Mr Surfacer

[Blappy]

Thanks, Blap. But presumably the 500 is better for filling gross flaws? So you brush 500 and spray 1000 and higher? The finer grain sounds great, but aren't most modelers going to sand it anyway down to at least 400 or 600 grit?

Yes. Brush 500 and Spray the rest.

I might polish the primer with 3200 or 3600 micromesh but nothing more. Once the primer is on regular sandpaper comes no where near the model unless I have to fix a major flaw.

What Robb said about 500 filling fine details you want to keep it true too.

[Lt. Z0mBe]

Thanks Kenny,
Great info. Have you used the Dupont primer surfacer and found out that it performs the same? Is it more like the 1000 stuff or the 500 stuff? 1000 seems thinner.

The only difference I can see is the DuPont doesn't seem to dry as quickly when you apply with a brush.

Kenny

[Salamander]

For those that brush on Mr. Surfacer, what do you use to clean the brushes with?

[Kylwell]

Lacquer thinner.

[Blappy]

There is a great page here all about the various surfacers. You can also buy them here.

http://www.uschivdr.com/shop-colors-pig ... ar-primer/

Also look around the page for some great finishing materials and other amazing modeling items.

[TurkeyVolumeGuessingMan]

Last night I took a spare bottle and thinned some Mr. Surfacer 1200 with Mr. Leveling Thinner and primed two Yamato Mecha Collection kits I was working on. It's fantastic! I've recently started moving away from using rattle can surfacers, using Gaia Notes' black and silver primers fairly recently (good luck finding GN's stuff outside of Asia, though). Rattle cans are expensive, wasteful, and where I live, everyone is required to empty spray cans and then puncture them with a special tool. I have the tool, but I'm too chicken/lazy to do this, so consequently I have quite a collection of used rattle cans building up under my kitchen sink. (I think a lot of people just toss their cans out as-is, though.) I think I am going to just start using my airbrush to prime stuff from now on, and only use the rattle can stuff for quick jobs when I need to just prime a part or two.

[TurkeyVolumeGuessingMan]

I recently thinned Mr. Base White 1000 with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner and used it as a primer on a Yamato Mecha Collection kit. I could shoot it through my airbrush easily enough, but it didn't seem to whiten up the darker plastics well enough. Maybe I over-thinned it. Has anyone tried this before? GSI Creos also has a "Mr White Surfacer 1000" in a can. Is it the same as Base White 1000? I still don't know what the difference between these two products are.

[Kylwell]

You might have over thinned it but just lay on a second coat.

[Blappy]

I recently thinned Mr. Base White 1000 with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner and used it as a primer on a Yamato Mecha Collection kit. I could shoot it through my airbrush easily enough, but it didn't seem to whiten up the darker plastics well enough. Maybe I over-thinned it. Has anyone tried this before? GSI Creos also has a "Mr White Surfacer 1000" in a can. Is it the same as Base White 1000? I still don't know what the difference between these two products are.

As Robb said. Definitely because its so thin. That's a good consistency for spraying though so keep it that way. I generally add two or three coats of white. Or do a coat of grey Mr.Surfacer first then then white.

[TurkeyVolumeGuessingMan]

As Robb said. Definitely because its so thin. That's a good consistency for spraying though so keep it that way.

Weird. So I suppose it is somehow different from a regular primer if I can't get as good of coverage in one application.

On GSI Creos's Mr. Hobby website, it lists both Mr. White Surfacer 1000 as well as Mr. Base White 1000. Reading the product descriptions seems mostly the same, although Mr. White Surfacer seems more adept at diminishing blemishes and such. I have a can of Mr. White Surfacer 1000, but it does not come in a jar like Base White does. White Surfacer really makes a surface white, while it seems that Base White is made to lighten the darker colored plastic. Hmm...

Tamiya has a white surfacer available in a jar, and so does Gaia Notes (although that is probably difficult to obtain outside of Japan/Asia, I imagine). I am looking to move away from using rattle cans except when I just have a quick job to do and don't want to hassle with my airbrush.

