Painting white is not that hard.

I just painted an Ultramarine command squad for a friend that consisted of the old school metal figures.  I decided the Apothecary would have the old school, all white paint job instead of the quick and easy Ultramarine blue with white helmet (boring <yawn>).  But since this is one color (including yellow) that everyone hates to paint, how should I do it?  The following steps make it real easy to do in a matter of no time and get great results.

First, prime the model black like you would normally.  You may ask, "Why not just prime it white since thats the color its going to end up?"  This may seem like the logical step and I'll quickly explain why I don't.  White primer does not always go on as smoothly.  There will be spots that you will miss and unless you inspect every knook and cranny, there will be bare spots.  These spots will work against you and your painting.  By using black primer (especially on a metal model) you can easily see any missed spots.  Also, I have had back luck with white primer.  Maybe it was a bad batch or something else, but all the ones I've used turned yellow or come out frosted.

Second, drybrush the model heavily with SpaceWolves Grey.  When this is dry, drybrush it with Skull White.  The grey acts as a base that the white can adhere to.  The model will still look greyish so give it another drybrushing with white.  Now comes the fun part.  Since most of the model is white but lacks any detail,  give it a thorough wash of Badab Black.  Your model should look like this:


Very grey.

Now you may be thinking that you are back to a grey model again.  Actually what you've done is just defined where to paint and created an instant black-lining.  The next step is very easy: paint on your white.  You use the grey areas as guide to where the white paint goes.  Its almost like a coloring book.


Its like a 3D coloring book!

From the picture above, you can see where I've started at the legs and filled in the white.  Mind you, that's only one coat.  Thats all you need.  No more multiple passes of white and white and white.  Leave the dark lines, even if they are just grey, in the recesses.  This will give the model definition since you can't highlight white, you instead have to create shadows.  This is easier if the shadows are already there for you to paint around.



Instant black-lining.

So now your model should look like the one above.  By carefully filling in the areas with white but still keeping the shadow, your model should look like it was painted white and then black-lined (only you will know the truth). 

"But what if I make a mistake?"  This is easily solved.  With traditional black-lining, you would have to go over the black with many layers of white or have to build it back up from grey.  With this method, if you get too much white over what should be a shadow, all you have to do is give it another wash.  Wait for it to completely dry before going back with the white paint.  No stress!

Eventually your model will look like this:


And then a miracle happens!

Once the white paint has been filled in, you can add all of the other colors.  Just use caution at this point.  Any color that you add will show up very clearly on the white.  Make sure you are aware of where the brush (and your hands) are going on the model.