Myth Exposed... Primer Color DOES Matter!!! Here's the Proof...

In this video I take 4 different hoods painted with 4 different colors of primer, and paint them all at the same time, with the same color/jar of paint...proving once and for all, that the color of your primer ABSOLUTELY affects the final color of your paint!!!

[@DJ80s]

Thank you for this demonstration. I am planning on repainting my Mustang and you were able clearly answer a question I had about Primer. This helps tremendously in my planning. Thank you so much!

[@animalyze7120]

The fact you are here Old man is such a great boost to the Hobby. You are a great resource to many of those internet Trolls who've built 3 models over 30 years and wanna argue with everyone on social media. Keep bustin them Myths and thanks!

[@logicpro8382]

Thank you for this video! its 5 years old and still helping folks. After spending weeks paint matching a damage kitchen door in gloss grey, I finally found a match from Tikkurila. I then primed with light grey high built primer with LVLP gun, sanded and sprayed the gloss grey, thinned 10% with white spirits. The results were a much darker grey than that the paint chip I had matched was. I was stumped! tried polishing it out, buffing to try lighten it, nothing worked. I went back to the drawing board, sanded with 320, roughed up my beautiful gloss finish and primed with yellow car high build primer. The restuls were a much better paint match, the gloss grey from the same tin, thinned 10% again is now 99% the same as the paint chip. I tested with white primer on a spare MDF board, again the gloss grey is 99.9% the same. It is insane how the primer colour affects the base/top coat so much, even with a thick gloss paint which I would expect to hide the prime coat. I was told on another form to try purple tinted primer to get where I needed to be with the kitchen door paint matching but TBH yellow and white primer done it for me. Take note that mid grey primer with mid grey gloss base/top coat will turns the finish very dark.

[@OJtheOZ]

After i read the title and description i was like Wow what a great job you did there, i ask myself this same question all the time "Do primer color affect final color " and guess what you make the explanation so clear and with clear proof. Thank you for sharing.

[@jedpetersen3806]

Great video Don! as a custom car painter myself I didn't realize that there was an argument about that, kinda makes me laugh! Now go and make a video on the special effects that can be done with sealer tints! My old favorite was the checkered flag under colored metallic but that's old school.

[@Stevesscaleworkz4504]

Absolutely spot-on ol' man.. Anybody that says different has not painted! Excellent job!

[@mickyashey9818]

SHORT. SWEET. STRAIGHT TO THE POINT..... Thanx for the proof along with explanations without unnecessary droning on!

[@terrymeyer4248]

This is what I was looking for. I plan on painting a sonic blue pearl with a grey sealer. Your samples give a clear look at what differences you'll get depending on the base. Thanks!

[@442jetmech]

I've wondered about this for ages, and just now in my life realized I could try and youtube it. Man, what a great video, thanks!

[@nealstyles8992]

I have used this idea to some success on bodies where I wanted a two-tone scheme, same colour but different shades. Likewise, for interior/exterior. It works beautifully! Thanks for the illustration, Don.

[@ericvilla6286]

This is an amazing video! Thank you sir for the demos. Learned something new today.

[@joeyroblesiii8253]

great video don!! i just purchased one of your videos!! can't wait to see and apply!!

[@iryairya2008]

That red metallic on white looks like a gloss red for me. Beautifully done!

[@wheatonsspeedshop1412]

Great way to show the difference. I do like that over the light gray

[@tonstertv9574]

Just beautiful and so helpful at the same time. Thanks!

[@fyahdre8340]

Just that quick you answered a hundred questions. Thank you

[@JesseLewisACTOR]

Short and Sweet! That's what she said! Much appreciated 📌💯

[@Emperorjones]

Man your technique and the results speak for themselves. Top flight all the time. I marvel at the volume of paint you throw so quickly. I’ve been doing it a long time, but if I tried your speed and volume.... it would be “fugly.” A tip-o-the-hat to you sir. This old goat appreciates the insights.

[@DoctorCrankysLabRATory]

Excellent demonstration.

[@dustincandoit]

Thanks! This totally explains what went wrong with my last paint job. Lol

[@madladredux2616]

Wow that makes a huge difference! Good to know! Thanks.

