do you primer PE parts?

Some folks will say it depends on whether you are using acrylics or enamels, and what brand as well.  Tamiya's acrylics have excellent adhesion, even without primer for example. 

I came back to scale modeling after years of painting gaming miniatures and vehicles for games like Warhammer 40k.  As such, I painted a ton of mixed media.  Pewter, resin, and various grades of plastic, as well as epoxy putties used to sculpt or improve detail. 

Short answer, I prime EVERYTHING I paint!  Even a light coat of duplicolor sandable automotive primer gives your airbrushed paints (and any hand brushed details) a good surface to 'bite' into.  It sprays very fine (designed for auto body work), comes in multiple colors, and is sandable!

Give it a try, you won't be disappointed!

Chris

Chris - thanks for the advice. I am using Floquil enamel for this project and will prime everything with gray primer. I have been using the cheap Walmart primer but think I will try the Duplicolor. Think I saw it at Lowes?

I have never seen it at Lowes, it is an automotive primer.  I know they have it at Shucks. 

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/DPL0/DAP1687.oap?pt=N0472&ppt=C0171

I have used cheap generic primer before (Lowes brand), but find it to spray a bit thick and have splatters or large clumps every so often.  It is a bit too grainy for me.

Best of luck to you!

Chris

Krylon makes a good primer and Krylon paints are available at many hardware and building supply places, as well as Michaels craft stores.  Krylon primer is what I use on PE stuff.

Just my worth, but i never prime anything. I use lots of PE as well as resin AM and i piaint with both Enamels and Acrylics and have never had a problem.

Chris - just to let you know. I tried the Duplicolor and compared it to the Walmart ColorPlace primer, that I was using on a different project.      WOW!!! 

For the work and price of good models these days, it does not compare. I will use up the old but buy nothing else from now on. It is even much better than Krylon which I also use and like for some things.

Hehe!  Sometimes people think I'm exagerating about how much of a differentce in quality and adhesion there is using the Duplicolor.  The only other pimer I have ever really liked was from Games Workshop, and as it is a 'labeled brand', they sell it for $15.00 a can!  I liked the stuff, shoots really fine, holds to metal well (though not as well as Duplicolor), but when the prices hit $10.00 about 4-5 years ago I started looking for an alternative.

I went through a TON of different brands and types before I hit on the automotive stuff.  I'll never go back!

Glad you had good results too!

Chris