How to get the best performance out of Acrylic Primers!

Link to my thinner mixture formula: • UPDATED: How to airbru...
In this video, I show how you can get the best performance from Acrylic primers by using my Thinner Mixture.

[@manuelnunes8415]

Great video! Going to give this a go tonight!

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

@@manuelnunes8415 glad you like the video! Let me know how it goes.

[@natalebabbo-gunplaanddioramas]

Your mixture is “magic”! I started to use it after seeing your video about it and it greatly improved my airbrushing. No surprises it works with primers too! I do too use Vallejo acrylic primers so this video is excellent. Thank you again for sharing this!

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Glad you like the video. Try it out with your Vallejo Primers and let me know how it goes.

[@natalebabbo-gunplaanddioramas]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196 will do!

[@gordon8753]

Great video!! Very helpful

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Thank you! Glad you liked it.

[@ltakallen]

Your Formula is a “Game Changer”.

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Glad you like and it was helpful to you!

[@John.349]

Nice Job Buddy😁

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Thanks! Glad you liked the video.

[@hangerbird]

Not understanding about where to find the video to your mixture. Out of the 28 videos, that you have listed, which one describes your mixture? As far as I understand, the primer is combined with thinner and something similar to Future?

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Hey, so the formula mixture is in the "Updated: how to airbrush vallejo paints" video. But here is the breakdown of the formula: It is two parts 90% liquid + 10 Retarder. The liquid is made up of 70 flow improver + 30 thinner= 100 liquid. Watch the video and it should make more sense. Let me know if you have any further questions. The other thing you can do is add in "Future" floor wax. But since Future is discontinued and bottles now go for more than the price of gold haha.....so might be better to use my mixture instead.

[@Johnny-tt8zc]

Out of curiosity,what needle are you using. I’m currently starting to use my grex with a .5 needle. I have a .3, .2, and a .5 w/ fan tip.

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Hi, in the video I am using a .5mm needle. But you can use a .3mm as well. Smaller then that, it may not airbrush as well. So still with .3 or .5.

[@waynecassell9515]

I have just started doing aeroplanes as i am an armor guy. you mentioned blowing air to help the primer dry. would a hair dryer on low work too?

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Hi yes blow dryer works. But I just blew air via my airbrush.

[@lesgl]

When i use Vallejo Primes i put a light coat of Tamiya X35 semi gloss to harden it up..

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

I did the same thing but I used Future. However, for time saving and for better sand-ability, you should try my thinner mixture I used in the video. It will really improve the way Vallejo behaves when sanding and when airbrushing.

[@jmf230462]

Hi!!. Great video. I'm new using vallejo products and for my understanding your formula just uses 70% of primer+30% of vallejo airbrush thinner, spraying at 20psi pressure, and that's all!!. I have a 60 ml bottle of grey vallejo surface primer (73.601). I suppose it will work!

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Hi, glad you like the video! But what you said is not correct. Yes 70% primer and 30% thinner mixture formula.....not just Vallejo thinner. If you go to my other videos, there is one titled "How to airbrush Vallejo Model air" that video shows the formula mixture. That is what I am about talking about. Add in 30% to your primer when you airbrush. Then let dry for about 40 minutes and you can sand the primer without a problem. Hope this helps!

[@jmf230462]

Everything's clear after watching your former video about acrylics. Thanks alot!!

[@JohnSaporo]

thank you for sharing your knowledge and info with us. by any chance have you tried using liquitex retarder instead of the vallejo retarder? I happen to have big bottle sitting around.

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Hi yes, I did. I tried all sort of different companies/brands. You should be fine using liquitex retarder, as long as the retarder is still good. Retarder goes bad really quickly. So as long as it’s good, you can make the mixture formula with liquitex.

[@glui2001]

What do you use to clean off the primer from your airbrush? Simple green as well?

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Hey, sorry just saw your message. Yes, I use Simple Green to clean the primers as well. But I recommend use Simple Green to clean out the cup and get out as much as possible. Don't blow it out, once you get like 90% out then blow whatever is remaining in the tip.

