How to airbrush Badger stynylez primer for scale models

How to spray Badger primer for scale modeling.

[@RimsModels]

hi just found your channel thanks for sharing this video

[@danielhosier8696]

Nice video, I guess I will revisit the white primer as it gave me such trouble. I am using the exact same gun but it required me to cut the white by 30% to spray half ok. The grey is perfect and black is pretty close White just gives me trouble, I can spray white craft paint with much more ease. Maybe I have a bad bottle of white.

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Daniel, totally agree with you on the grey primer. It is the best one, it sprays with no problems anytime I use it. Same with the black. The white primer is a mixed beast. You really have to mist it on and you have to make sure that the bottle is shaken to an inch of it's life. First bottle of white primer I used, I also thought I had a bad bottle.

[@natalebabbo-gunplaanddioramas]

Nice tutorial and priming a model is really necessary. Unfortunately Badgers paints and primers are not easy to find here in Italy. Luckily I think we have quite a few alternatives. Vallejo, Ammo by Mig or AK primers are my usual go to.

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Did you know that Ammo by Mig primers are Badger primers rebranded? Hopefully that helps!

[@natalebabbo-gunplaanddioramas]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196, no, I did not know that! Very useful to know. Small world 😆 Thanks again for all the good tips. I’m watching all your videos and finding a good amount of interesting and inspirational stuff. Unfortunately, yesterday I was not able to paint as I planned, but hopefully today will be day to test your Vallejo airbrush “thinning sauce”! Cheers.

[@viper341]

I use stynylrez, very good product, one of my favorite parts and one of the most important things about stynylrez to me is that it is 100% sandable, where as primer like Vallejo's is not.

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Agreed! Badger has become my main primer. I also discovered that if you use my thinning formula with badger primer, it clogs up less and goes down with a satin like finish. Try it out and see what you think. Plus I can still sand the primer 30 mins later and it feathers out beautifully!

[@AngusBeef0]

I'm going to give your 50/50 Simple Green/Water cleaning solution a try. Might toss in some flow improver.

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Beef, the cleaning solution works best as soon as you are done airbrushing the stynylrez. Or you can let it sit for a bit and then clean out the airbrush. Something I just learned, add in about 30-40% of the thinner mixture formula I created and the stynylrez airbrushes better and leaves an even better smooth finish.

[@mobileandhostile7895]

⭐️ great review of my favourite primer…..but why why WHY do paint companies constantly reinvent the wheel in regard to bottles ?! The bottle and dropper design is HORRIBLE to the point of infuriating - the plastic is too hard to squeeze easily so when you inevitably crush the bottle then it dumps way more than you need ! Paint is 10/10 - bottle/dropper design 3/10 ⭐️ thanks for taking the time to make this 😎👍

[@CFster]

Thanks for this video. What do you use to clean the primed surface after handling it before the base coat? I had to sand some spots I had primed with Gloss Black with the intention of re-priming. I tried wiping it down with ISA to get my fingerprint oils off and it started taking the Stynylrez off!

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Hey Colin, not exactly sure what you mean. After I prime the kit, I will do sanding with fine grits (3000 to 8000) to get a nice polished surface for the paint. Your finger prints shouldn't stick to the primer, unless you haven't let the primer dry or you added in something to slow the drying time. Once the primer is dry and cured, you don't worry have to leaving finger prints.

[@CFster]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196 not so much finger prints, it’s finger print oils - just from handling the model.

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

@@CFster ahh ok. Just give it a few minutes and you should be able to wipe away with a moisture paper towel or lightly sand using 3000 grit sanding paper. But most of the try, the finger print oils should disappear after a short while.

[@medicman71]

I love their primers. What have you used to clean the airbrush afterwards? I’ve had trouble with getting the airbrush clean after using the Badger primers.

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Hi Medic, I use a homemade cleaner. It is 70% distilled water, 25% 91 ISO alcohol, and 5% liquitex flow improver. This works really if you clean the airbrush right after. The Vallejo airbrush cleaner is kind of the same as the homemade cleaner but much cheaper. However, if the badger primer has been sitting around in the airbrush then you have to use lacquer thinner.

[@norbertknockaert4589]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196 OK, so you are using above mentioned homemade "MIX" as a thinner AND as a cleaner? Can you clarify a bit on this as this sounds really interesting... Only one bottle on my desk instead of 2......

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

​@@norbertknockaert4589 oops I misspoke. I do not use the cleaner mixture as a thinner. I only uses the cleaner mixture "70% distilled water, 25% 91 ISO alcohol, and 5% liquitex flow improver" to clean acrylic paint as soon as I am done airbrushing or brush painting. But since this video, I have started using a new cleaner formula another modeler recommended. I use "Simple Green" cleaner mixed 50/50 with water. I have found it works very well!

[@CFster]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196 Simple Green regular or concentrate? Thanks.

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

@@CFster The concentrate.

