Armory Black Primer?

So, I just picked up a can of an undercoat I'd never used before. I needed a can of black (for my goblin hordes) but the local gaming store was out of the normal GW stuff I usually get. They did however have a can of "Armory Black Primer" available, and it was about 1/2 the cost of the GW stuff. I figured I'd give it a shot, as it was such a good price. If I didn't like it I could still use it for terrain and such, after all.

I got home and grabbed a few fanatics to prime, went outside and proceeded to do just that. As I was spraying it on it looked fine, until I brought the fanatics back into the house. The fanatics were evenly primed, the color was fine, but they were really grainy. It almost looks like some sort of fuzzy moss is growing on them when you look really closely. I was annoyed, but I figured I could still paint over it. I've been painting for about an hour now, and I must say I'm quite annoyed with the basecoat. It requires a ton of paint to produce a smooth-ish coat, and it STILL looks grainy. It's most noticeable when painting metal, it's kind of hard to describe how it looks...but it certainly doesn't look good. Not a huge deal on my 3 fanatic models, because they're old and not impressively sculpted, so I don't mind a so-so job on them.

Has anyone else ever used this stuff? I'm a bit befuddled because my friend uses the Armory White Primer and his stuff looks fine. I've never had problems with using the GW spray, so I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Any ideas or tips from people who have used this before?

I'm quite glad I didn't skip the test models and proceed to spray my entire army.

You are not alone.

I've had similar experiences with "primer" paints. I've tried semi flat and had favorable results. However, I tried something new for my Undead warband. Don't laugh, but I used Testor's Medium Grey Undercoat and it takes light and dark colors equally well.

I must say GW has some of the best Spray paint for their models =P I hate the grainy 8 buck stuff.

I once had the exact same experience... with GW primer bought from my local GW store. Maybe it was the white primer (which no one should buy anyways).

yes, this has happend to me to, im not sure, but i think it have somthing to with if you get to much paint to the same area. Try to only give it one coat and finish up with a brush

To achieve a matte finish with acrylic & other water based paints talc is added to the mix. The grainy effect with a spray usually means either it hasn't been shaken long enough for a good "mix" or it's an old can of spray paint. With bottle paint the talc will tend to form lumps as the paint gets old.

I don't usually use spray paints, although I have on occasion tried a few. G.W's stuff is more expensive than comparable products since they don' actually make it themselves. I did use their [G.W.] spray black on a vacu-form terrain board; very nice result. When it ran out I resorted to a Krylon black prime with exactly the same result at 1/2 the price. BTW Armory is a distributor of hobby products, & they, like G.W., do not make the products with their logo on them.

CAVEAT: I LOVE [most} Citadel minis, & I HATE G.W., mostly due to their total lack of business ethics; ergo, take any comments about G.W. cum grano salo .

@Nala- I don't think it's a matter of not being shaken long enough. I'm kind of obsessive about shaking it a TON before I start. I usually wander about the house for 4-5 minutes rattling the can around violently until the lady yells at me to stop trying to purposefully drive her crazy.

I'm not sure how old it is, either. I honestly much prefer the look of basecoating by hand, but with so many models that need to be painted it's just not an economical option (in either time or money for lots of Chaos Black paint).

@UnderBheit- Testor's Grey...huh, never seen a model basecoated like that before. Interesting thought, and by the looks of your warband it certainly turned out well enough!

@Skavenslayer- I'm pretty sure it's not incorrect layering, as I've been priming gobbos for the past couple of days with my GW spray (prior to running out) and haven't had any problems with putting down too much paint. I think I just got a lemon!

Oh well...still good for terrain!

Nala the GW management staff officialy stated they recognized that and the epic fail that has become WD magazine and have said they are beggining to change it.

-GW open day, UK HQ

mrbretonnia wrote:

Nala the GW management staff officialy stated they recognized that and the epic fail that has become WD magazine and have said they are beggining to change it.

-GW open day, UK HQ

That is cool, Mr. B.. I think I tend to hold G.W. to a higher standard because their potential to be a very positive influence on the brotherhood of war-gamers is so much greater than anyone else. It would be truly wonderful to see them live up to that potential. In the meantime, they Do still make some nice minis.

Snyder_7 wrote:

I don't think it's a matter of not being shaken long enough. I'm kind of obsessive about shaking it a TON before I start. I usually wander about the house for 4-5 minutes rattling the can around violently until the lady yells at me to stop trying to purposefully drive her crazy.

It's funny because it's true. I too, catch my lady questioning my sanity as I parade around the house with my tooth rattle.

Back to your primer problem. Was it particularly warm or cold on the day of the "grainy paint"? My experience with the grainy effect has been similar, some do, some don't, even though it's the same paint I always used. The only variable I can think of is the weather. I have had good luck with Krylon's SEMI FLAT Black.

Quote :

Oh well...still good for terrain!

There's that silver lining.

tbh I don't use GW primers. I bought a can from my local Ironmonger and I must say I'm really happy with it. Cans from ironmongers tend to spend years on shelves never to be used so make sure to give the can a good shake before you spray over your models.

Cheers
Hellfoot

UnderBheit wrote:

It's funny because it's true. I too, catch my lady questioning my sanity as I parade around the house with my tooth rattle.

Back to your primer problem. Was it particularly warm or cold on the day of the "grainy paint"? My experience with the grainy effect has been similar, some do, some don't, even though it's the same paint I always used. The only variable I can think of is the weather. I have had good luck with Krylon's SEMI FLAT Black.

Glad to see I'm not the only one getting yelled at for excessive paint rattling!

The weather on the day I sprayed was actually pretty nice. It was about 70, mild breeze, mild humidity. I've gotten better results from the GW stuff on days that were much hotter/more humid though. Looks like the verdict is I just got a lemon of a can.

Maybe I'll take it into the chemistry department and hook it up to the "shaker;" which is unsurprisingly a big machine that shakes things. I could leave it on there for a day or two, seeing as how a buddy of mine had to leave a solution on it for 6 days to get it to start the reaction he wanted...

I think I'm going to have to pick up a couple different types of sprays tonight and give them a try. I pay enough for my figures to fund an invasive surgery as it is, GW doesn't need any more of my money for primer.

Hellfoot wrote:

I bought a can from my local Ironmonger and I must say I'm really happy with it.

At the risk of sounding ignorant, what in the world is Ironmonger? It gives me the mental image that you're going down the street to purchase spray paint from a burly man clad in platemail.

hmm tools shop, materials shop, handyman's shop etc lol dunno whatcha call it where you live

Had similar experience with Vallejo Black primer. I first thought the grainy surface came from me holding the can too close (VERY unlikely though, as I am rather experienced in "priming").

Also the can had a terrible spread. The jet was not focused so the spray went everywhere except onto the model.

The best spray i have found so far is by an italian brand called "IDEA". This stuff doesn't even "eat up" polystyrene Truly amazing. Price is the same as GW though.

Snyder_7 wrote:

I usually wander about the house for 4-5 minutes rattling the can around violently until the lady yells at me to stop trying to purposefully drive her crazy.

LOOOOL!!! So very true

Snyder_7 wrote:

Maybe I'll take it into the chemistry department and hook it up to the "shaker;"

"Where's the flask with the bacteria?"
"On the shaker. Next to that... can"

i have had the grainy texture on several occasions, and it is due to either a dirty nozzle, extreme temperature changes, or not shaking enough. The main culprit was keeping the stuff inside a warm shop and taking them outside in the winter to spray. The drastic temperature change ruined the base coat.