[@fubarmodelyard1392]

It most definitely makes a difference. I have a scalefinishes midnight blue that looks almost black over dark primers

[@ColonelRebScaleModels]

AMAZING results!!! Well, u put that argument to rest, so ifs, ands or buts about it....nicely done...

[@johnbisci3125]

Thank you for sharing your skills and information with us.

[@bigd572]

That was very interesting you Old Geezer. Thank you that was a good tip . I was thinking of the same type of experiment to see what different shades I could get. I am using your method in Hot Wheels versus plastic models but I think I could come up with basic same results. Thank you again and keep all these great videos coming.

[@randyanderson6110]

Ah you just wait. One day, and sooner than you think, you will be referred to as old. LMAO!

[@jonnyshoestring9368]

Short & Sweet it maybe but it's rich in info and after all that's what is needed. I like your no-nonsense plain talking and as far as I concerned I am now better equipped to do my task thanks to you👍👍👍 Oh, I'll stick around for some more treats🤣🤣

[@kevinbirnbaum6460]

Excellent demo! Thank you.

[@AlvaradoArt]

Thanks! I don't paint cars but this does help with ideas I have when I do custom sneakers etc.

[@corkcamden9878]

I chanced upon your channel and I like your no nonsense advice on techniques for building cars and other things. I was sold on you when I saw you talking about resin cast cars and the rip-offs there are out there who undermine good, honest craftspeople by offering crap knock offs. I never had a problem with speaking my mind and if someone has a problem with that, I just don't give a rat's bee-hind. Best wishes and good health, Don, from Virginia, Cork

[@waynewootton5385]

the best out there keep up the great work don

[@DiablosWorkshop]

Well Done Donn...... Excellent way to clear up the confusion for all of the "Doubters" out there..... Seeing is believing.....LOL Thanks for the Awesome videos....

[@heresjohnny1]

Thanks man! I did a patch on my truck in dark green. But I used a light grey primer looks like a totally different color

[@dantaylor333]

Perfect demonstration! I am just about to spray my motorbike a pearl metallic red. I never knew what a difference it would make. I think I am gonna go with the light grey. Thanks dude

[@redcastle12b31]

Just amazed... learned something and sparked an idea or two.

[@c10zane]

This was very helpful! I will be painting my car brown soon, and think that black will now be my base coat

[@bobd9911]

I learned this years ago back in the eighties. When I was a kid building model cars my dad taught me when he was painting candy colors. By using a silver gold, copper or black as the base coat. Your candy color will have a different shade to it. It's good that you showed this demonstration that to show other people in hopes that will understand how different shades of base coat will affect your final color

[@ScaleModelVamp]

Great tutorial Sir Don ! thank you ! now i can prove some a holes wrong as well haha !

[@memorylanemodelcars]

Great point Don. Also. Many Trick paint jobs like Fades ots multi mask varied primers to achieve the effect. 70s mopars used Rust red brown primer followed by light gray then thin metallic coats use of wrong primers cause paint not to match chip chart

[@dissimulodissimulo9891]

This was such a great video. Thank you.

[@JimVincitore]

Great video! Very cool!

[@zenoblevinsbigz6665]

Thanks for video " ol man " very good snd easy to understand..

[@oman1415]

AWESOME!!! No argument to be had, no Sir! Picture IS worth A Thousand words! Thanks A MILLION for the video!👍

[@kevdogcle9955]

Thanks for the very information demo on how paint changes. It was very well done vedio. Very professionally done. I liked seeing. How the color changes by what color of primer you use. I'm going to be repainting my bike in a dark blue metallic. I got a light gray primer. But, I'm going to do a white base coat first before I paint the blue metallic. I can't wait to see how my moutian bike turns out .

[@MadGeniusProductions_MGP]

Great demo old man.

[@marvgartman748]

Praying for you Donn...get well

[@ronstewart9792]

Great video Don. I have used yellow under red to really make the red pop also. Thanks Ron

[@ThreeDaysOfDan]

certain colors really do make a difference, use bright orange under yellow to give yellow a deep look , grey under yellow to give it a solid mustard look and .. light blue to make it pop ..