[Blappy]

On GSI Creos's Mr. Hobby website, it lists both Mr. White Surfacer 1000 as well as Mr. Base White 1000. Reading the product descriptions seems mostly the same, although Mr. White Surfacer seems more adept at diminishing blemishes and such. I have a can of Mr. White Surfacer 1000, but it does not come in a jar like Base White does. White Surfacer really makes a surface white, while it seems that Base White is made to lighten the darker colored plastic. Hmm...

Tamiya has a white surfacer available in a jar, and so does Gaia Notes (although that is probably difficult to obtain outside of Japan/Asia, I imagine. I am looking to move away from using rattle cans except when I just have a quick job to do and don't want to hassle with my airbrush.

Fascinating. I did not know Gunze had two different white surfacers. I only have the Base White. I will need to find the other.

As for Gaia Notes.... I have never heard of it. It looks pretty amazing! I'll have to find a source in NA. or maybe have someone get me some and ship it inside a kit box.

Same goes for Tamiya White... Never heard of it. I will need to try it too. Is it an acrylic or lacquer?

[Kylwell]

IIRC the Tamiya is lacquer based.

[TurkeyVolumeGuessingMan]

Fascinating. I did not know Gunze had two different white surfacers. I only have the Base White. I will need to find the other.

Unfortunately, Mr. White Surfacer 1000 only comes in a spray can. Tamiya also has a white primer in a spray can, and it comes in "Fine." The reason I bought Mr. Base White originally was because I saw some stuff on the Net that recommended using it to paint on as a primer for figures and such.

As for Gaia Notes.... I have never heard of it. It looks pretty amazing! I'll have to find a source in NA. or maybe have someone get me some and ship it inside a kit box.

Once, when I lived in the US, my J-Mom had smuggled in a set of 6 Gundam Color paints in a box packed full of lots of foodstuffs. Customs did not catch it. We didn't know it was prohibited. However, nowadays if they do catch something like that, they will likely return it to the sender.

I understand that Gaia Notes paints are completely compatible with Mr. Color lacquers, so they can be mixed. So Mr. Color has the Gundam and Yamato paints (among others), while Gaia Notes has paints for Virtual On and Votoms kits.

I have Gaia Notes' black and silver primers. I used the silver primer on my 1:1000 Enterprise Refit and a T-4 Blue Impulse jet, and I used the black primer on the SR-71 I finished a couple of months ago. These primers are great, but they STINK! Not like Tamiya or Mr. Color lacquers, but a rather particular odor. My mask protected me for the most part, but I could still catch a whiff every now and then.

EDIT: Tamiya primer is lacquer. IMHO, every lacquer ought to be lacquer. It is durable and strong. I cannot imagine the advantage to ever using an acrylic primer, much less an enamel primer.

[Blappy]

Thanks for the info!

[jpolacchi]

Is this out of a bottle or in a rattle can?I'm not sure if that maters?Treat the primer like sand paper.The 500 grade is gonna be heavy on the filler(I think?).If I am wrong someone please say so.The higher you go,1200,1500 whatever it has the finer/smoother surface layout and much less heavier fillers that you might see in a 500 Mr. Surfacer. At least that is what I can understand from it.So,if you use 500(I didn't know there was such a primer grade in the line),after it cures sand.SAND,sand,sand it down.I wouldn't use that one on detailed areas,(only flat undetailed parts/areas ) it will coat them(it seems) to the point that you will have "NO DETAIL",so don't use the 500 Mr. Surfacer unless (I Think) if you REALLY NEED IT.

[Blappy]

Is this out of a bottle or in a rattle can?I'm not sure if that maters?Treat the primer like sand paper.The 500 grade is gonna be heavy on the filler(I think?).If I am wrong someone please say so.The higher you go,1200,1500 whatever it has the finer/smoother surface layout and much less heavier fillers that you might see in a 500 Mr. Surfacer. At least that is what I can understand from it.So,if you use 500(I didn't know there was such a primer grade in the line),after it cures sand.SAND,sand,sand it down.I wouldn't use that one on detailed areas,(only flat undetailed parts/areas ) it will coat them(it seems) to the point that you will have "NO DETAIL",so don't use the 500 Mr. Surfacer unless (I Think) if you REALLY NEED IT.

This is basically it. I never spray 500. I use it to fill finer lines in places like wing roots on aircraft or to fill scribed lines.