Best Primer Ever? - HC 456 

I love the Mr Hobby Surfacer 1500 rattle cans. Black, white, gray and oxide red. For those without space to safely spray I really suggest trying out the rattle cans. I use em all year round here in Japan with perfect results every time.

We swear by the spray version of 1500 here in Japan because even from June through September you can still get a super smooth prime coat despite the ridiculous humidity. That said I definitely leave them outside (in a box on the balcony) for at least half an hour before bringing them back in. Don’t mess with those fumes.

Indeed Mr Hobby products are much appreciated by scale or Gunpla modellers. I think (not 100% sure) that it is lacquer acrylics, not enamel. This type of product chemically etch into the surface, hence they are much more resilient than water based acrylic primers. This also make the m great if you scractch build or use miwed media, resin plastic, metal or whatever, you will have an even surface in the end. Note that Mr Hobby surfacers contain micro filler, and the lower the number the thicker they are. For example 500 grade can be used to fill some gaps, in that case brush application is more precise. 1500 grade is fine for priming. You get something like your GW chaos black spray can, including the toxicity.

Vince - I’m glad to see you give Gunpla products some attention 🎉. Mr. Hobby lacquers really are the best primers. I think you’ll really love the Mr. Hobby GX Metal Color line 😊. A couple interesting things: - the “400” in Mr Hobby leveling thinner refers to the amount of lacquer thinner in the bottle 400ml - “1500” in Mr Surface Finisher 1500 Black refers to the grit of the finish when dry, 1500 grit. - for safety, it’s worth mentioning that the respirator filters need to be rated organic compounds (VOCs). I like 3M P100 60926 or 60923 filters.

as a scale modeler/miniature painter i am so glad that you guys are all finding MR surfacer. It is actually a lacquer based primer and you can thin it out 100/150 primer to thinner.

The company that produces Mr Hobby, GSI Creos, also makes incredible bang for buck airbrushes. The 0.3mm PS-289 is eighty bucks and keeps up with $200 airbrushes in my collection. A starter airbrush you’ll never outgrow.

If you haven’t yet, for zenithal lights, try thinning the Tamiya flat white acrylic with lacquer thinner (especially leveling lacquer thinners). It takes the already great Tamiya flat white to an insane level of control with functionally no tip dry.

Hi vince. Not a question but more just a remark. You've been in this business for so long and I have learned quite a bit from you. Especially the color theory videos which are among my favorites. Just wanted to say: keep up the good work!

For resin and plastic i've been using the mr hobby for years as I come from the gunpla hobby, I do notice that metal miniatures and metal in general it doesnt really grip that well. Best I've found for metal is the tamiya spray cans "surface primer fine"

So glad you guys did listen and started using this primer, its just the best. And the 400 on the thinner bottle is just the ml

If you want an acrylic primer that applies smoothly unthinned and doesn't clog, I really recommend Molotow one4all. I can prime like 40 figures with it without ever cleaning the airbrush in between. It's also durable enough for handling the models, perhaps not as much as an enamel primer, but has the upside of not producing toxic fumes when sprayed

All those precautions are still true for usual canned primers, like GW or Vallejo. Vaporized acetone and all...

I discovered Mr Hobby products when building gunpla. Started using their primers and clear coats on minis and it works like a charm. You get the same results from the rattle cans, too.

I just started using this stuff recently as well, and I really like it. One thing to add is that the cartridges on your respirator should be rated for organic vapors to work with solvent based paints. I run 3M 60921 P100 cartridges in mine.

I'm in Malaysia and we are humid all year round. This primer, and all of the Mr. color line JUST WORK. Often I even use this black mr. surfacer as a semi-gloss black.

For anyone without an airbrush, The Mr Hobby Surfacer spray cans also produce excellent results

I would also suggest getting mixing bottles. For Gunpla I have bottles and bottles of paint ready to go in their own premixed container.

Hey Vince, love your videos. Do you have a dedicated video on posture, arm position and related stuff? There is probably not a universal way to paint, but I think there could be a great benefit for others to see someone who is painting a lot (and long hours) how he's doing it. I'm asking, because last month I started painting longer sessions (some days 6-10 hours) and am starting to feel it. Part of the problem might be my hight (6'4). Thanks for your great content. Have a nice weekend!

