Painting red - acrylic or enamel

Whichever way you decide to go, undercoat with white first.

I hear you!  Red, yellow and white are so painful.   I have had great luck with Tamiya rattle can red oddly enough.  Most recently I did a Ducati kit in Italian red (TS8) that went down beautifully. 

I use red oxide primer when painting red to reduce color change in the top coat. (get your undercoat color close to the top coat color) clean your surface before painting. fingerprints can contain oil that affects the paint. don't mix brands. some primers don't like different brand top coat and vice-versa. do a light coat first, then heavier layers to build up color and gloss.