Primers
So why not try other primers? Yes, my favorite is Tamiya gray rattle can primer, but it’s expensive and a 5 hour trip to get it. So I dropped into the local hardware store to see what they have. While in the UK I used Halford’s grey plastic primer and I have to say it’s a great primer. Very cheap and easy to get…in the UK. Now that I’m back in the US I hope to find something similar.
Tamiya gray primer
This is my gold standard. Best primer I’ve ever used, it’s consistent and smooth, never pebbly or rough. Only problem is the can is small and the price is large. I get about 6 single engined prop kits in 1/72 scale out a can, if there is not too much filling.
Rust-Oleum Plastic Primer (white)
Based on the words on the can this should be no different than Halford’s grey. However…it goes on too thin, the nozzle clogs often leaving spits and spatters on the model. It may be okay for lawn furniture, but not for models. In the trash it goes…
Valspar Primer (gray)
This one appears to be a bit more aggressive as it’s some sort of lacquer based primer. So I tried putting it on thinly from a distance. Unfortunately it goes on a bit thick, and pebbly. Lot’s of rubbing down just to get it prepped for paint, and in the process a bit of detail (on raised detail kits anyway) is lost. This primer may work well on a kit with deep or wide panel lines, but I’d never use it on a kit with fine recessed panel lines; it would obliterate them. In the trash it goes…
Summary
I decided not to try the sanding filler, thinned with Tamiya X-20A, simply because I prefer rattle can primers. And anyway, it’s not easy to find being not available even at my closest hobby shop (that 5 hour trip). So I’ll save the sanding filler as my er, sanding filler.
My wife, a brilliant woman, suggested I pay the price and use Tamiya gray. Her logic: it’s my gold standard and I can get as many as 6 kits out of it, so why compromise? I’ll not argue with her.
Thanks for looking…
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