I've recently found that Vallejo makes an 'acrylic polymer' primer. They make a variety of different colors. I've found it has to be applied really lightly, almost just a dusting over whatever material. It works on wood, metal, resin and styrene, I've found. Cleans up with water, you shoot it neat (no thinning required), and comes in a 17 or 200 ml bottle so you can airbrush without decanting. Really nice stuff, I'm told it's well reviewed, very cheap and works very well with acrylics. I've found Vallejo paints coat it best, but other acrylics work well too. I'm not sure how much 'bite' it has - referring to Vance's post - and it is nice to have that bite into the styrene, but it dries very quickly (a couple of hours, overnight to be safe). If you can find it, I'd highly recommend it, as I would Vallejo's model color or model air (color being intended for brush painting, though thinned it can be airbrushed, air being intended for airbrushing).
That's my two pennies, hope it helps.