Is it really necessary?
I'm getting ready to start building my FM X-wing and was reading up on colors and such. I saw that one person suggested priming the kit in white, but others say they use camofluage gray.
Maybe I'm just misunderstanding something but any guidance would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Priming?
Moderators: DasPhule, Moderators
You prime for two reasons. The first and most important is to put down a unifying coat that sticks to the subject and that will allow further paint coats to stick to it. If your top coats will stick to the subject as well as they do to a primer, you don't need a primer coat as there's no advantage from an adhesion point of view. That assumes you have a near perfect surface to spray onto.
However,
The second reason for priming is to put down a uniform layer of colour to suit the colours that will be applied on top. Some colours are not truly opaque and respond better by having a white undercoat for light colours, or a yellow undercoat for reds or whatever primer colour is recommended for the shade in question.
If your paint is truly opaque, sticks to the model well and will lie equally smoothly over areas that have been filled and the surrounding plastic, you won't have to prime, although a lot still do for the reasons stated above.
There is a third reason for priming in one uniform coat. It helps to see areas of poor finish or small imperfections that would otherwise not be spotted easily by eye while the model remains "patchy".
However,
The second reason for priming is to put down a uniform layer of colour to suit the colours that will be applied on top. Some colours are not truly opaque and respond better by having a white undercoat for light colours, or a yellow undercoat for reds or whatever primer colour is recommended for the shade in question.
If your paint is truly opaque, sticks to the model well and will lie equally smoothly over areas that have been filled and the surrounding plastic, you won't have to prime, although a lot still do for the reasons stated above.
There is a third reason for priming in one uniform coat. It helps to see areas of poor finish or small imperfections that would otherwise not be spotted easily by eye while the model remains "patchy".
