Vallejo primer, what's your experience?

[Mence]

Simple that chaps, have you used it? What are your thoughts and experiences?

Many thanks.

M.

[tobias5555]

I use it with all my models. It´s a perfect primer.

[deafpanzer]

I used Vallejo primer for the first time few nights away. I thought it came out great!!! Easier to spray and easier to CLEAN my AB afterward. In the past I use Mr Surfacer... not fan of using thinner to clean the mess.

I haven't painted anything on the primer yet so jury is still out.

[spud]

i use it all the time wouldn't use any other primer drop in and spray.

[M1Carbine]

Prof - used the first time on the SA-6. I picked up a bunch of them and love it so far. I had to tinker with the air pressure and you will have a heafty AB cleaning to do but well worth it to save the house from stink and your lungs from the nasty stuff.

Bob

[deafpanzer]

I used dropper bottles... they offer in many colors but I got only three colors for now: black, panzer grey and red hull.

[itsonlyakit]

These primers are great, can also be used as a final color. Can be brushed but AB best. Shake well and keep the the inner dropper area clean.
Cheers Eh!

[Deleted]

super stuff I particularly like the panzer grey primer plus you can actually mix different colours using the various shades of primer. I have found that you need to leave it at least a day to cure properly

[wouter]

well, unlike most of us here I'm not a big fan, the poly urethane primers aren't bad, but I prefer others. It's with this primer I ruined my first Afrika Kitty. Have used it afterwards, and when thinned with Vallejo airbrush cleaner it sprays a bit better, but I hate to clean the tip of the needle every 30 or 40 seconds...And I think it peels of too easy of metal parts like barrels and such.

I personally prefer the Mr. Surfacer 1200 thinned with Lacquer Thinner

Cheers

[bullardino]

I use it from a spray can, and it works well. Dunno if I'll stick with it, tho, as I had much more confidence with tamiya's one.

[bbd468]

Hey Fellas,

Im not sure why my experience with the grey polyurathane primer was so bad....but its the worst primer ive ever tried. I think i got a bad batch. No matter what pressure i sprayed or how much i thinned it was awful. Now im stuck with a big bottle of the stuff and ill never use it again. If i had the extra cash id ship it to the first person thats says ILL TAKE IT!

Ill stick with my tried and true Tamiya!!!

Gary

[Mence]

Hey guys.

I should have been a little clearer, it's the dropper bottles, not rattle cans as I want a little more control.

Looks like more positives than negatives so I will give it a go.

Thank you all for responding.

[bbd468]

Hello Rex, yeah...it was awful I havent had the chance to try the colored primer, but i hear great things about it.

Gary

[spud]

Feb 5, 2013 12:54:22 GMT -5 bbd468 said:

Hey Fellas,

Im not sure why my experience with the grey polyurathane primer was so bad....but its the worst primer ive ever tried. I think i got a bad batch. No matter what pressure i sprayed or how much i thinned it was awful. Now im stuck with a big bottle of the stuff and ill never use it again. If i had the extra cash id ship it to the first person thats says ILL TAKE IT!

Ill stick with my tried and true Tamiya!!!

Gary

The gray primer sucks but if you mist it on you can build it up nicely

[406 Silverado]

ok just my two pennies and experience with them. I hall the primer colors from them. The ones I find that work best are the white, black, gray and panzer gray.
The rest of the colors have given me probs, and they don't dry matt. The Panzer Gray is a satin finish which is ok. The trick to these is air pressure. Too low a pressure and I had issues with them going on smooth. I use mainly the white, gray and panzer gray and at a low pressure of about 15-20 psi for small jobs, higher pressure for large or long AB sessions. For small jobs I don't get clocking but for large models and long sessions it clocks now and then. I use small amounts of paint at a time and spray thinner between filling the pot again. I find it helps keep from cloggiing. I use AK acrylic thinner for that and also at the end to clean the AB.
I use the white and gray for gelb tanks and for dark colors, panzer gray OD, 4BO I use the panzer gray or black primer.

[Mence]

Thanks guys, I aim to use only grey and white so I might be ok!

[406 Silverado]

Gray is the best of them all.

[sollie]

I tried this for the first time on the JP, and I had to top it with some tamiya primer to get it to stick. It came off pritty easy if I scraped it with my nail.
Surface was smooth and it spray'd on easy.





Now , the vallejo one have to mix you're self I never got the hang of, but he 'air' line worked pritty good.
I still prefer the tamiya primer though.

[bbd468]

Hey Sollie, Thats the primer i was talking about, only i got the large bottle! Its bloody awful stuff. Would not adhere to the surface - no etching properties to speak of. Thats why i thought i got a bad batch.

I loves my Tamiya!!!!

[sollie]

Just primed my JP wheels. Did the nail test, one has the vallejo and the other is tamiya white( I prefer the grey but it was out of stock)

same pressure offcoz.

[deafpanzer]

That was great of you to show us what you have learned. I guess I better stay with Mr Surfacer but god it is really pain in butt to clean my airbrush after using it. I will use Vallejo for smaller jobs such as inside the cockpit or interior where there will be minimal contacts afterward.

[Tobi]

My experiences are mixed as well:

Usually I stick to Tamiya (grey and white) and Vallejo (black) from the spray can. I tested the drop style bottles expecting they would sand as easily as the former, but was so wrong. Similar like in the nail test the color came of in large chips, so I had to strip a whole surface to it's boundaries from paint again.