Honestly, Tamiya, Mr Hobby and other scale modeling brands are so much better than miniature brands. I only use rattle can primer atm but I’m saving up for a better spray booth before I switch. Then I plan on using the tamiya flat white for zenithal pre shading

Have been building models for 30 years and using Mr. Hobby for more than 15+ years on all my model kits (cars, military, Gundam and now miniatures) no complaints. If I made a mistake and need to strip the paint, good 91% alcohol will do. Also, you can pre-diluted (with self leveling thinner)and it will last you for months. Just keep it away from the sun light. Mr. Hobby primer is a must have. Highly recommended!!!

For those considering trying this, a couple of things not mentioned in the video: lacquer thinner (and other aggressive solvents) will deteriorate the seals in lower end airbrushes-- make sure your airbrush has ptfe seals before attempting. Also, n95 masks and similar are not sufficient for lacquer thinner, please use a mask rated for organic vapors

Thank you for addressing MrHobby Primer. I became very interested in it after seeing it on Ninjon's channel. Toxicity is a concern for me, and it means I will likely avoid using it. However, I'm even more interested in Tamiya X-20A as a thinner for airbrushing. The almost instant drying effect looks spectacular in Sergio Calvo's videos. Are you thinning with Tamiya X-20A? Are you taking similar precautions due to its toxicity?

You also need to wear eye protection with these paints, they can seriously damage your eyes if you get it in there.

Just a note: Mr Hobby paints are better described as lacquers, not enamels. I've used Mr. Hobby's Mr. Surfacer 1000 as a gray primer for over a decade now. I've used it as a primer over PVC (soft vinyl) models. It adheres to the vinyl very well, passing the scratch test. It also forms a barrier layer that prevents the outer layers of acrylic paints from becoming tacky from extended contact with the vinyl. I've learned to spray it from further away from the model, so it doesn't have a glossy finish. This gives the surface a little extra tooth for acrylics to.

When I read the title I knew it had to be Mr Surfacer. The 400 on the Leveling Thinner is the size of the bottle (400ml in this case) The 1500 is the grit, like in sandpaper. 1500 is very smooth, so best used as final primer like in your video. If you sand your pieces down (vehicles or gunpla) the grittier stuff like Mr Surfacer 500 will work great as filler primer. This stuff is not only durable, it also sands down without tearing and creating a hard edge like many acrylic primers do.

Sounds like cleaning it takes about the same time as listening to Lacquerhead, and that’s a point for it. On a slightly more serious note, this is something I might look into if I ever have a ventilated area not even attached to the house to do things like this in.

Mr Hobby 1500 is also available in a spray can over here in Scotland so should be available everywhere else too. Ideal for spraying outside if you don't have an indoor setup

Yup been using this stuff for years , love it and the leveling thinner is magic you can almost go to 2/1 ratio (thinner /paint) and it still comes out amazing , it's like having a spray can in a bottle.......nice to see more people using this ........try the white it's awesome too for contrast paints

Glad to see more wargame hobbyists catching up to the military modeling hobbyists like Night Shift

Best lacquer primer I've used hands down on plastic minis ... it's 'hot' so eats into the surface well.

I use the rattle can version, but otherwise 100% agree. Of course, this means I'm obligated to prime those minis on a day with good weather, so there's trade-offs.

The 400 on the bottle is just the size of the bottle. Glad more miniature guys are seeing the light of lacquer primers/paints.

Mr Hobby paints are hands down the best, but man am I sensitive to the fumes. I have an extraction fan and I use a respirator but I spray in my study. If you are able to use these easily, you cannot go wrong.

I've been using it for a number of years on my scale models, brilliant stuff! I've tried several others since but I've found nothing yet to beat it.

If I recall correctly, organic solvents demyelinate neurons. It would certainly be best to use a fume hood. I am not sure the precise value of neurons in cash, but if you're going to use these things the fume hood would be money well spent. I'm a patron of yours, and I endorse using some of that Patreon money for the hood :). EDIT: you might get good results if you can get the proper filter for an airbrush booth...???

Have you tried the Mr Hobby Aqueous yet Vince? Acrylic primer from the same range, I've found it very good, better than any of the other equivalent acrylic primers, but I've never tried using the enamel range so I can't say how it compares.

i love that you started the video with the mask to make it really evident, and kept reminding to keep safe all throught the video :D

Mr Color paints are foolproof magic. Base coating large models like KO boats is a snap BUT they don’t brush well (you need another type of thinner for that) and the toxicity is STRONG which makes it tough to do touch up work.

