Yes, yes you do. It’s not a discussion. No, spray paint is not doing the same job. You need to prime your models. Yes, there are nuances, but they are small and few. Ok, fine, I’ll explain.
There is a video making the rounds, claiming that “we never really needed PRIMER on our models” (their emphasis). This caught my attention because of how confidently incorrect it was. Incredulous, I wondered if perhaps they had some sort of surprise alternative from outside of the gaming hobby. Some kind of liquid bath you could give your models that would make paint adhere better. “Surely they can’t simply mean what the titles says,” I thought. I could hear the iron jaws of this trap crashing shut behind me as I clicked the proverbial bait. Oh well, at least I have some company with the other 57K people who watched this thing. But is a title clickbait if the author believes it? Existential questions aside, let’s dive into the claims, the science, and the importance of Primers in our hobby.
Let’s start with the basics: What is paint, what is primer, and how are they different? Paint is a medium with pigment mixed into it. When you use any kind of medium, be it Speedpaint Medium, Liquitex Acrylic Medium or Lamian Medium, it’s all just paint without color added to it. Mixing pigments is what gives you different colors, and the medium is what gives the paint all its other properties, like how viscous it is, how quickly it dries, how gloss or matte the finish is, etc. Primer can feel indistinguishable from paint sometimes because it behaves so similarly, but it actually has a completely different function. Primer is meant to seal porous surfaces, bond to surfaces that might reject paint, and form a layer that readily accepts paint. They are usually purpose built for specific surfaces, such as wood, metal, plastic, drywall etc. Wherever there is paint, you will usually find primer. It’s likely under the paint on the walls of your house, both inside and out, on the engine of your car and the body as well, and innumerable do-dads all over the world.
Primer is non-negotiable just about everywhere, except miniature painting, apparently. So where does this notion come from that we don’t need it? The video referenced above claims that GW never used the word “primer” in any of their painting guides, only “undercoat,” until they started selling the stuff. Even then, the sprays don’t actually say primer on them, and this is true. So, is there a meaningful difference between primer and undercoat? Yes, there is. Primer gives you a surface that isn’t easily removed and takes paint well. Strictly speaking, an undercoat it just a base layer of paint meant to set the color tone for the rest of the paint. A true undercoat does not have the properties of primer. HOWEVER, you will always find people using the terms interchangeably, and that includes Games Workshop. GW has used the terms “undercoat” and “basecoat” to the total exclusion of the word “primer.” However, you can still find videos of Duncan on the Warhammer website using the terms interchangeably, and when you search “Primer” in the store the spray cans are the first hit.
But let’s take GW entirely out of the equation and just give a person some minis to paint. What would happen if we don’t prime them? Most of you know the answer to this: metal minis will chip and flake almost immediately, plastic minis will have their paint rub off, and resin minis might not take paint at all. Just look at the pics above and below, painted by my sons, who paint faster than I can prime minis for them. Notice the paint flaking off the resin printed clone, the plastic showing on the boots and lip of the orc, and the metal on Griff Oberwald’s, uh, everything. The solution is to prime the minis with a primer made for that material. Some primers can be used on multiple surfaces, such as my Tamiya Fine Surface Primer. Some primers are made for a single material, and here is a special note regarding GW sprays: on the side of my can of Chaos Black is specifically states “for use on plastic models only.” Take that as you will.
Do you prime your minis? I didn’t mention varnish, but that is perhaps it’s own subject. What is your favorite primer brand? Sound off in the comments!
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