Plastic to wood. To Prime or not to prime?

I always prime over any kind of filler. For one thing, the uniform color lets me see if the filling is really complete.  Second, it gives me a smoother surface to work with.  Probably some roughness could be allowed under leather, but I still would work from a smooth primed surface.

I'm having trouble understanding the question. When you say plastic wood, are you talking about the old-fashioned filler that comes in a can or tube? If so, my first recommendation is to use something else as a filler. There are much better ones available. My choice is Famowood, but places like Lowe's and Home Depot carry several other good brands.

Or are you trying to paint styrene to look like wood? If so, I'd say a base coat of light tan would be a good start.

Our Forum friend DavidK is a maestro of wood grain techniques. All his threads on the "Ships" forum full of good tips. So are those of Docidle.

Good luck.

Didn't know wood was plastic... LOL! I kinda got lost in the translation too jtilley.

Thanks for the replies so far. Sorry for the vague post. Its just like when you have a normal model kit but the plastic looks like wood and has a grain, notches etc. So I'm going to paint it with humbrol leather then use oil paint and a dark brown wash for weathering. Wondering if I should prime it and if it will add an effect or make it easier to paint etc.

I see no advantage of not priming except for saving $$ on primers. I always prime.