primer choices

[Imp]

Used GW primer for years but the cost is getting a bit out of control.  Has anyway used the Armory primer or know any good alternative primers mainly going to be used on plastic

[PhoenixFire]

I like Army Painter primer color primer (of course it is expensive)

the reds and greens and such go on great and provide a great priming base

be careful of the metallics though, they go on heavy and make a smooth surface which isn't the greatest to paint over

[JakeM]

Krylon  Flat Black
Gw doesn't want you to know that their "army primer" is just black spray paint.

[Ian Mulligan]

I've used Armory for years. I would never use anything else.

[Randl]

Me and paint cans don't mix so I've been using vallejo surface primer and an airbrush lately with results I'm happy with.

[King of the Elves]

I use 2 types of primer.

 For my Ulthwe Eldar I use GW Black, it's expensive, but when I'm using that as my main base color, it's the darkest black I have seen. I also touch up the uncovered areas with the Imperial Black Primer

 For my guardsmen I use a mix of Army Primer and GW. Just started using AP but I like it so far.

 The GW stuff can get expensive, but I feel it's worth it. I just finished my first GW black primer that I bought a year ago (almost to the day) and that had primed about 1250 points of guard, 500 points of eldar, and 250 points of Wood Elves, 2000 points worth of models primed with 1 $15 can, worth it IMO

[Grand Master Steve]

ive used both Armory and GW. Ive never used Krylon.

The only difference between the two I see is the finish it leaves. GW tends to be a Glossy smooth Finish where as Armor tends to be a Flat soft finish.

No matter what the primer ive had problems. Primer turning white, Primer fuzzing up, Primer getting all cracked and cakey. All can be avoided by shaking the can well, and make sure you give yourself a good distance when you spray dont apply thick coats. It also helps if your not priming when the humidity is high and the temp is cold. I had a prime booth that vented right out side so i could prime in the climate controlled workshop of my house.

[JakeM]

Krylon is just a generic black spray paint you can get for $1 at home depot. Im telling you guys thats all you need! Save some money so you can buy more little plastic guys!

[Pat.H]

I used the P3 black primer when I started out. It seemed like it worked pretty good. Army painter products are also really good. All my army is painted up using army painter paints. I'm using a can of krylon black primer though. Seems like it works all right.

[Mad Dok Rob]

I use Army Painter if I want to do Deathwing (Skeleton Bone Primer) or Ork Planes (Dragon Red).

Other than that, Krylon White (most of my miniatures, especially D&D) or Black (Mostly 40K).  I have used a ton of primer of the past 15 years (Ral Partha, GW, Army Painter, etc), and for general stuff Krylon is the absolute best bang for the buck.  I feel the paint just "sticks" to it better.

[Loranus]

Krylon is just a generic black spray paint you can get for $1 at home depot. Im telling you guys thats all you need! Save some money so you can buy more little plastic guys!

Chris Scotti uses the same exact Flat Black Krylon Paint and I just switched over to it from Games Workshop Primer. It is the same exact if not better than GW brand. Chris Scotti has won a number of the 40k Best Painted at our tournaments so I think he has a good thing going with Krylon.

[Erich]

Me and paint cans don't mix so I've been using vallejo surface primer and an airbrush lately with results I'm happy with.

Doing the same. Not only do I get better results but primer costs went way down. Of course one needs to own an airbrush and compressor for this to be a viable option.

As for using Krylon over GW (or anything formulated for figure painting), as a professional painter I say go at your own risk. GW, Army Painter, and Flo-quil and so on, are finer primers that go on more smoothly. You can get really good results with Krylon, don't get me wrong and I have used it myself in the past, but it tends to leave a more porous surface which will require more of a basecoat while painting as the primer will "drink" more of the paint.

[jhobin]

I always prime white unless the model is going to be all black (ravenwing) or a separate piece needs to be black.

Kylon white all the way! There new mixture is really good the bottle says something along the lines of counts as two coats or some advertising shenanigan's. I use armory's black for black primer or home depot flat black if I need it ASAP. 

[Ian Mulligan]

The only difference between the two I see is the finish it leaves. GW tends to be a Glossy smooth Finish where as Armor tends to be a Flat soft finish.

Armory tends to adhere better and faster.

[Grand Master Steve]

The only difference between the two I see is the finish it leaves. GW tends to be a Glossy smooth Finish where as Armor tends to be a Flat soft finish.

Armory tends to adhere better and faster.

good to know, im almost out of primer so i think ills witch back to Armory