Primers & palettes
Two cheap things fix a surprising amount of beginner frustration: a proper primer, so paint grips the model instead of chipping off, and a wet palette, so your thinned paint stays usable for hours instead of skinning over in minutes. This hub explains how each works — spray versus brush-on primer chemistry, and why a wet palette transforms how paint behaves — so you can buy both with confidence.
Why you prime first
Bare plastic, resin and metal are too smooth for acrylic to hold onto, so unprimed paint rubs and chips off with handling. Primer does two jobs: it gives the surface a fine tooth so paint sticks, and it lays down an even base colour so your first coats look consistent rather than blotchy. Skipping primer is one of the most common beginner regrets — the paint looks fine until the first time you pick the model up.
Spray versus brush-on primer
You have two ways to apply primer, and the chemistry differs.
- Spray primer (aerosol or through an airbrush) coats a model fast and evenly, which is ideal for batches. It needs a still, well-ventilated space and a dry, mild day if you spray outdoors — humidity and cold cause a chalky, gritty finish. Always use ventilation, and a respirator with an airbrush.
- Brush-on primer goes on with a brush, needs no special setup, and is perfect for a single model, touch-ups, or anyone without an outdoor space. It is slower and you must keep the coat thin, but it is the most beginner-friendly route.
Whichever you choose, the rule matches paint: thin, even coats. A thick coat of primer fills sculpted detail just as badly as thick paint. A light grey or white primer keeps colours bright; black is faster for dark schemes. Many painters keep both.
Why a wet palette changes everything
A wet palette is a sealed tray with a damp sponge or layer of water beneath a sheet of special semi-permeable paper. The paint sits on the paper and draws moisture up from below, so thinned acrylic stays workable for hours instead of drying out in minutes on a dry plate. If a tray seals well, paint can survive overnight.
The payoff is threefold: you waste far less paint, you can mix a colour once and use it across a whole session, and blending becomes far easier because the paint stays wet enough to work. Since thinning to the consistency of milk is the number-one beginner fix and thinned paint dries fastest, a wet palette and good thinning go hand in hand. It is one of the cheapest upgrades with the biggest payoff.
How to choose a wet palette
Wet palettes are simple, but a few specs decide how well one works for you.
- Tray size — bigger trays hold more colours and suit longer sessions; compact trays travel better.
- Seal — a tight-sealing lid keeps paint alive between sessions, which is the difference between saving paint and binning it.
- Paper — whether refill paper is included and how easy it is to buy more, since it is the one consumable.
- Depth and material — a deeper sponge stays damp longer; a sturdy material survives being carried to a club night.
Featured guides
The current published guides in this silo. More land each batch.
Landing next: Best primer for miniatures, Brush-on versus spray primer, and Wet palette paper.
For different painters
For a complete beginner
Start with a brush-on primer if you have no outdoor space, and add a wet palette early — it makes the thinning habit far easier to keep. The starter guide ties priming and thinning together.
For batch and army painters
Spray priming, done with proper ventilation, is far faster across many models, and a larger wet palette holds the colours you reuse across a batch. An airbrush handles priming too — see the tools and airbrush hub.
For painters who work in short bursts
A tightly sealing wet palette is worth the extra few dollars, because it keeps a mixed colour alive between short sessions instead of forcing you to remix every time you sit down.
Choosing a primer colour
Primer is not just glue for your paint — its colour sets the tone of everything you put on top. Paint over a white primer and your colours stay bright and vivid, which suits light schemes, yellows and reds that otherwise need many coats. Paint over black and everything reads darker and more shadowed, which is faster for dark armour and saves you shading the recesses by hand. A neutral grey sits between the two and is the most forgiving all-rounder for a beginner who is not sure yet. Many painters keep white and black and choose by the model; a grey is a fine single primer to start with. Whichever you pick, apply it in thin, even coats — a thick primer coat buries detail exactly like thick paint.
Keeping a wet palette healthy
A wet palette rewards a little care. Keep the sponge damp but not flooded — standing water under the paper makes paint run and pool — and seal the lid between sessions to hold the moisture and keep mixed colours alive. Over a few days a sealed palette can grow mould on the sponge, so rinse it out and change the water regularly, and let it dry fully now and then. Replace the palette paper when it tears or stops letting moisture through cleanly. None of this is demanding, but a neglected palette dries out or goes off, and then it is doing none of the job you bought it for. Treated well, it is the cheapest accessory that improves every session at the desk.