Painting Metal Parts/Fixtures

[Philski]

Wondering if you find it necessary to prime (with primer) metal parts before painting with colored paints. Either acrylics or enamels? What is your preferred coatings for the gray gunmetal pieces that come with your kits. I opted to primer my parts first. Let me knowyour thoughts!

 

[Bryian]

I soak the parts in thinners to remove any surface contaminates, then prime like you have done. Finish with your desired topcoat.

 

[danielsje]

Using a good primer renders the best results. I use acrylic paints (largely matte sheen) thus use the specific acrylic primer. Cleaning also helps…then thin coat of primer…then your finish coat. But to be honest I have primer coated Britannia metal parts without cleaning them first and had decent results…this is called being lazy!

 

[Vfordyce]

I was afraid of getting too many coats on and losing the details.

 

[Gnoccy]

I recently found this stuff and its absolutely great for priming metal parts and photo-etch. The coating is very thin (and goes a long way) so it doesn't obscure details and it dries fast. It helps the paint adhere to the metal extremely well, and once painted the paint is very scratch resistant.

Its called Metal Prep 4k VMS - I got it from here: https://www.scalemodelshop.co.uk/product/metal-prep-4k-vms-vms-ax-04/

Here's a vid on youtube about it:

It beats anything else I've used hands down. Amazing stuff!

 

[danielsje]

I was afraid of getting too many coats on and losing the details.

That can be an issue if you layer thick coats. If necessary thin out the acrylic paint with water. Several coats of thin paint do not fill in details as much. In my experience, a coat of primer and then a coat of top paint works. Interesting to note that primer is normally thicker than the top coat so be cautious with the primer coat.

 

[dockattner]

I have good luck with Tamiya Fine Primer. It comes in several colors - here is a link to the grey: https://www.hobbylinc.com/tamiya-fi...ay-180-ml-hobby-and-model-acrylic-paint-87064.