Quick question regarding primer

[Guest]

Sorry if this is too obvious but I'm a complete novice.

I have a revell car kit I am about to start. Most pieces are white, and the main body of the car is going to be in a red. Am I right in thinking I should go with a white primer as opposed to grey? The main reason I ask is that obviously with a white primer on white plastic, it is quite hard to see any pieces that have been missed.

Secondly, there are a few engine parts that come in a kind of chrome finish, but in the instructions it says that these are to be painted. What kind of primer should I use for this?

[stona]

For your first question white would be better than grey but you might find a yellow or red primer which would be even better.

I'm not familiar with the sort of "chromed" pieces you mean but if the finish is redundant I'd rough them very slightly with say 1500 grit wet 'n' dry and then prime them normally. Someone more familiar with cars will undoubtedly let us know if that's a bad idea!

Don't worry about asking what seem simple questions. Nothing is obvious until you've done it. Somone here will always try to answer for you.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

Hi Pete! There is no problem using white primer on white styrene, you'll see the missed spots just fine. The question you need to ask your self is: What color result are you looking for. The color of the primer will have a significant effect on the hue of most red colors, except for the very dark once. The hue-effect from the primer lessens progressively whit each layer of color you spray on, but you'll have the thickness of the paint causing a shift in hue for each layer. Metalic paints however are not as sensitive to any of this.

For the chrome bits you can use a metal primer, as the once used for photo-etched parts. Metal primers are mostly clear and seem to be something in between super-glu and lacquer varnish. The best thing to do though is to strip the chrome-plating - Various oven-cleaners or chlorine can do this, if you let the parts soak in them for a good length of time (some parts are plated heavier than others)

Good luck!

/Daniel

[Guest]

Im would differ a little here on primer, I would use the grey,red will sit very nice over grey, as it will lower the amount of coats needed to get an even and uniform coat, and it wont effect the hue.

[Guest]

Hi Pete , I love my racing and make F1 cars myself now and then , from my own experiences I recommend white primer for the red bodywork , on a tamiya 1/20 Ferrari that is still under construction on the bodywork I used Zero Ferrari Red on top off halfords grey primer it was a bummer to cover and took about 4-5 light coats , have a look on the F1M website there are some seriously good and experienced model race car builders on there and from what I`ve picked up they suggest using white primer under a red topcoat , bit late for me but its good to know now for future builds

Hope this helps

Richy

[Guest]

I have gone with a white primer now, and feeling quite hopeful about a fiery reg gloss going over the top, so fingers crossed!

Thanks all for comments.

[Guest]

If the shiny bits are chrome plate, (if they're really shiny then they are)

Get a small container of household bleach, (domestos etc), drop the bits in, watch the chrome dissolve leaving nice clean plastic which after a rinse in running water under a tap is ready for drying and priming normally.

[Guest]

Obviously some of the chrome parts are meant to be chrome (!), so I take it I am supposed to just leave them bits as they are and maybe varnish them at the end of the build?