How to use Vallejo Primers

In this video, I go over how I use Vallejo primers to get the best finish.

[@antoniogarcia723]

I had already assumed I would have to forget using Vallejo Surface Primer because I wasn't able to properly sand it, when I reached a few microns thickness it would simply peel away. Now, with your Future trick I'll give it a new chance, thank you!

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Definitely give it a go and let me know how it goes.

[@rgp8038]

Great job.

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Thank you, glad you like the video!

[@Am-yo4hx]

Does it produces outgassing at 37 degree celcius?

[@upatoimodelwerks14]

What do you use to clean your airbrush after using the primer and Pledge mix? Thanks!

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Ryan, to clean any acrylic product (paints, primers, varnishes) out of my airbrush, I use a natural cleaner called “Simply Green”. You can find it at Walmart for about 5 bucks. I pour into an 80ml bottle for easier handling. I think it 70% simply green to 30% tap water. It cutes right through acrylic based products, even if they have been sitting in my airbrush for a while.

[@dbroadwayvfx]

So, they've discontinued Pledge Revive it Floor Gloss (Future). What do you plan on doing as an alternative?

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Daniel, good question. So I’m not to worried about it to be honest. First, I have the large bottle of future I bought a couple a years ago. If you notice I only use a few drops with the primer. So it will last me a very long while. But they (SC&Johnson) already came out with a Future replacement. I haven’t tried this new replacement yet but I’m guessing it will be fairly similar.

[@user-sk4xl6eh8x]

It says on the bottle of Vallejo primer "spray from 20centimeters" . Don't you hold your airbrush to close? Do you think the distance from which you spray matters?

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Yes, I hold my airbrush close to the model because I use a small nozzle/needle size, like .2mm. I want the primer to go on wet so I get close to the model about 5 centimeter. Because I mix the primer with future, it self levels out. But I don't get to close that it starts to spider webbing. Hope that helps!

[@JPKelly-xr7tr]

Excellent Content! I'm going to try using this method on a paint mule. Can you elaborate as to the 'why' of this: that is, why does using Future / Pledge help the Vallejo Surface Primer as opposed to using Vallejo Thinner and or Flow Improver - ? I'm assuming that since Future / Pledge is acrylic based that has something to do with it.

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Hey JP, I’m not really sure why future works well with Vallejo primers. My guess is the same as yours: future is acrylic based so it works with acrylic products. I should clarify that Vallejo primers also work great with their thinner and flow improver. And on the Vallejo channel you can see their video on how to use Vallejo primer with thinner and flow improver. You will get a nice finish with their recommended method. However, that method requires hours and hours of drying time. I believe. In the video they mention 24 to 72 hours. To me that’s just not practical in my opinion. If you add in future, you go from one day to about 15 min wait time. Also, the primer won’t peel off when you sand. Instead you a nice feathered edge…just as good as any lacquer primer.

[@JPKelly-xr7tr]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196 Understood and thanks for the detailed response!

[@dlear85]

I tried going over top lacquer after lots of drying issues with vallejo. And the lacquer is horrendous to clean out and airbrush is still not the same since. Never again

[@tonyperez4791]

Thank you for sharing this " knowledge " Hope you and your loved ones have a great/safe weekend . Cheers, Tony

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Glad you liked the video and same to you.

[@coryy4543]

how would i airbrush vallejo 70.660 acrylic glos primer with a .35mm airbrush?

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

@@coryy4543 there is a couple of ways you airbrush Vallejo Gloss with a .35mm airbrush 1) you can airbrush it straight from the bottle and thin it 70/30 primer to thinner, at 20 psi. It will cure in 24 to 48 hours. If you try to sand it before then it will most likely gum up on itself. 2) you can use Future, as I did in my video. Thin it 70/30 primer to future at 20 psi. It will make the primer more resilient. Give it one hour to dry and cure. 3) You can use my thinner mixture in my Vallejo video. Thin it 70/30 or 60/40 primer to thinner mixture at 20 psi. My thinner mixture also will make the paint resilient. But it will cause the gloss to dissipate and you will need to spray a gloss on top of the primer. Hope that helps!

[@soureel]

What is the difference between the first primer (the black one) and the gray Surface primer? Are both primer's necessary?

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

It is good to have both primers. Black primer has strong covering power and is good for making shades. But sometimes you don't want shades and want the colors to pop more, so a light grey is good for that purpose. Hopefully, that answers the question you are asking.

[@aaronandraquel]

Now that they are taking Pledge off the market, what is a good replacement?

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Aaron, good question. So there is a potential replacement for "Future" and it is called "Quick Shine". It seems to be made of the same material and acts the same way. I bought a bottle and currently testing it out, will post results shortly. But as far as using future for Vallejo primers. You don't need to use future, if you don't mind waiting for the full curing time of 24 hours. But to be completely honest, I have started moving away from Vallejo Primers and using mostly Badger primers these days. I found that using my thinner mixture, I can airbrush badger primer without clogging and it leaves a beautiful smooth almost satin finish. More importantly, I can sand the primer after about 30 mins. So.....I am starting to say farewell to Vallejo primers.

