. That's the opposite of what you want in a primer!

Good point, Mykltron. In retrospect, I wonder what possessed me to even think Future would work as a primer.

To be truthful, I've only really used Future on aircraft canopies, while Testors gloss and dull cotes are my clears of choice for everything else. That said, it's really mild stuff (acrylics usually are) so I don't think you'll have any problems, so long as the paint is properly cured (at least a day, two or more is better). It's usually when you mix lacquers with any other type of paints that you run into... issues.

Skyfire77 wrote:To be truthful, I've only really used Future on aircraft canopies, while Testors gloss and dull cotes are my clears of choice for everything else. That said, it's really mild stuff (acrylics usually are) so I don't think you'll have any problems, so long as the paint is properly cured (at least a day, two or more is better). It's usually when you mix lacquers with any other type of paints that you run into... issues.

Thanks again for the pointers, Skyfire77!