Undercoating

As I was undercoating some models today, I once again wondered, how to do it properly...
To me, it is a real pain, for somehow I never manage to get the spray paint all over the minis nice and easily, but it takes me a lot of time and paint to reach all the parts of my minis...
So I just wanted to know if anyone has any advice on how to properly undercoat your miniatures.
Thanks,
Eliazar

Hey Eliazar,

I do a wash-like black undercoat & then dry brush the mini in white. It gives me the effect of a white base for brightnesss, the deep shadowing of a black base coat, & helps pick out the details [tired old eyes ]. I had mixed results with spray primes, but different stroke & all that.

You'll be getting LOTS of suggestions, I'm sure; just pick out what works best for you. Have Fun, that's why we paint minis afterall.

Yeah, I've seen your black and white undercoating and I dare say I'll give it a try soon...

I prefer to brush the undercoat on (except for things like tanks etc in 40k) as I find that the spray is usually more effort than its worth - by the time you go back and brush the undercoat on all the bits the spray missed you may as well just have brushed it in the first place.
But as for the colours used I tend to stick to black for most things, although certain models I will undercoat in either white or grey. Although DeffNalas approach certainly seems like a great idea - one which I will shamelessly steal

if you do it in stages, and sometimes before you assemble the model you shouldn't have a problem.

often, spraying the sprue saves a lot of time and effort, but needs retouching once you clean it up. However, this still reduces the likelihood of something escaping the spray undercoat. If you can't spray it, you can't see it.

next way is to spray the models in one pose from all around, let this dry then tip the model on it's front or back. This will often expose the problem areas, such as underneath the legs and arms, under small ridges etc, which you can now spray again.

remember, light coats multiple times. A light coat dries quicker than a thick coat, so it won't take too much longer.

I too have this problem. I would like to know if you buy, when using spray paints, a specific type of primer, or do you simply use any paint for an undercoat? Help, as I now have a slew of min's to get ready for painting! I want something that works well. I would not be disgruntled if I had to do a brush undercoat, but some advice on how to do that would be nice.

I like sticking to spray, as I started with it. But, if brushing is more economical, and I can keep all the details intact, I would like to know the method/tricks on how to do it properly.

I am simply brushing it on without any secret tricks, and I did not have any problems yet. However, it takes quite some time...

When spraying the undercoat on, you should pay attention to what paint you use. As I could not get my hands on GW primer, I tried some other black acrylic sprays, but they did not work at all (usually, they cluttered all the details).

To start of I'd avoid GW's spray paint for anything other than tanks as it is slightly textured (albeit the paint sticks really really well to it.)
It might make a mess of details if done a wee bit to close, (as the case can be when undercoating a sprue in a spray box) or in to thick a layer (as it can get when used to spraying large surfaces and only undercoating a single mini.)
CRC (makers of spray lubricant) makes a decent and cheap option that doesnt eat away at the plastic and leaves a flat surface, it does on the other hand require a couple of extra layers as it somewhat lacks in the pigment to aerosol ratio.

I've had nothing but good experiences using Montana Gold colours as they have as it seems found that magic pigment to aerosol ratio.
It also gets a major +1 in my book that you can select diffrent nozzles for diffrent jobs (Zombie arms that point in the same direction on the sprue immediatly comes to mind) with a fat nozzle for undercoat and a smaller one for the first highlightable layers (awesome if you are going for a themed force.)
But I recommend trying any spray on an empty sprue first to make sure it doesnt eat it all up.

Oh yeah, and don't get too eager, let it dry for at least half an hour and keep your distance.
It might feel like it takes forever but basecoating a 20 strong box of flagellants in 2-3 hours
with less than 10 minutes spent doing it is worth every penny in the world as that leaves 2h and 50 minutes painting the 20 strong whatevers you did up before that. or perhaps doing the dishes!
(See, now you don't have an excuse for not doing the dishes because you are artistic...) Oh wait...nevermind...use a brush...a really really small brush...hrm

i always get this when brushing the undercoat on:

it seems to be, well dunno how to put this in english.. but to be merging at one point. instead of getting an equal layer.. dunno if it makes sense


it goes like this:

square to be undercoated:

as i want it:
_______
|ooooooo|
|ooooooo|
|ooooooo|
-----------

how it will be at first layer:

_______
| O |
| OOO |
|_ _ O _|

Well, I usually just buy spray paint at my local paint store.

Just make sure it's MATE finish. (paints just don't stick to Glossy finish).

My choice is grey primer, but maybe Nala's method is worth a try.

For best results, I usually place my batch of minis on a newspaper and spray a couple of bursts on them from a side, then turn 1/4 clockwise the newspaper (and all minis) and repeat the spraying.

Do this 2 more times (so you spray front, side, back, other side), and let them dry for about 15 minutes.

Then each mini is laid down face up and a new coat is sprayed from the base side to get to those difficult areas in the underside of the minis.

Wait another 15 minutes or so, turn all minis face down and repeat.

After another 15 minutes, stand all minis and let them completely dry for about an hour.

And that's it.

Do you think you can do all that with brush primer in less time?

Maybe yes, buy I usually do this with 10+ minis at a time, so I guess not. And special modelling liquid primers ARE expensive, and take longer to dry.

But to say the truth, for special models that I REALLY want to paint to the best of my skills, I use liquid, brush applied modeller's primer.

Hope thet helps.

Ah, so I knew there was something I was not getting! Glossy paint would have that problem, and thanks for pointing that out. So, if I get a basic spray paint, with MATTE finish, I should be ok for using it as a Primer? I have tried to find primer's, but without using GW primer, it's hard to come by.

Go to any paint store and ask for spray primer.

Thay always have black, white and grey. Sometimes a "brick" red is also available.

Mate paints will do the work, but primers are called that way for a reason.

Hope that helps.

@Paluke: the problem is either that the paint is not completely mixed (can sometimes be hard to discern when using black paint but shaking it before use is always a good idea) or its to thinned or not thinned enough (depends a bit on make of the paint and the solvents in it, can also vary between diffrent years on Citadel paints)
Worth pointing out is that thinned paints helps the pigments form a bit more of a rough-ish surface (guessing its got something to do with surface tension of filler/solvent) to help subsequent layers of paint stick properly.

cheers monkey shaman! will shake better

An excellent use for sprues when not using them for terrain is to make a stirring stick, you'd be suprised at how many half dried pots of paint you can save when you get the goop down at the bottom up to the surface or if you are the cosmopolitan type who likes foamy milk with your coffee you can use that fancy little 5$ milk whisker thats not revving as much as it used to.