[@benjimlem1284]

I dunno if I got bad batches of this or what, but I got nothing but issues with badger primer (well, mig one-shot, but its basically rebranded badger). Brown oxide dried my AB shut after about 3 minutes, and had some weird, sticky stuff in it that made literally everything else sticky (AB, gloves, model...). Tried twice, gave up. Desert flesh was better, but also dried shut after about 7 or so minutes, plus the coverage was baaad. Black is so far the best of the bunch buuut it still clogs wayy too fast and is so hard to clean... I really hope I can get pledge equivalent in my country to try your trick with vallejo primer+pledge thing, cause I'm THIS close to just tossing all my badgers into the waste bin >_>

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Benji, sorry to hear the problems you are having with badger primer (ammo one shot). I am going to list some trouble shooting steps that might help you. 1) Really shake the bottles. If you can, use a vortex to mix everything. In any paint or primer, the pigment and the binder tend to separate out. I have found that shaking by hand is not good enough as people under estimate the time of shaking and the shaking force is not consistent. 2) What needle size and pressure are you using? I know Ammo says a .3mm needle and 25psi is good....but really it should be .5mm and at the very least 30psi. 3) As far as clogging, badger/ammo primers will clog especially if it is hot. Add in some "Vallejo Flow improver" just a few drops and that should help. Or a few drops of future and that will help as well. Make sure your airbrush is thoroughly cleaned before using, as that can be a source of clogging as well. 4) For cleaning, I use 2 different things to clean out badger primer from my airbrush. The first is "Vallejo Airbrush cleaner"...this stuff works really well but it is expensive. So another cleaner I use is called "Simply Green" cleaner. It is very cheap and I can get it easily from my local store. I pour some into my cup and using an old paint brush, I mix it around and clean. But make sure to dump it out and not airbrush it out. Do this one or two times, then airbrush it out. Let me know if this helps!

[@benjimlem1284]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196 thanks for the tips :3 let's see 1) I added 3 of those metal mixing balls and really shook the bottles, guess I could try mixing with one of those cheap coffee froffers, but would that even help with the tip dry? 2) 0.4mm needle with 24-28ish PSI, so I don't think that's the issue here... sadly sparmax doesn't make bigger nozzles/needles for my particular AB 3) it is pretty warm here, around 25-30ish degrees. What I think Ill try next tipe is dropping few drops of flow improver and spraying it before pouring in the primer so the airbrush is 'primed' inside with something that is NOT primer itself (lol). Ill make sure to slap some oil on the needle, too. Maybe that will prevent so much stickage... Guess adding a drop of flow improver and/or retarder to the primer itself wont hurt either... 4) for cleanup I usually go - dump excess paint, pour in some water, swish it around, pour it out, pour fresh water, spray some of it (so the paint doesnt dry in the nozzle), pour it out, keep rinsing cup until clean, spray until clean, then add some cleaner until clean. I use vallejo cleaner for most stuff and harsher, local stuff for more stubborn stuff. Don't really oil my AB every time I clean the needle, but I do that before and after priming.

[@davepasopton8840]

Hi, Good info thanks. But what is your view on air pressure gauge setting? 30 psi blowing or Not blowing? Mine drops quite significantly when the trigger is pressed,🤔

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Dave, for air pressure....I recommend minimum 25 blowing if you use it straight from the bottle. But if mix it with my thinning formula (see my updated video on the formula), you can airbrush at 18-20psi blowing and get a very nice finish.

[@davepasopton8840]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196 Thanks, that's very useful.

[@Android-rz8mb]

Can you use a flow aid with this primer ? I sprayed it for the first time in the surface was a little gritty

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Hi Android, what PSI and Needle size are you using to spray Badger Primer? I recommend you thin the Badger primer with my Thinner Mixture formula (see my other videos) at 70/30 (70% primer/30% thinner mixture) at about 25-30 psi. It should go on smooth and almost leaves a slight satin like finish. Hope this helps!

[@Android-rz8mb]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196 Thanks for responding I’m spraying at 20 psi -25 psi and I’m using your mixture 2 parts thinner -1 part flow improver …. I still get tipped dry and dries with a slight gritty texture

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

@@Android-rz8mb Hey sorry for the belated reply! I didn't see your reply back to me. I hope you are able to see my response. So 2 parts to 1 part flow improver....is not my formula. So that might be your first issue. My thinner formula is 2 parts combined. The first part is liquid, which consists of 70% flow improve to 30% thinner. Then you take the liquid portion and add in 10 percent retarder (the goo stuff). You can see on my channel my video on how to make the mixture formula. Hopefully this helps!

[@dundasjunctionmodelr.r-jam8267]

Ok question, can this primer be thinned , I don’t have a 5 mm needle , I have a 3 mm needle at the moment, I want to get a 5 mm needle , great video

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Hi, sorry for my belated reply. Just saw your message. Yes, the primer can be thinned. So I have a newer video on my channel titled "how to get the best of acrylic primers". I thin the primer using my mixture formula. I often need to prime small areas or very confined areas where I can't blast primer on. So I thin the primer and airbrush the parts. Keep in mind depending on your airbrush (different airbrushes have different air flow) thin it 70/30 or 60/40 primer to thinner mixture. Use lower PSI like 20 and go slow. You will also need to give it more time to dry. But after an hour or so it will be smooth and sand-able.

[@dundasjunctionmodelr.r-jam8267]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196 thanks, i am using a Grex air brush, i will check out your other video

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

@@dundasjunctionmodelr.r-jam8267 which grex airbrush do you have? I use the TG pistol grip and that thing blows so much air and paint, even with a .3mm needle set up I have no problem priming.

[@dundasjunctionmodelr.r-jam8267]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196 I have the pistol grip with the side mount , going to test it out , thanks