A base coat is the step nobody sees and everybody notices. A primer unifies a surface made of plastic, filler, resin and etched brass, improves adhesion, and above all reveals flaws while they can still be fixed rather than after the final colour has gone on. Surfacers and primers differ mainly in filling power: a surfacer floods fine abrasive marks, a plain primer only evens out the colour of the ground. Which one a particular model needs is below.
Mr.Finishing surfacer 1500 black- stříkací tmel černý 40ml
8.40 €
Mr. Surfacer 1000 - stříkací tmel 40ml
5.40 €
Mr. Surfacer 1200 - stříkací tmel 40ml
5.40 €
Mr. Finishing Surfacer Acer 1500 Black - stříkací tmel černý 170ml
15.20 €
Mr.Finishing surfacer 1500 grey- stříkací tmel šedý 40ml
8.40 €
Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 White 40ml
8.40 €
A primer is thin and exists for adhesion and an even ground. A surfacer contains a filler, goes on heavier and fills the microscopic scratches left by sanding. If you have filled and sanded a seam, you need a surfacer. If the model is clean styrene straight off the sprue, a thin primer is enough and will not drown engraved detail.
Grey is the all-rounder and shifts nothing. Black goes under metal paints and serves for pre-shading, white under saturated and pale shades that would otherwise need extra coats. Red and blue versions work as a control layer: the moment abrasive paper has gone through, you can see it.
On bare styrene most paints grip without help. On resin, photo-etched parts and printed components a primer is effectively compulsory, or the paint lifts at the first handling. Parts of that kind turn up across the plastic model kits section.
Bottled versions go through airbrush equipment and give the most control over film thickness. Aerosol bases from model spray paints are faster over large areas. A thick surfacer can even be brushed into a single seam as a thin filler.
Once the colour is on, the sequence continues with model varnishes, and the binder types themselves are listed in model paints.
