Gesso Undercoating

[MasterM]

I've been experimenting with using Black Gesso (painters use it to prep their canvasses) as a black undercoat for my Ork army instead of GW undercoat. Goes on pretty goopy but shrinks as drying leaving good detail on the model and it's much cheaper to buy. So far so good, but wondering if anyone's got any good/bad experiences with it? Cheers.

[bsmoove]

I've had some mixed experiences. When I first started using it, I was daubing it on too thick and I was both losing details, and creating cracks when the gesso dried (way too thick -I know. I know). I've since learned to use it to better effect, but have mostly shelved it. A spray bottle of Armory black costs $5.95, which for me is easier to use and not so expensive as to break the bank. I've had much better experiences with Armory than with the GW equivalents.