Priming White or grey gesso primer? (And more!)

Don't worry about the questions. After all, sharing knowledge is what this forum is about and personally I think it shows motivation when you're actively looking for information on how to do things. So ask. A lot!

I used both white and grey Mr. Surfacer on my paperclay sculpts and prefer grey. Small dents and mistakes show up better in that color. Another plus is that if you use Mr.Surfacer for every coat, the 1200 has a slightly darker shade than the 1000 or 500, so you can see what you used where. But, unless you use your coated sculpt as final version with no intention to cast it, it doesn't really matter what color you use as the final coat.

Good luck.

 

I would prefer to use grey myself, because it's easier to see imperfections on a grey surface than on a white surface. Could you buy the white gesso, which is cheaper, and pigment it with something to make it grey?

 

White or grey gesso primer?

If you already have white acrylic gesso, then the addition of Black Acrylic paint will turn it gray, depending on how much black you add to the white gesso. Black Acrylic paint in tubes is usually one of the least expensive pigments available.

Google Translate English to Swedish:
Om du redan har vit akryl gesso, då tillägg av svart akrylfärg blir det grått, beroende på hur mycket svart du lägger till den vita gesso. Svart akrylfärg i rör är vanligtvis ett av de minst kostsamma pigment tillgängliga.

 

I use the 1000 (or sometimes 1200) both as a final coat and as an 'in between' coat. Works fine and you sand your piece until it is really smooth. The brush-on stuff, however, I now only use as a first coat and then afterwards to fill small imperfections. After the first layer I continue spraying primer, because you get brush strokes you'll have to sand e-ve-ry time you apply it. Spraying gives a smoother result.

 

Brushing and spraying are not the only ways to apply paint.
You can also dip objects into paint to cover them.
Usually, with dipping, there are no brush strokes.
Also, there is no over-spray as when using a spray-gun.
However, with dipping, you may get drips from excess paint.
These drips can be controlled by how the object is hung when finished dipping.
Also, you need to have a volume of paint large enough to completely submerge the object.
I once worked in a shop where all the manufactured parts were dipped in paint to finish them.
They all had a very smooth finish.
The viscosity of the paint you dip the object into will also determine the final finish.
The type of paint is also important: flat, matte, semi-gloss, or gloss.
I never see any reference to anyone dipping doll parts, so it is not a very common practice.

 

No, they're not hard to work with as long as you know when to use it and when not. The first few layers you'll have to sand anyway, so it's okay to brush it on and like I said the gesso is really good to fill up irregularities (unlike the spray, you can concentrate on a single spot).

Brush strokes won't be a problem if you use the bottle for the first few layers and the can for the last few. When finished, you'll have a nice, smooth master.