[@glui2001]

Yea I happen to be actually doing that right now. Back flushing to see how clear the simple green is. I also tend to finish off the cleaning by blowing out iso

[@madMARTYNmarsh1981]

I have had a lot of success using Golden airbrush medium for thinning Stynylrez and Pro Acryl primer through my H&S Infinity. I believe the Golden airbrush medium is a mix of thinner and flow improver. I am interested to try your mix. Do you have a favoured brand of flow improvef and thinner? I'm not a huge fan of the Vallejo stuff.

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

@@madMARTYNmarsh1981 I have wanted to test the Golden airbrush medium, as I have heard good things about it. When you try my mixture formula, I would love to hear what you think compared to the Golden medium. For creating the formula I use Vallejo ingredients as they readily available where I am. But you can use other brands. I don’t recommend mixing different brands together as that has created issues. Hope that helps!

[@mistermike3666]

Hello!, does it affect the resistance of the primer to scratches?

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Mike, it does not. The primer retains the same properties as before. The thinner mixture just helps airbrush the primers better and makes them more sand-able. If you look at my other videos, I hold my models with out gloves and ding them on the table several times. The one thi that eats primer and will leave nicks is putting the model on paper. Paper is super abrasive! That’s why paper cuts hurt haha. So I place my models on foam to rest and not on the paper mat.

[@mistermike3666]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196 Alright! Gonna try this on my next project!

[@tcandle695]

I am confused about which mix you are using. You have separate videos for airbrushing Vallejo and badger primers plus another one for Vallejo Acrylics. The mix you are talking about is the one adding future to the primer? Thanks

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Hey, sorry about the confusion. So originally I used "future" with Vallejo primers to make them more easier to use and more resilient. But "future" has been discontinued and the remaining bottles are so expensive. So I started looking at other options. I found that the thinner mixture formula I created (I linked the mixture formula into the acrylic primer video) works very well. I found after testing that the thinner mixture helps Vallejo primer dry faster and makes them sand-able. I hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions.

[@tcandle695]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196 Thanks for explaining. I found and watched your mix formula video. I have not used acrylic primers before because the complaints I read from modellers having problems and airbrushes clothing specially with Vallejo primers. I would like to transition from Lacquer based primers. I bought a set of badger primer to test it out. I will order the Vallejo thinner and Flow improver and retarder. Thanks 🙋

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Awesome. Badger is the better primer between the two. Make sure to mix it really really well. Then mix the primer to thinner at ratio of 70/30 at 25psi. Give it 30 mins and you should be good to go.

[@johnjackson999]

What do you use for your ‘mixture’ please? Thank you.

[@panzerpaints]

I thought I missed it 😂

[@ariels36]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/ep-bfnWOoZt1o5Ysi=wGxpVrDU1Uvv7UY5

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

@@panzerpaints I have linked my thinner mixture formula in the video and in the description. Hope this helps!

[@wendypendy84]

Ah I've been incidentally using a very similar thinner mixture except I haven't been using the 10% retarder. However I've been having a lot of problems with tip drying and clogging even on my brand new Iwata Neo. It will paint for a bit, like a minute or so, and then the paint will stop flowing and only air comes out. I'd have to change to a steeper angle at which I'm spraying and only the will it come out and it's like the floodgates have been opened. I'm also running this at a 1:1 mixture at 35 psi and I'm still having problems.

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

hey sorry to hear you are having problems. First thing, you need the retarder. The formula is incomplete without it and once you add in the retarder you will notice a significant change. But I think there is another problem. If you're blasting the primer at 35psi and still getting clogging. Your airbrush is not clean, in particular I would bet the tip needs to be deep cleaned. I recommend completely disassembling the nozzle/tip and dipping into lacquer thinner for a while. Then use a nozzle cleaner to get the gunk out. I think that will help.

