The Army Painter: Colour Primer Base Spray: Platemail Metal

A Metallic Foundation Built for Speed

Starting a unit of armoured warriors, warjacks, or heavily plated infantry with a brush-applied basecoat is a slow road. A quality metallic spray primer changes the equation entirely — one even coat across an entire batch of models, dried and ready for washes, highlights, and detail work in minutes. The Army Painter Colour Primer in Platemail Metal lays down a solid, adhesion-ready metallic base that doubles as your primer and your first colour pass in a single step. The result is a bright, mid-tone silver that captures drybrushing and shading beautifully, making it an ideal foundation for armour, machinery, and anything forged from steel.

Where It Fits in the Hobby Workflow

Platemail Metal is a colour primer — meaning it primes bare plastic, metal, or resin while simultaneously laying down a metallic base colour. That combination makes it a genuine time-saver for any model with substantial armour coverage. After spraying, models are ready for shade paints (washes) to be applied directly into recesses for instant depth, or for layered highlights to push the metal toward a polished finish. It works across any miniature painting system — Citadel shades, Vallejo washes, Army Painter Quickshade — and suits any game system or scale in the tabletop hobby. Apply outdoors or in a well-ventilated area at 15–25°C for best results, and shake the can thoroughly before use.

Who Should Pick This Up

New hobbyists will find a metallic spray primer one of the most useful purchases they can make — it cuts hours off a batch-painting session and gives models a professional-looking starting point with minimal effort. Experienced painters use it for speed-painting rank-and-file troops, keeping detailed work reserved for characters and centrepiece models. It is a natural companion for armies with heavy armour across any faction or game system, from Space Marine Terminators to Warmachine warjacks to fantasy plate-clad infantry. A single can covers a significant number of models and replaces the need for a separate black or grey primer followed by a metallic base coat.

Specifications