Is flat black paint useable as a primer?

[tigeraid]

It just occured to me, as I start an s-10 with a black paint job, that I've never seen black primer in a hobby shop--can normal testors flat black be used as a primer for gloss black tamiya or dupli-color?

[MPWR]

Why? A black primer is not going to make your black paint any darker. Grey primer is easier to work with.

Normal Testors what and Tamiya gloss black what? I wouldn't use enamel as a primer for anything, and I especially wouldn't ever spray laquers over it. You could use black acrylic under black acrylic (still not sure why), but for laquers stick with a laquer primer....

[tigeraid]

ah, I had forgotten Testors was enamel, I guess that answers the question regardless.

[bhop73]

"I wouldn't use enamel as a primer for anything"

Testors/Model Master/Floquil are all enamel primer straight from the can, and i've never had a single problem with any of them... *shrug*

If you really want to use black primer. Floquil (which is supposed to be for model railroad) makes some. I use it myself when I build my Gundam models since I shade them and sand the edges to make it weathered, it saves a step of adding a dark color to shade on. You can also get black primer from Games Workshop stores, which is made for those metal mini figures for table-top games. One advantage of this one is that it comes in a big Krylon sized can and doesn't cost much more than the tiny hobby shop cans, so it's more cost effective.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXXA23&P=0

[tigeraid]

cool... I was just concerned, because this is molded in bright blue styrene, and I wanted to make sure coverage was perfect... I still don't think I'll use Tamiya over enamel though...

[Scale-Master]

Floquil is lacquer. Usually primers are sandable, often talc is used in the formula to make it sandable. There are black primers as well as white, gray and red oxide being the most common colors. If you don't need to sand, almost any compatible paint can be used as a base... - Mark

[bhop73]

Originally Posted by Scale-Master

Floquil is lacquer.

Hmm.. my can says 'Spray Enamel' on the label. Is there a lacquer version I can buy?

[nugundam93]

hmmm...the floquil seems like a better choice then.

*looks at the bottles of tamiya x-1 on hand*

[Scale-Master]

All my Floquil is lacquer, but it's pretty old too. The newest bottle I have must be well over 10 or 15 years old. Never saw Floquil spray before, must some newfangled stuff... - Mark