For anyone who, like me, comes from a background of using other solvent-based finishes (and likes saving money) who thinks, "Hey, the Mr. Hobby Thinner is just lacquer thinner - I can just use regular old lacquer thinner to dilute the primer!" The Mr. Hobby thinner has a different ratio of solvents than hardware store lacquer thinner, and will add unwanted texture to your primer coat due to melting the plastic until the solvent flashes off. The Mr Hobby stuff doesn't melt your plastic - don't make the mistake I did :) That said, this primer is unparalleled in quality when used as directed in this video.

High VOC enamel and lacquers were the first thing I ever airbrushed with; they certainly have their advantages. Having done "Kustom" auto paint and airbrushing, I've also used the urethane chemistry paints that are preferred by the industry, and Mr. Hobby's got _nothing_ on the toxicity of Urethane paints. Again, they have incredible properties too. I've personally been experimenting with shellac (the kind you mix from flake yourself) - paint (oil, acrylic, enamel, varnish, lacquer - pretty much. you name it, it'll stick) adheres aggressively to shellac, shellac adheres to just about everything aggressively, and you can cut shellac pretty thin. No clogs, no problems. Even dried out shellac will re-activate (years later) with alcohol, so cleanup is completely painless. The one problem I've had is my shellac flakes are very light colored, so it goes on clear - it's difficult to see where I've applied it. I'm going to experiment with dying it, using it as a candy color, and mixing in pearl flakes as well. That said, so far, shellac doesn't hide details at all, and has proven pretty promising.

All Mr Hobby products are awesome

I'm in the UK and prime with zero issues using VA Black Primer. Good grip, paint flows and sticks to it without a glitch. Details are kept crisp to. I do dilute it 1:1 with Airbrish thinner with 3 drops of Flow Improver already primed in the airbrush. I use small batches and clean up after going through 5-10 minis. While cleaning the airbrush the previous layer is curing on the minis. I do about 3 layers of black and then a zenithal using either an Ivory or tanned VA primer. So a total of like 4-5 thinned primer layers. After painting I just use an auto shop satin lacquer and presto: hard solid paint shop for gaming

Two points: 1) Want to further stress to everyone that the mask to wear for this stuff is like what Vince is wearing, a heavy duty respirator with a P100 filter. A paper N95 isn't going to cut it for this type of chemical. 2) The white primer is just as incredible. In some ways it's even more impressive, considering how much other white primers absolutely suck.

You mentioned this a few weeks back and I’ve been hoping for a video! A project I was proud of was ruined due to peeling primer recently, so I’ve been looking for alternatives.

When I lived in Tokyo in the early 2000's, Mr Hobby Surfacer in rattle cans was all I could reliably get.

I spent quite a lot of money on an airbrush (H&S Infinity cult of paint version), compressor (Iwata Smart jet plus handle tank compressor), and airbrush booth. It all sits rarely used because I have so much trouble with using acrylic paint through it. When the airbrush was delivered, the box was damaged, and the airbrush itself had been rattling around in the cardboard box. There wasn't any visible damage, but I have so many problems when using it that I think it has something wrong with it. I think I will try this Mr Hobby primer to see if I can actually get some use out of my airbrushing stuff. Cheers, Vince.

I think cracking open a new pot of Mr hobby surfacer is my favourite smell - but definitely don't inhale deep. Mr hobby is a great brand.

Another tip for those who live in a dry environment: Mr. Hobby makes a retarder called "Mr. Retarder". The "leveling" thinner already has some of this in it, but I find a couple extra drops can be super useful for getting a smooth result on particularly dry days. Also, if you also use your airbrush with typical water based acrylics, make absolutely sure you have done a super deep clean of your airbrush before swapping to a lacquer based paint like this. I find that when the lacquer thinner contacts a dried up water based acrylic paint it gets extremely gunky and nearly ruined my airbrush. To alieviate this, I now have a second, cheaper, airbrush that I use exclusively for lacquers, and my nicer airbrush is exclusively for water based acrylics. Lastly, after cleaning my airbrush with generic lacquer thinner, I like to do one last quick clean with "Mr. Tool Cleaner". This is like an extra extra strong version of the Mr. Color thinner that helps get out the last remnants of paint that stubbornly stayed in my airbrush. Once I started using this, I significantly cut down on the number of times I had to dismantle and deep clean my airbrush.