[@wendypendy84]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196 I got a bottle of retarder medium today and my god it worked. In my original comment I actually made a mistake with my ratio, I was using 4 parts thinner and 1 part flow improver. I remade the ratio as you said in your video, I did 6ml of thinner, 14ml of flow improver and 2ml of retarder and I had absolutely no issues with paint flow. I then used that thinner solution and mixed it in a 1:1 ratio with primer. I think I'll try doing a 7:3 ratio in the future because it came on pretty thin, like almost translucent like a clear coat. I'd have occasional splotches from some splattering (I think it's the moisture in the compressor) but that's nothing a secondary pass can't fix. I wanna thank you again for your advice. I've been trying to get Vallejo's to work for about a year and I've never gotten it to spray decently. The paints I have are a gift from my friend and it's satisfying to be able to finally use them properly!

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

@@wendypendy84 I am so glad to hear! Yea, don't recommend thinning the primer 50/50, stick with 70/30 only. Good luck and feel free to reach out if you have any other questions!

[@dwightatnorthernstar1820]

I assume you added 3=4 drops of glycerin for preventing dry tip? Most people apply way to much pressure when sanding....

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Hi Dwight, no I did not apply glycerin. In my video I reference a thinner mixture I created. I have two videos explaining the thinner mixture on my channel. My mixture will get you much much better results airbrushing both Vallejo and Badger primer. It also helps them become more sandable faster and won’t gum up when sanding. I agree that most modelers use to much pressure when sanding. Unfortunately, you have to at times. But using the thinning mixture and proper sanding setups you can recover easily. That’s why I airbrush metallics colors over the piece to show well this process works. Hope that helps!

[@patbaker6114]

What thinner are you using?

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Hi Pat, I link the video to the thinner formula within the primer video. However, you can go directly to the thinner formula video from my channel. It is called "Updated: How to airbrush Vallejo Model Air". The thinner mixture formula works on all pure acrylics like Vallejo, Ammo by Mig, AK, etc. It also works with acrylic primers.

[@stingski1]

Hello How much future do you add to stylnrez primmer cant find it on your channel

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Hi Sting, I don’t use Future with badger primer anymore. Future is out of production and remaining bottles are expensive! I reference in this video a thinner mixture created. If you got to my channel, the video is called “how to airbrush Vallejo paints”. I found that the thinner mixture works amazing well with Vallejo and badger primers. As you can see in the video. It helps airbrush both primers much better and makes them stronger and easier to sand. So try the mixture and save the Future as a gloss coat for your paints.

[@stingski1]

Cheers mate. Thanks for the reply.😊

[@randallbourque1321]

From what I am seeing Halloway Quick Shine is a replacement for Future. What was the thinning ration you used with Future? Thanks ahead of time. @@arewethereyetmodeling2196

[@LemurKrazy]

Which primer do you prefer?

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Badger primer is my top choice. It’s just a solid acrylic primer. It lays down amazingly well, it sand beautifully and feathers out, and strong as any lacquer primer. Vallejo is good but it has a tendency to leave a slight orange peel effect. Which isn’t a big deal if you are doing camouflage work. But if you need a smooth finish it definitely shows through. So I pretty much only use badger primer now.

[@LemurKrazy]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196 Thanks, I have access to both but have stayed away from vallejo. Good to know it's still an option.

[@zazen69]

Did you experiment with the thinner ingredient's ratio? I wonder if you could just use flow improver or thinner with some retarder medium.

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Hi, yes I did experiment with the thinner ingredient ratios. I found a couple of problems in my experimentation. I first tried Vallejo's and a famous KZbinr's thinner mixture. In that mixture, they do not use all the ingredients but just flow improver and thinner. It works....but for a short time and you will start to get tip drying. It is good for short airbrushing needs. Other combinations there were paint adhesion or opacity issues. I worked on this thinner mixture with professional airbrush artists (I am a former professional airbrush artist so I still have friends in that world). Using them as guinea pigs, we did a lot of testing. And I found my formula works the best compared to others...ESPECIALLY if you airbrush for an extended amount of time. If you look at my build videos, you can see I am airbrushing non-stop (25 to 40 minutes at time) without any tip drying, clogging, or any other issue.