[@buddystringer4084]

thanks just what I needed to see I'm doing some blend paint work on 1994 corvette that is POLIO GREEN METALLIC/aka-med GREEN METALLIC....and I primed the blend areas and after I did it I thought o he'll I bet this will effect the color of the blend Lol o well I'll see how it looks I'll probably just repaint the whole car but I'm going to give this s shot doing hood and back bumper areas so if it don't turn out nice I'll start over prep&prime whole vette then do a bc/cc.paint job ....going to use a "turbine rig" Fiji mighty #2 ....

[@jessjordan1234]

Thank you so much for this video!! I've been telling people!!

[@chonkebread6757]

Thank you so much! happy I found your video!

[@gregoryamer]

Perfect! Thanks for the video.

[@ericverpeten4249]

thanks for the demonstration

[@mkennedy7431]

thanks mate that was super helpful

[@mikeellis5347]

Thanks Don, i wasnt sure to use the white primer that i have or get a lt gray for a car body that will be blue. I think ill use the white that i have and invest in other colors. Just starting back into modeling .

[@battlestar7779]

Thanks for not removing this video yet… more lessons for the newbies! You really do the hobby justice Don. Thanks again.

[@MikeSweeneyMedia]

Anyone like myself who used to paint real cars knows this. I just did a Fiat with white primer because it makes the semi opaque red really pop compared to grey or black primer. Nice job in explaining it

[@lucajogroppoli8336]

Question for you I have a white truck and want to spot paint, should I ONLY use a white primer then?

[@oleskool6259]

0:04 I knew it made a difference but damn that’s a big difference. Excellent video and your old school like me the doubters an talkers are always gonna spew negativity unfortunately it’s what they do. ✌️

[@ToddHLHG]

Thank you for sharing!

[@styrenejunkie73]

Proof is in the puddin Old Man. Great video showing what you get with different base colors. Take care Donn

[@rustydenison9391]

Wow! Great video.

[@zeroa6]

Great test! Thanks! God Bless.

[@mista_ruby]

Perfect explanation

[@scalemodelsmx1245]

Excelente demostración, felicidades, gran apoyo para muchos.

[@KumarKumar-ll2fg]

Thank you very much sir for the valuable information 🙂

[@cubul32]

Thanks for this! So if I wanna match the color on my car I better ask the manufacturer and see what primer they used?

[@garyparker2969]

Thank You Sir n God Bless You and All Yours

[@PREDATOR07]

Thank you for such a great video.

[@tonynewbolt2499]

This helped and answered my question

[@timothee3446]

I use to watch scale modeler but since I found this guy I’ve tossed the geriatrics aside with that guy and stuck with this man here. In 4 videos I learned more than watching some modelers entire channels. Nobody else explains about the resin casts or paints and effects you can get if you mix paints that don’t like each other.

[@jkn11100]

thank you for the video Don

[@jlyrojer]

So what would you recommend as a base coat when you want to shoot an OD green? Your demonstration would suggest a light or dark grey. I have been agonizing over this for some time now and I am so glad I found your video that shows the differences.

[@brianneholzendorf8227]

OD green. 😆

[@stephentaylor1030]

Great video. I have a question about using primer and not using primer. What's the difference between the two?

[@chriscardera7397]

Hey Don, I have a question for you. I’m painting a metallic orange lacquer Tamia. Should I use a medium gray or a black primer?

[@mattgeiger2627]

Thank you for a simple comparison helped me a lot i like my colers to jump at you so white primer for me on colers and black primer on my black paint.

[@robertlane270]

You just answer my question thank you very much you used the same color of red on four different shades of primer they each came out different basically if I want a really dark red I use black primer if you want the color light do you use the white primer

[@GtBeatz508]

Great video! So I have a dark navy blue pearl vehcile I’m getting ready to paint and re clear because it’s peeling and it looks like the gray or dark gray primer will be needed the original paint is about 20 years old

[@agelo]

wow. thank you so much for this sir

[@Kevin-ev7hw]

Thanks Donn!