Enamel primer is totally new to me. Not sure i see the benefits of it yet. - Rubber-based airbrush primers (like Vallejos Polyurethane) are mainly for Metal Minis since rubber sticks better to metal surfaces. - Spray can Primers contain a low amount of a solvent named N-Butyl-Acetate and sometimes a small amount of Acetone. Both melts plastic just a liiiitle bit, which makes the black plastic particles (mixed into the solvent) melt into the grey plastic and essentially become one and the same piece as the grey plastic. I only use spray can primers on plastic for this reason. 1: Soak your plastic parts (or entire sprues) in water & dish soap for 24 Hours and then... 2: ...rinse it clean under Hot water; you can now drag a clean (de-greased) finger across the plastic and it should squeak loudly because it's so clean. 3: Let it dry fully (pref for 24H)... 4: ...then use a spray can primer. 5: Let the primer harden for 24H... 6: Win! The results are amazing. No joke; I can't scrape it off even with my fingernails. - Note: I've only "stress tested" GWs and Vallejos primers like this and they yield equally good results. I do this with all my models and terrain and so far never experienced primer coming off.

I picked up the 400 leveler thinner long ago because of the scale modeler community, I use it with Tamiya 'acrylics' it's great stuff regardless of the actual primer you use. Cheers

I appreciate the knowledge, but short of using it from rattle can occasionally no amount of benefit would outway the grief my wife would give me at the 1st hint of an odor! Stynylrez was my go to until I started using Pro Acryl, which has been great exept their white primer has been tricky. My standard zenithal now is inks cut with AK Ultra Matt Varnish. Thanks Vince!

You will need a filter qualified for VOC's (volatile organic chemicals). The usual N95, HEPA, or airbrush booth only really take care of small particles. They're not sufficient for chemical filtering.

- I don't think Vince mentioned it in the vid, but any excess enamel/lacquer paint or thinner should not be dumped down your sink. Soke it up with paper towel and throw it in the trash, or if you will have a lot of thinner used for cleaner put it in a glass jar and you'll need to take it to hazardous waste disposal day in your area (or equivalent). Excess paint could also just be dumped back into your paint pot. - A lot of Gundam modelers will take one of these jars and dump it into a larger dropper bottle. Then pre-thin it so they don't have to mix it every time they prime. - A covid KN95 mask is not good enough for your lungs. They are great for dust protection when sanding and trimming plastic and resin. But for paint spraying you should have a respirator with filters for chemical fumes like Vince is wearing at the start. - Lacquer sprayed minis still smell for quite awhile, probably best to let them offgas for a day or so before painting.

Thanks for another excellent tutorials/review. I’m going to try this Mr. Hobby on my next figures. Thanks again!

Thanks Vince. Jon mentioned using this back when he was working on his GD piece, but you blew it apart. Absolutely giving this a shot, as I've experience bad batch and consistency issues with Vallejo the last couple of years. x

Most all of Tamiya and Mr. Hobby paints are so nice to use in an airbrush, even their acrylic lineups...we in the miniature wargaming world are really behind the times when it comes to the Gunpla modeler's tools and paints.

Saturday morning chemical warfare with Vincey V!

Been looking at getting this, so great to see it being used. Definitely a soon to be purchased product.

I can confirm this is the best!! Also, The spray can version is truly amazing for bigger projects. It’s perfect.

The Mr Hobby line of products was available at the first hobby shop that I worked for back in the 80s. Everybody who used those products swore by them. In general, they have good stuff. Still, I didn't see anything here that made me want to divert from my own current favorite primer - Stynylrez. I REALLY don't like having to move back and forth from water-based product to non-water-based products because of the need for extra airbrush cleaning needed between those products. Not to mention the added fumes. On top of tall of that the Mr Hobby Primer is pretty expensive. Stynylrez is about $.05ml. Mr Finishing Surfacer is $.30ml. That's a huge difference. I appreciate you sharing your experience and I will probably still give it a try at some point to see if it might be worth the expense.

I got this stuff when Ninjon mentioned it and its amazing!

Yes! Glad you finally tried this stuff out. (I recommended it in the comments of your last primer video)

I’m a Stynylrez guy myself. While I’ve not had issues with the primer rubbing off I have had cases where the paint didn’t grab as well… rare but it’s happened.

Mr Hobby 1500 is a lacquer paint and you can dilute it with the 400 more than 1:1, it's not fussy at all about the ratio. A very good alternative is the Mr Hobby Aqueous primer. It's similar to Tamiya (solvent based lacquer), which you can clean with water. Less toxic than true lacquer. Also comes in a rattle can (1500 as well) - a good alternative if you don't have airbrush.