[@zazen69]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196 Good to know! Do you recommend other thinners\flow improvers and retarders or just stick with Vellejo?

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

@@zazen69 for the thinner and retarder, stick with Vallejo. But for the flow improver you can use Liquitex flow improver. I did test it out and it worked the same.

[@zazen69]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196 Cool, appreciate the info! Also your cat is adorable.

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

@@zazen69glad I was able to help. And yes, the little fatso is ver adorable 😊

[@yasinsen6301]

Thanks for the video and the mixture I will try it, because I have problems right now with Vallejo primers. My first question is: How do you prepare the surface before priming? Do you use dish soap and water or rinsing after cleaning with IPA? My second question is: What is the optimal distance to prime a model? When I prime it looks like I am spraying dried particles? My third question is: Is the recommended psi value for the situation where the trigger is pressed? When I set my psi to 20 and press the trigger it drops to something like 17 psi. My fourth question is: How long should I wait before painting over? My fifth question is: How many coats of primer? My sixth question is: Is 0.3mm needle is good for the job? Thank you again.

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Thanks for the video and the mixture I will try it, because I have problems right now with Vallejo primers. Glad you like the video. Hopefully, I can answer your questions fully. My first question is: How do you prepare the surface before priming? Do you use dish soap and water or rinsing after cleaning with IPA? So most of the time, I don’t prepare the surface. I don’t know what kind of models you build. But I am an airplane guy, most modern kits don’t have the “oily residue” problem that older kits had. To be honest, it might best to wash the kits before to be safe. Now I will say, once the model is assembled and ready to be primed. I DEFINITELY wash my model with Dawn liquid dish soap. I do this because I have sweaty hands and want to make sure I don’t leave finger prints. You can also use IPA….but I find IPA is pretty expensive. Dawn liquid dish soap is $3 dollars for a bottle and lasts forever. My second question is: What is the optimal distance to prime a model? When I prime it looks like I am spraying dried particles? So if you’re getting dried particles you are probably too far from the model. I recommend 4-5 centimeters from the model. And this both for priming the model and airbrushing the paint. If you look at my videos, you can see I am about 4-5 centimeters (NOT INCHES) from the model. You want the paint or the primer to lay down wet. Laying down wet helps the paint and primer level better. But the opposite side of this is, if you are to close, it will make the paint/primer run. When you do this, don’t blast the primer on, go nice and easy. Same with paint, you should get a beautiful smooth finish. My third question is: Is the recommended psi value for the situation where the trigger is pressed? When I set my psi to 20 and press the trigger it drops to something like 17 psi. For primers, I recommend above 20 psi. You are correct, when you press down the trigger, the PSI drops. But if you start 25, it will drop but you will still be over 20psi. I DON”T recommend 25psi for painting acrylics. Stay within 15-20 psi for acrylic painting. My fourth question is: How long should I wait before painting over? Ok, so waiting time depends on how you decide to go about airbrushing Vallejo primer. If you decide to airbrush Vallejo without using my thinner mixture or adding in Future, you MUST wait at least 24-48 hours. Vallejo takes a very very long time to cure (it dries fast but curing is different). But if you decide to use my mixture or add in future, you can wait 15 mins and put paint on top. But if you need to sand the primer, wait 45 mins. My fifth question is: How many coats of primer? As many as you need to cover the model surface. So if you use a white primer, it will take more coats to cover things. That is just the property of white primer/paint. But Grey and Black primer covers pretty quickly. Normally I find 2-3 coats with Grey or Black cover everything. My sixth question is: Is 0.3mm needle is good for the job? You can, but you will get clogging faster. Better to use a .5mm. Let me know if you have any further questions. I also recommend joining the Facebook Group I created. You can learn from other acrylic users as well!

[@yasinsen6301]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196 Thank you for your quick reply. I will drop at a hobby store to buy a retarder to use your mix. It is the only thing I am missing right now. I was spraying with 20 psi from 20 cm (My first model kit) and had curing problems. Even after 5 days it seems to peel off, I will try 5 cm. I am looking forward to trying your formula. Do you have any tips for brush painting Vallejo Air paints? Your videos are very informative and problem solving I believe; I am looking forward to seeing more from you. Thank you.