[@RP-ck8ym]

Different colors cover differently. Red especially is known to need more coats over dark primers. You did the most coats of any over the white, which was already going to cover the easiest. Keep coating the darker ones and will reach the same color. You can use the undercoat like this though for different tones by using less coats.

[@Kiowan918]

No, if you've ever painted a vehicle, if you use the wrong colour primer you will almost never reach the correct colour with the paint, you'd have to put so many coats of paint on that it'd become ridiculous not to mention absurdly expensive. You use the correct primer, often paints will require a basecoat too, some metallic require a silver base before the colour goes on, if you just don't do it you'll never get them to match as it's like mixing colours.

[@hhaste]

No.. You'd have to spray so many coats, the body lines would be gone from how thick the paint is, to get the same color over a black primer, compared to white..

[@nathan112]

Hi mate thank you, your video shed me some light I need to fix my vauxhall insignia front bumper it's technical grey paint number z177 what colour primer would or should I use I've previously had a paint shop spray it before and it's slightly darker then the rest of my car and a bit of paint has flacked off and what I can see is white under the paint so I'm guessing they used a white primer am I right in saying go with a light grey primer ?

[@hoytwhitmore8872]

You Are The Damn Man Keep It Up Winder Ga

[@joeym6730]

Great video!!!

[@christianmccollum1028]

Thanks, ol' man!

[@prealpha2]

I'm painting my motorcycle bronze and black. Was thinking of using a white primer to make the bronze pop a bit, would it affect black?

[@M-Batman]

Much love to you God bless you old man !!!

[@kevinborshell6105]

Great video perfect visual thanks answered my questions does primer color mader YES

[@allisea7768]

I didn’t see what the color should look like (from bottle). So which primer would offer a truer match?

[@justaguy2738]

I put 2 coats of white under my paint . Usually makes them a lot lighter

[@lotso69]

Hey Don, have you made a video on the best way to prevent bleed thru? Red over black, white over red etc. I have parts molded in Black that I want to paint red. I’ve heard to use silver first then grey primer then white primer then the red. Or just grey Primer than white primer, then the red. I’m trying to keep it to as few coats as possible to keep from muddling up details.

[@ScaleModelTechniques]

lotso69 I would shoot it with silver , then just paint the red ..... The silver will block the black .....

[@waynewootton5385]

i just learn some think today thank you mr. yost

[@NHC642]

What should I use if I'm going to paint my car charcoal grey?

[@R-A-H_-]

Thank you!

[@bobham1061]

Thank you .... the modeling community can always depend on you to get the facts right

[@joca6282]

I have painted model cars for over 50 years without using primer with my air brush. Resin kits need primer but not styrene. Primer builds up over the details and minimizes them. I've had sucess with all of them. I have over 400 cars from 1964 to 1976 issues. I have bought the newer kits and still not using primer. Dish detergent removes the mold release.

[@youcantstopme5136]

I just need to know what color primer should I use for maroon thanks

[@andyquevedo1964]

When you primer your models cars do u water sand it afterwards or primer it and then paint it?

[@normrussell4346]

Would you happen to be related to Dennis Yost of the classics four?

[@XPhantomLord]

would you recommend a clear primer?

[@adamlong54]

Well i now know white primer will make the bright green pop on my car im about to paint lol. Thanks a million sir. Wisdom is age and experience beats youth and no experience every time.👍

[@isaiahperry9845]

You the man!!!

[@johnathanjamesjohnsonjr7408]

... what does red primer with red on top look like?

[@TJHahn624]

Thanks Don

[@danamcintyre3565]

Yes primer makes a big difference in todays paint world because of the products we have to work with. Run into this myself just not long ago with a coke a cola red it was on a truck but it was a hole paint job so as to say had to do inside door and all two doors I used black primer and used a hole quart of paint so when I went back to the paint shop I ask what I should use and he said that it should have white under it well closest I had was a light gray and it made a big difference on the amount of paint that was used on the next two doors now this was the in side so no big deal, and it did make a difference in the color. So it you are not sure ask the place were you buy your paint what color primer you should use !