Priming and sealing

Any advice on decreasing humidity to avoid the dry\sandpaper effect?

Unless it's super humid where you live it might not be the humidity at all, could be the paint and sealer you're using.

Always have a test mini or some other object on hand to spray your primer/sealant prior to your actual minis.

However, failing that there are ways I've found to save the mini from the dry/dust/sandpaper effect.

With dry primer use dry, sturdy paint brush and rapidly 'dust-off' the mini.

For sealants that can sometimes make your mini look dusty you'll need to go find another working spray sealant and respray the mini. The application of a new wet coat will take away the dusty look.

Am I the only one who heard the Beastie Boys Rhymin' and Stealin in their head when they saw this thread title?

I use Krylon spray primer and Krylon matte acrylic coating\sealer. Sometimes it works like a charm, sometimes not. I always shake the can for about 5 minutes straight before I spray. Also, I always spray from about 5 inches away.

I use the Kilz oil-based primer. That stuff sticks to anything. Thin it out with a little paint thinner and then brush it on. Seems to work pretty well.

That shit happened to some of my Dreadfleet pieces but thankfully only the rocks. I'd have been PISSED if it was one of the ships.

If I use spray stuff, always use a test mini first.

Not wanting to deal with that (it just takes one bad batch). I've switched to brush on primers and actually have been using both White and Black Gesso, generally used to prep canvas paintings, to good effect.

Hi,

First post from long time lurker. Can you describe your priming process? I usually spray outside to avoid the mess but if I move the minis inside and the humididty is different then the frosting is likely to happen. If you just ruined a painted mini you could try very gently brushing a little solvent. I don't know what kind of paint is Krylon but some general purpose dichloromethane based paint thinner chould do the trick.

It's a simple spray primer. I ALWAYS take mine outside. Now, I must add, the gray primer does this MUCH less than the white. Maybe just a bad batch?

I meant is it acrylic, enamel or something else? Do you take them back in when you're done spraying or you leave them to dry? To be honest I never had this with primer. Frosting is a common problem with varnish though. Generally rapid change of temp/humidity is a bad idea. So if you take them outside and it's colder/warmer than inside leave them for a couple of minutes. After spraying it's better to leave them for much longer - an hour or two. Extreme humidity or temp is most likely going to ruin your work no matter what you do.

Do you seal before or after adding ballast to the base?

I nearly always paint it so the highlights are a bit exaggerated, then seal it and glue on static grass. I don't think it matters if you are not going to paint it then there's nothing to rub off.

The spray seal is acrylic matte. And yes, I do bring them inside almost immediately to dry. I'll start leaving them outside a while to dry.