It dries quickly and smooth so you can touch it within minutes, but you have to let it harden for at least a day, better longer. Also adheres well to resin and metal parts after proper drying time. Then you get a very durable surface which can even withstand acetone to some degree and doesn't peel off from edges, something I dread most!

But I wouldn't recommend it for construction work to highlight any flaws, when you know you will have to go back to puttying and sanding again. Instead take it as resilient base for your paintjob only, then it's really good already from the jar and without thinning.

It's worth mentioning that PU-formulated colors are also the choice in today's automotive industry, but as a 2-component system with extra hardener.

[406 Silverado]

Lots of good info here. Yes the most important thing with true acrylics is not the drying time,but the curing time. I usually will spray the base colors about 20 min after the primer which is not a good curing time, dry yes but not cured. The models I do leave to cure longer 24hrs+ the primer is rock hard and not easy the remove.

The curing time plays a role in chipping as well.. I haven't used the HS in some time because I have been painting and letting the model sit for days, then will chip with water. This is acrylics over acrylics without HS or sealer. The longer the rust undercoat sits...days/weeks will become harder to remove. So then i just add the base color or w/w and then chip away without removing any of the acrylics base rust or primer. My Panther was done this way.

So basically the gray,white and Black Vallejo primers are the better of the range of colors, BUT you do have to let it cure for 24hrs or longer. Then the base colors over this. Just from my experience with all my shelf queens.

[imatanker]

Although I am new to the site,I feel I must comment on this.I bought a bottle of Vallejo's grey primer,tried it out and did not like it. Although it sprayed well(with a little thinning) and layed down great,it did not stick well to the model.I could still peel it off with my fingernail,even after two days.

The other thing about it I didn't like was it did not sand well.The edge would not feather and just kept rolling back,so it was very hard to get a nice tapered edge.

I use Tamiya spray can primer for big work,and the liquid primer in the bottle for touch ups.I do find that the Tamiya "fine" primer works well on my smaller scale stuff,because it does not build as fast and drown the smaller details. I have never had a problem with it.Just My two cents.Jeff T.

[bbd468]

Mar 10, 2013 18:02:09 GMT -5 imatanker said:

Although I am new to the site,I feel I must comment on this.I bought a bottle of Vallejo's grey primer,tried it out and did not like it. Although it sprayed well(with a little thinning) and layed down great,it did not stick well to the model.I could still peel it off with my fingernail,even after two days.

The other thing about it I didn't like was it did not sand well.The edge would not feather and just kept rolling back,so it was very hard to get a nice tapered edge.

Hey Jeff, That was my experience with it exactly. I loves me Tamiya!

Gary

[imatanker]

Gary, yeh, I was very dissapointed with it. I even tried not thinning it at all ,as I was told that thinning would effect with how well it stuck.Made it hard to spray and it didn't stick any better.It's too bad,because I like the Vallejo line of paints.Jeff T.

[bbd468]

Mar 11, 2013 16:04:25 GMT -5 imatanker said:

Gary, yeh, I was very dissapointed with it. I even tried not thinning it at all ,as I was told that thinning would effect with how well it stuck.Made it hard to spray and it didn't stick any better.It's too bad,because I like the Vallejo line of paints.Jeff T.

Jeff, i too tried straight out tha bottle, thinned, and even added a bit of liquitex flow aid but same results. Just cant figure out why some people swear by it. I had thought i got a bad batch or something. I also hear alot of great things about the Vallejo colored primer, but i aint about to try it unless its a free sample. I just get too great of results with my Tamiya surface primer and or Tamiya grey spray can primer which i decant to a bottle and use in the AB....its even better like that. OH well....to each his own eh.

Gary

[imatanker]

Just some more info on the Vallejo primer.I'm doing a 1/25th,yes,that's right 1/25th scale ,Centurion and thought I would use some of it up on parts that I wasn't going to do anything to,like roadwheels and stuff.I reduced it with Vallejo's AB Cleaner at about 4-1.It sprayed well and seemed to stick a lot better,but still did not feather nicely,and still built up way too much.So I guess I have found a use for it.Now it won't go to waste anyway.Jeff T.

[bbd468]

Mar 30, 2013 4:09:51 GMT -5 imatanker said:

Just some more info on the Vallejo primer.I'm doing a 1/25th,yes,that's right 1/25th scale ,Centurion and thought I would use some of it up on parts that I wasn't going to do anything to,like roadwheels and stuff.I reduced it with Vallejo's AB Cleaner at about 4-1.It sprayed well and seemed to stick a lot better,but still did not feather nicely,and still built up way too much.So I guess I have found a use for it.Now it won't go to waste anyway.Jeff T.

Did you say 1/25th!!! Well, at least ya got some kind of use for it. You decide you like and i still have mine (think i may have tossed it) id be happy to send you what i have....its nearly full. Got to find it first.

Later My friend,
Gary

[imatanker]

Yes,Yes,I know.What can I say,in a moment of weakness I enlisted in the Large Scale Build over on Armorama.I'm having a good time doing it but,it just re-enforces why I build the small stuff.  It just takes way to much of everything to put one together  I can do 3-5 braille builds for what I'm going to have in this one.
As for the offer on the primer,I said I found a use for it,not that I liked it :DSo don't look too hard,and save your postage