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

@@yasinsen6301 Yeah 20 cm from the model is way to far. But also Vallejo primers (if you don't add in Future or my mixture) take forever to dry. As far as brush painting Vallejo Air, it requires several coats. Vallejo air is formulated for airbrushing. Vallejo Model Color is made for brush painting, it is thinner and has a higher pigment count. And thank you for the kind words, I am hoping to have a few new videos out soon!

[@yasinsen6301]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196 I finally tried your mixture, painted from 5cm. I still have curing and adhesion problems. My kit is miniart, I washed it with dish soap before painting. Do you think I use less primer than it is needed. I usually gradually prime by pulling the trigger as little as possible. I am not sure it causes prime to dry before it reaches the surface or something else. I will try more.

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

@@yasinsen6301 hmm sorry to hear you are still having issues. Are you able to connect directly? I want to see what is going on, that will help me see the problem. Are you on facebook? I started a group there and if you join and reach out to me directly, we can do video call.

[@JoshuaRilliet]

Bonjour, je vais bientôt commencer la peinture à l'aérographe et je visionne quelques vidéos pour apprendre. Je visionne donc la votre et dedans vous parlez à plusieurs reprise de votre "mélange" sans mentionner de quoi il est constitué si ce n'est que vous mettez 30% de quelque chose à l'apprêt, ce "quelque chose" étant probablement le mélange en question mais sans jamais mentionné de quoi il s'agit. J'ai pensé avoir raté quelque chose dans les sous-titres, comme je ne suis pas anglophone j'utilise les sous-titres automatique de KZbin mais je n'ai pas l'impression d'avoir raté les dosages de quoi que ce soit. Par conséquent est-ce un oubli de votre part de ne pas mentionné de quoi est constitué votre mélange, un choix de ne pas vouloir partager votre astuce, ou tout simplement un manque dans les sous-titres et de fait une notion que je n'aurais pas vu passer ?

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

I have linked my thinner mixture formula in the video and in the description. Hope this helps!

[@marioierardi6806]

Non si capisce nulla dal video e non sono così bravo con l'inglese. Certo risulta complicato usare il primer vallejo ad areografo. Ho usato duse ed ago 0,5. Io sono andato a tentativi con sei gocce di primer 1 goccia di thinner e 1 goccia di Flow. Non avevo il ritarder

[@hazeform7689]

maybe you find a better way to bring this acrylic primers to the modell but this goes all to hell if you notice a mistake or you forget something or whatever and you need to sand any of this acrylic primes....that is the point where your real problems start to beginn

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Haze, i think you missed one of the key points of the video. By using my thinner mixture, you get better results airbrushing but it also helps with sanding. Just give the primer a solid 30 mins to dry.

[@brianhurst3653]

Very confused, if your gonna do a video talking about your thinner, than you need to explain what the thinner is

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Hi Brian, sorry for the confusion. I should have clarified more that the video to the mixture is linked at top and in the description section. Hope this helps!

[@hazeform7689]

come on man...that's complete bs. I am sure you never even tried to sand down this acrylic polyurethane dog shxt. it is like ruber and comes down in lovely chunks and flakes and shreds and none of your secret primer/thinner ratios will ever change that. The entire water based acrylic line from Vallejo is for the trash can and not for the airbrush. for brush painting ok that is a different topic but airbrushing...no. Once you've tried mr surfacer thinned down with mr leveling thinner you will never go back

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Did you actually watch the full video? I sanded both pieces with 300 grit sandpaper and showed how you can feather the primers and that don’t just turn into rubber. I then airbrush metalizer paint to show it worked. Metalizer paint shows even the tiniest flaws. And everything looks great. I’m not sure what you’re complaining about? If you don’t like Vallejo primer…don’t use it. But don’t claim it didn’t work when I provided with video evidence on can work.