Their spray cans are awesome too. A Mr Hobby or Tamiya spray can iis buttery smooth and you have almost as much control as with an airbrush.

So i am a scale modeler first and and used to use enamel paints. One thing you have to be careful with when using enamels is they are oil based and dry/cure more slowly than acrylics. The big challenge with that is your wonderful paint job will crack if the primer isn’t fully cured because enamels shrink as they dry. I have found if i wash my models with. 50/50 mix of simple green and water, i dont have adhesion issues with acrylics

Love Mr Hobby, especially the 500 for repairing surface defects but.... the AK Gen 3 primer (black) is awesome and not as harmful, super matt finish and a great primer for anything to adhere to

Vince, I’ve been using Vallejo water based primers without any problems, it covers good, doesn’t hide details. Dries quickly, and is tough. Paint adheres good also. Airbrush cleans with water.

The primer coat can be sanded and polished as well, which is a huge plus in some cases

I love seeing more scale model stuff slip into the mini scene! I have both the black and gray primers and they are fantastic! I can eyeball the sumbitch and even have it pre-thinned in a bottle. I can't wait for you to check out ALCLAD's chrome and Mr Color's clears!

Honestly I am surprised you have came upon it just yet. I have used it for ears and swear for it. It is THE BEST primer I have ever used and I never had any issues with it.

Been using this primer for years, and cannot recommend it enough.

Absolutely completely agree! GaiaNotes and Mr Hobby surfacers are GAME CHANGING PRIMERS

For that variety of lacquer primer I tend to go 1.5:1 or 2:1 thinner to paint, and spray at around 12-ish psi. With any amount of humidity in the environment it's best to wait 24 hours to let the primer finish fusing to the surface. You can paint over it earlier than that, but for best results to avoid accidental scratching it's best to wait a day.

Always great info :)

I had to try this stuff out for myself after ninjon introduced it. Took nearly a month for the 400 thinner to show up. Once I tested it out, though...damn. This stuff really is magical. Just make sure to order the thinner bottle earlier before running out!

Using MR hobby primer for the last 4 years. Just an amazing overall

You could also use black inks such as Molotow, and avoid all the chemicals, mixing, and cleaning, and still get a strong, satin, base priming layer. They also come in other colours too, so you can use their opaque colours very easily.

3:51: As an FYI, that KN95 mask you show there briefly *_will not_* protect you from the organic solvent vapours created during airbrushing a solvent-based product. They're _only_ rated for particles.

The only reason I haven't picked up GSI Creos paints and primers is I know my booth can't handle it, and I want a recirculating setup, so odds are I'll just pick up an inline fan with a charcoal filter which will hopefully do enough to be able to handle such. With how our place is set up, and the condo board's rules, it's difficult to exhaust a booth outside.

I remember asking about these back when you did your primers video, extremely stoked to see you cover them for the model hobby. And I'm glad to hear your take Vince! Now I just gotta get someone to try out the Triangle hobby knife and I can feel truly vindicated as a hobbyist in both the modeling hobby and the model kits hobby.

Excellent primer been using it for almost a decade. I premix 30ml bottles of it.

One note about thinners, if you want a little more matte finish use Mr.Color Thinner not levelling one. And the number in this case 400 is just the bottle size in ml.

A further safety point, noting (as someone else mentioned) lacquer thinner is neurotoxic: yes it’s dry after 15 minutes (or quicker) but it may still be gassing off medium for longer. So if I am working on a scale model, masked up and with the spray booth going, I am happy to start putting more paint on when it is touch dry. But minis I am going to have close up to my face: I give them an hour or two. Outside if possible. This is a rule of thumb for how long fumes were coming into the house when I let them dry too close to an open window. I thin more than 1:1. I don’t know by how much, but to the proverbial ‘consistency of milk’. Someone else noted that lacquers can stand a lot of thinning. My ready-to-airbrush paints would be about 80-90% medium. But of course one must develop one’s own method. Phun phact: lacquers are so durable because they bond to the surface. That is, they are, technically, actually primers. Acrylic ‘primers’ are actually just undercoats. Excessively pedantic point: enamels cure, but lacquer/solvent/aqueous acrylics dry.

Welcome to the Gunpla world! No more licking the brush!

Vince wearing mask - "Mumbled voice" Me - "Bless the Omnissiah!"

