#Priming & humidity

13 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

unique bay
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Hello, I'm a starter at painting miniatures, only having done 2 pre-primed mini's before. Now I have some resin mini's (Bretonnia) that need to be primed, so I have bought an Army Painter priming spray can (grey).
Priming is supposedly something one shouldn't do in high humidity and high temps (currently 8 degrees Cels, 46 Fahr, 98% humidity), but in the Netherlands average humidity is around 80% (year-round, dec. average of 90%) , with the lowest humidity this week being tomorrow at 84%.
Should I prime tomorrow outside (in the afternoon, humidity approaches 81% but temp will be 5C /47F)?
Or should I prime in the garage, with the door a bit open?
Or should I use paint-on primers?
(I'm first doing 1 test miniature, after which I'll have 3 small and 2 bigger miniatures to paint. Paint on is possible, but considering my lacking painting skills I doubt I could get a nice even coat everywhere)

I keep the spray can and mini's inside, at room temperature, so if I understand correctly, at least the temperature shouldn't have too much impact.

Also, I will use some AJAX All-Purpose Cleaner (green liquid soap) to clean the mini's before priming, by just submerging them in some water with ajax, and then gently rinse them off & let them thoroughly dry. Is this the correct method?

Thanks for any help given!

polar spruce
# unique bay Hello, I'm a starter at painting miniatures, only having done 2 pre-primed mini'...

Hello! I can't help with the humidity limits question. I know brush on and airbrush circumvent this, yes, so they would be an option.
2 things I wanted to share to answer:

  • Brush-on primer: although it is ideal to get an even coat, so long as you don't add "thick spots" to your mini, all that matters is that there be at least a little bit of primer everywhere. The color (and opacity) will come from non-primer paint you use after that. So you can even thin the primer a little bit if you are really worried. As usual, practice helps. 🙂 Feel free to practice on a piece of blister / plastic that you were going to dispose of?
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The other thing is about cleaning: Ajax (i.e. ground cleaning products?) are NOT the usual way to clean minis. You need a type of soap - dish soap (very concentrated, not a problem, just make sure you rinse thoroughly) or bar soap on which you brush a tooth brush before brushing the mini.
I would recommend brushing the mini with the soap instead of soaking it, using an old toothbrush. Then rinsing thoroughly.
If these are plastic / HIPS / metal minis you are washing, they really are going to be resilient to this treatment, no problem. If we are talking about resin, then be gentle with the toothbrush (and AVOID ground cleaning products, they could make the resin porous - it depends on the exact composition of the resin, which can vary a great deal and almost nobody indicates on the product).

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If you had to use some chemicals to strip paint from a resin mini, then it is strongly recommended to test it on a left over sprue part for instance.

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Sorry for the uppercase - I just wanted to highlight the important part of the message. I hope this helps.

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@timber hazel if you would have time, I don't really know the right answers with regards to "how humid" we can afford the weather when priming with a can?

timber hazel
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The answer to virtually all "can I prime outside during X" questions is this, have the minis inside, take a mini outside, prime, bring it inside. Don't dawdle around outside with the mini, just prime it and put it back inside.

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It doesn't matter if it's freezing outside, doesn't matter if it's raining 100% humidity, just fucking prime and bring it back inside and it's not really a problem

polar spruce
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thanks!

unique bay
unique bay
winged magnet
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Can confirm, as long as you wash the mini using dish detergent, let it fully dry, and avoid priming underwater, you are fine to pop outside to prime, then let everything dry inside.

unique bay
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I followed your advice and today finish my first miniature, thought I'd share the results. Again, thanks for the help!