Quick Look / Review: Vallejo Acrylic-Polyurethane Surface Primer

Some time ago I decided to start with Airbrushing and of course together with Airbrushing came selection of colors, primers, top coats, etc. I heard only good things about Vallejo brand, so why not to try Vallejo primer. Lets check my findings xD

So I ordered Vallejo Primer from Amazon.de like always xD. 17 Eur for biggest bottle possible (200 ml), pretty good price for bottle with this size.

When I opened bottle for first time I instantly found very handy closing with pouring system. So you can pour Primer directly from bottle. And that smell, this color smell like some sort of flowers, huge difference when I compare it with another Acrylic colors, like this feature a lot xD

Manual tell us that we need to shake bottle well, I found some articles which say that its good to shake bottle for cca 5min. So, I shaked bottle well and then applied Primer direct to Airbrush. But, like always I found some cons xD

I brushed Vallejo Primer on some parts of my RG Wing Zero with my Iwata NEO CN, but after drying I found some issues. I brushed unthinned primer with 15 psi (heavy coats) and picture above tell us that results was not so good.

MY OPTIMAL SETTINGS

After some attempts I found optimal setting. Primer is dilutable with water and optimal ratio which works for me is cca 2:8 (water : thinner), try to found consistency like milk. Another important think is turn your psi on compressor up to 25 PSI. This two thinks helps me a lot and I airbrushing from distance cca 10-15 cm. Results was superb, I was finally very happy. Just be sure to let paint dry, I prefered 24 Hod. I always applyied light coats.

Picture upper show us parts after Brushing with Vallejo Polyurethane Surface Primer. Now lets talk about some specifications of Vallejo Primer.

1. Water based a.k.a. can be thinned with water (dont over-thin)
2. Low toxicity and very nice smell xD
3. Adheres to plastic very well
4. Self-leveling power, it lays down pretty well.

WHY USE PRIMER ?

1. Primer adheres to naked plastic pretty well and prepare surface for another paint coats, which can be applyied much easier.
2. Primer reduces color tone of plastic, so its good to apply primer when we want to have lighter tone of color like we have plastic before.
3. We use less base color, so we can spare amounts of our valuable colors.
4. The paint will not scratch easily, primer help improve resistance.
5. Primer show us mistakes like seam lines, sanding mistakes etc...

After I figured out how to properly applyied Vallejo Surface Primer I must say that Iam pretty happy with the results. I will continue with using of this awersome primer. Hope this article help you guys xD

How to prevent clogs ? After I posted this article on Facebook, some people sad that its good to spray this primer with only a small amount of color in Airbrush cup. I tried that, It was a little better. Another good thing its not to spray too much, small amounts are much better.

Sanding this primer is not so good, because of rubber-type consistency.