One of the most fun things about working with Lacquers is that your regular thinner is also your cleaning material, saves a lot of time lol

Hi Vince, I’ve used it to prime aircraft kits at 1-32 scale to check for seams and for checking gaps filled with putty. I’ve also used it in 40c plus temp at 100% humidity (northern Australia) summer and it just works. Can you one day do a video about choosing and painting your first warhammer minis? Or maybe a large scale figure?

MR. Hobby is a Laqcuer paint.

This has probably already been pointed out but just for clarity, this isn't an enamel primer, it's a lacquer. But the same safety precautions should be followed. You can also thin this down a lot more than you have been. General recommended ratio is anywhere from 1:1 to 2:1 thinner:primer. I usually go 1.5:1, bang for buck.

Mr. color surfacer primer in spray can works just as well as on airbrush yess

I use tamiya surface primer spray cans to apply my first primer layer and then I airbrush the acrylic vallejo surface primer black over the top I let the tamiya surface primer dry for at least 24 hours before painting on the vallejo and after that paint on the base coat colour layers (various colours from different brands for the colours anything is fine) and then leave that for another at least 24 hours. I've found the key to ensuring a strong durable prime layer is to let it marinate. Thanks for the video, I have some of this mr surfacer in different grits and it is good stuff but I don't like using toxic paints and I don't like cleaning chemical paints out of my airbrush. It's an option for people who don't care to use the toxic paints.

Humidity probably doesn't matter as much, since evaporation of the solvent is only effected by how much evaporated solvent is in your air. This is a good video, but personally I just avoid spraying solvents, even if the results aren't as good. I still wear a respirator and use an airbrush booth.

Ok, a few things about the Mr Hobby/Mr Color line. Mr Color Leveling Thinner 400 describes the size of the container (400 ml). The product is just Mr Color Leveling Thinner…and you can buy it in 100, 250, or 400ml sizes. The primer itself is Mr Finishing Surfacer 1500. While Vince keeps calling it Mr Hobby 1500, that potentially describes a couple of things in the GSI/Gunze product line. See, Mr Hobby is sort of an umbrella brand there’s Mr Hobby Aqueous primers, Mr Hobby Acrysion primers, and lots of varieties of the product within that naming convention. So, the product Vince is using here is a lacquer (not enamel) surfacing primer - Mr Finishing Surfacer 1500 Black. You can also find Mr Surfacer. The difference between Mr Finishing Surfacer and Mr Surfacer is the ability to fill scuffs, scratches, and minor blemishes. The bigger the number, the smaller the filler material in the surfacer. 1500 is smaller filler, 500 is very thick filler. Mr Surfacer 500 is more like a liquid putty than a sprayable primer/surfacer. 1000 and 1200 are somewhere in between. For minis, starting with the 1500 is probably fine because there isn’t a lot of surface prep done like you might do on a car model or a plane or whatever. Just as a personal preference, I don’t use Mr Color Leveling Thinner with the Mr Finishing Surfacer if I’m hand brushing a piece because I find that the first layer of my paint beads up because the finish is so satin-y. I use Mr Color Thinner rather than the Leveling Thinner which gives a slightly less satin finish and the paint beads up less. Since Vince is spraying the zenithal over the black surface in the video, I think this likely reduces that as an issue.

Fwiw, I use the primer in the cans, since I can use it outside, and get less toxic issues (still wear a respirator). I prefer the mahogany, but the black is good too. I do think it’s a laquer not an enamel, but I could be wrong. Yes the cans are more expensive, but they give the same result, I don’t have to clean my airbrush, and being outside I get less cross contamination

I love all Vince Venturella videos 👍👏🤘

Pretty sure it is lacquer based, and not enamel. Laqcuer paint seems pretty nice in general. I don't have the capacity to use lacquers though. Curse my living situation.

Mr hobby makes great products and their airbrushs are great with reasonable prices.

Hi Vince. Coming from scale modelling I have been using Mr Hobby primers for some while - ever since I managed to peel a complete layer of Vallejo primer off a model in one sheet! Indeed, I still have big bottles of acrylic primers on my racks but just don't use them. After almost throwing my airbrushes out in frustration a couple of years ago I switched from water based paint to lacquer based paint after chatting with a professional modeller and the experience was like an epiphany. I still use water based paints for brushing onto minis but on the occasions that I need to airbrush them I expect frustration and clogging. The big issue, as you correctly emphasise, is that the proper filtration and extraction equipment is required. I am fortunate that my hobby shed has this. My only question is why you use another thinner for cleaning when you already have Mr Hobby 400?

Vince is the man!