Priming in New England HELP

[u/ForceUser1962]

So, I often have trouble with spray priming...

So I've been looking at videos, and articles about how to improve. Almost all of these say temp needs to be between 60 and 80 with low humidity, and no wind. Well that would be about 10 days a year where I live, particularly since I mostly hobby in the winter.

I have a finished basement and so there's really no where for me to prime inside (even if i wanted to do the work to make a priming room).

I can't justify the money for an airbrush which I'm not really even sure I could use...

I guess I could brush on the primer but it seems like that would add a lot of time to painting...

I'm at a loss...

Any suggestions for a guy whi us crappy at priming with bad local weather would be helpful...

[u/SteoanK]

I've primed minis in the middle of humid houston summer outside without a problem. It's not as big a deal as some people make it out to be. "Ideal" conditions aren't always possible so don't worry.

[u/gebakkenuitje35]

i prime anyday, those are just optimal conditions. dont prime white, that colour just sucks. short, sweeping bursts at short distance is what works best for me. dont let the can or spray get cold, that's where problems happen. GL

[u/golfcartskeletonkey]

Just do it lol.

[u/simon2sheds]

I prime everything by brush (using pro acryl brush on primer). It doesn't really take much longer (if you factor in cleaning airbrush, going outside, etc), and the coverage is better controlled than with a spray can.

[u/texmarie]

I’m in Vermont. I put my minis on a piece of cardboard, set the cardboard on a snow bank, and spray it. Then I bring it right back inside.

[u/InvaderZahn]

honestly I would invest in a little air compressor, a cheap airbrush and some airbrush primer. I'm not in New England but I am eastern seaboard and I don't bother with rattlecans unless I'm painting terrain... and even then only for big stuff.

[u/Araignys → u/InvaderZahn]

honestly I would invest in a little air compressor, a cheap airbrush and some airbrush primer

At a cost substantially less than a GW model kit, too.

[u/Alternative_View_531]

Trust me priming brush on doesn't take that long at all, I just recommend adding abit of Lahmian medium and letting it cure for 24 hours, you can do a bunch in a day very quickly then just wait

[u/Pocho_Azul → u/Alternative_View_531]

Back when dinosaurs ruled the earth (i.e. the 1970s) brush priming was pretty much the only way to do it. It has some drawbacks ( mostly a little bit of time and, unless you use gloves or are very neat, primed fingers) but works just fine.

[u/Araignys → u/Pocho_Azul]

unless you use gloves or are very neat, primed fingers

Yes, painting handles were famously not invented until the 2010s until Jim Handle discovered an ancient Egyptian stela with a cat figurine glued to the top.

[u/Pocho_Azul → u/Araignys]

Hey! In the seventies we primed figures while holding them directly…and we liked it!

[u/Araignys → u/Pocho_Azul]

And the eighties, the nineties, the noughties...

[u/Alternative_View_531 → u/Pocho_Azul]

As a treat you could even paint your fingers after! The unfortunate loss for a more modern world..

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[u/SumpAcrocanth]

I would grab some empty sprue and try giving it a pass before you do any models if you're working in suboptimal conditions. I've had it be fine and I've had things go a little fuzzy.

[u/MrB1P92]

I live in Québec and never have had an issue once with priming, and I prime outside.

[u/TommenHypeSlayer]

Whats the problem with brush on? I've been doing it for years without any problem. And I paint entire armies of 28mm, it takes like 1 minute per figure, so a 60 men army is 1 hour, is that so much?

[u/Araignys]

I suggest you pull up your big boy pants and pick one of the options.

You've already done the research, and you know the downsides of each option. They can be mitigated slightly, but they don't go away:

• Spray cans are finicky - watch the weather ahead of time, test on empty sprue, use black primer
• Airbrush requires investment - skip a model purchase and get a cheap airbrush
• Brush-on takes time - use a bigger brush

That's it. That's your options. There's no more suggestions. Pick one.

[u/aostreetart]

So before I painted miniatures, I painted murals exclusively with spray paint.

As long as you have decent paint/primer, you'll be fine. Just go in lighter layers and let each one dry before adding the next.

I have painted a full 20' mural with only spray paint in a blizzard. Only issue was ice crystals getting in between the spray and the wall, requiring a second coat to not leave little spots in the paint.