is primer that important?

[hks_kansei]

OK, today i had a look in the local shop to see what paints i have to choose from.

i'll most likely use Tamiya paint in the spraycan, i saw the colour i was looking for (orange) but then i looked and noticed, there was no primer available, of any kind.

no white, no grey, nothing.

so now i must ask the pro's, do i really need primer?

the part is black plastic (fujimi)
i intended to paint it with a two tone job (grey or black bottom, orange top)

the only other alternative is to use Duplicolour (the same colour, but primer is avialable), but i'd prefer steer clear of that, as i dont want to risk melting the plastic, and it is more expensive than the Tamiya paint.

[kicth]

Bear with me, I am not a pro, but I do know that primer is really important and it is a must as I have learnt the lesson.

When I built my very first car 3 months ago as a 100% beginner, without doing any research on car modelling, I have painted my acura without any primer. It was cool and nice when it was done, although I still got some fisheyes at a couple spot, but I was managed to fixed that. However, the paint started to "disappeared" after a few days and I can see the white body underneath it. End up, I have stripped the paint and restart all over again.

The paint doesnt stick to the body without primer. Plus, without primer, the color that you painted will not be the real color as you expected it to be. For example, if you painted a black body with Metallic blue, without primer, the Metallic Blue will look kinda dull.

The only time that you dont need primer that I can think of is when you use white on white.

Hope it helps.
Pro, pls correct me if I am wrong.

[sjelic]

Orange on black must have primer underneath but like many times before this was explained, primer is not only for better look of colour but also to prevent the paint from pealing of the body once it is cured (so like I wrote before in one thread primer is there to give the paint something to hang on). So take any kind of acrylic primer for Tamiya acrylic (just don't take that dupli colour transparent) if it is gray primer you should put a coat of white paint before orange to have a nice looking orange.
There is a catch of course Tamiya paints on Tamiya bodies work well even without primer but if the body is molded in dark colour and you want to apply the light colour you will still need a primer.
But this is all in FAQ and I will get flamed because writeing it down again

[hks_kansei]

ok, so i'll have to go searching around for primer. thanks.

[nis.k.a.]

In short.....yes, primer is that important.

[cj_baller13]

to find out how primer is important i got a scrap model, primed half of it and then not the other, i layed down the paint job on it and it really does look better with the primer

[hks_kansei]

ok, i need primer.

how about clear coating?


(as you can probably tell, i have never painted a model before, without a brush)

i'm trying to do this on a budget as i dont relly have much to spend.


if i did as i originally planned it would be:
$35 kit + $8 primer + $8 paint + $8 clear + $20 rims + $5 glue = $84 model

that's too much for me, so i'll probably have:
$35 kit + $8 primer + $8 paint + $5 (scratch built rims) + $0 whatever glue i've got left from my last model = $56 model


BTW: does PVC pipe (like they use for sewerage pipe) melt easily?

[cj_baller13]

i dunno bout the pipe lol. but i say clear coating is a must if you want a shiny finish

[hks_kansei]

ok, i asked about the pipe because i was going to use that to make the rims.

make a mould/mold, melt the pipe, and fill mold/mould

mainly because
1: it's cheap and
2: i've got scraps of it everywhere anyway

[Sticky Fingers]

I say don't rush it. If you ain't got enough money just now then wait until you have. If you take the cheap 'n easy options you run the risk of creating a cheap looking machine.

Plus, the spray can of primer & clearcoat will do for many models - not just the one you intend working on at the moment. It may seem a lot to begin with but it's worth it when your results start looking better.

[cj_baller13]

do you have any pictures on your scratch building rims, i for one would like to see it

[Sticky Fingers]

Originally Posted by cj_baller13

do you have any pictures on your scratch building rims, i for one would like to see it

Who are you directing that question to? If it's me then, no, I can't let you see them. Why? Cos, I've never scratchbuilt rims!

[mike@af]

Primer yes. To keep it short, cheap and rushed will look just that.

[Lurchio]

Don't need clear coat for a shiny finish - just good application and some polishing!

[tardster]

I would like to see how you scratch build rims with pipe aswell, so some pics would be nice.