[@MedskiPurnamski]

I don't understand why but I never have a good experience in thinning Vallejo with its own thinner. I often find it too runny but if you use less thinner it won't spray well at all. The Mecha Black Primer actually work super great with 98% alcohol, it has good coverage and dries fast. Unfortunately alcohol doesn't work well on all Vallejo colors. Some Mecha Colors like the black primer and titan blue shoots out super well with alcohol while phantom gray reacted strangely to it, the white pigment seem to separate itself from the paint then clumps up and clogs the airbrush.

[@topouzidd]

Vallejo Mecha Primer is water-based acrylic primer. Vallejo Surface Primer is an Acrylic-Polyurethine primer. Maybe that's why you prefer the Mecha, and can sand it so early.

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Hi Dimitrios, I am not sure that is correct. While at a presentation by Vallejo representatives. They shared that all the primers are the exact same formula for each product line. So the Mecha primer is the same formula as their other lines. The only difference is the color offerings. The mecha black has a very nice satin like finish, which I like. But to be honest, I have moved on to Badger primers as my main primers. I found that my thinning mixture formula helps the Badger primers spray nicely and they are very sandable in 30 mins.

[@topouzidd]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196 Well, that would be more weird then. If all Vallejo primers are the same formula, why do they say “Acrylic-Polyurethane” in bold letters on the label of Vallejo primers and “water-based acrylic” on the label of mecha series primers? It doesn’t make any sense! Are Badger primers thicker? Do they need more thinning to use in the airbrush?

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

@@topouzidd I was told by their rep that the reason for that is, that the law they cannot sell the exact product under a different label. So there has to be a slight difference. But he did say it was a very very slight difference. Like Tamiya did with their Airbrush cleaner and extra thin cement. They are the same ingredients but 1 percent different from each other. You don't need to thin Badger primers. They work straight from the bottle. And yes they are thick....but don't let that scare you. Once sprayed they level out so beautiful you will think it was was paint. One complaint is that they tend to tip dry fast. I found that using my thinner mixture formula, you can reduce the tip drying a lot.

[@MrFloppyHare]

Would've loved to try it, with some Vallejo primer I recently accidentally ordered, but that version of pledge isn't available everywhere.

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Floppy, any version of “future” or “pledge” seems to work. I just happen to have that particular bottle.

[@MrFloppyHare]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196 OK, I'll give it a try. Did you actually try out different versions?

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

@@MrFloppyHare yes. I have the older blue badge future bottle and the newer one you see in the video. The only kind I haven’t tried is the European brand that has a milky look to it.

[@brunolopes9900]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196what is the Europe brand/version of pledge/future

[@shogunwarrior3737]

Can you post the link of the future product?

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Shogun, I recommend checking out hyperscale.com, they have a thread on "Future" as it has changed names and looks several times. I know in the US it is called "Future" but in Europe it is called "Klear". Hope this helps!

[@marcuscrammer4317]

Nice! Would be cool to see you do a video on clear coats

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Marcus, happy to do a video on clear coats. What would like to know or see in the video on clear coats?

[@marcuscrammer4317]

Having some trouble laying them down, getting coverage and not getting it too thick. You do a good job of explaining in your videos.

[@hannya66]

This is an amazing tip " Klear " as a primer mix, who'd have thaught ? Thanks for this .

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Glad you liked it!

How to you measure the %? By volume, weight, or just by drops?

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Do you mean the percentage of Future to Primer? If so, I go by volume. But I recommend you watch my newer video on acrylic primers. After testing I found you can use my thinner mixture with Vallejo and Badger primers and great results!

Thank you, I’ll check out the new video.

[@wolfganggriewatz3522]

Hello, thanks for the Video Here in germany, no Future or Pledge. Any Ideas, where or what to get?

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Hi Wolfgang, a couple of options. One you can wait 24 hours and the primer will cure by then and no future needed. Also. Future is called Klear in Europe, try looking for it under the Klear name. Lastly, now that Future is being discontinued. There is an alternative called “Quick shine gloss floor polish”. I am currently testing it and it seems to do exact thing.

[@wolfganggriewatz3522]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196 Thank you very much

[@suolin]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196 do you mind linking to the exact product, please?

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

@@suolin Do you reside in the US or Europe? In Europe, it doesn't seem to be available anymore or at least I don't see it listed anywhere. In the US, it is available through Amazon....but it is extremely expensive at $50 dollars a bottle. I am currently testing out an alternative and will report on it when finished testing. There is one other option, which is to use my mixture formula to airbrush the Vallejo primers. It will leave you a smooth finish...but you will need to wait 24 hours before sanding. But to be honest, I think going forward....I am going to use Badger Stynylez primers. They are really nice, they go rock hard, you can sand them, and they level out. Plus they are really easy to get a hold of.

[@suolin]

@@arewethereyetmodeling2196 I am in Canada so generally can likely find the same things as you with some exceptions. Thanks for the reply btw.

[@Farmerwal]

what is future?????

[@arewethereyetmodeling2196]

Future is an acrylic floor polish. In Europe and other parts of the world it goes by the name of “Klear”. It is used in modeling as a gloss coat and to dip canopies in.