Effect of surface on metallizer finish?

I would recommend to prime the kit, thus you get a universal colour and base texture.
After that I would lay down a coat of gloss black prior to your metallic layer.

NMF are the best finishes to show of any flaw in your surface preparation which, IMHO, is about 90% of a good paintjob.

Get the surface well prepped prior to laying down your paint and you are pretty much assured of a good finish.

Oh, forgot. Welcome to the Asylum.

Thanks for the quick reply.

Surface prep has been a bit of a bear on this project since I'm attempting to repair an model from years ago. I'd be much happier if I could start with a new kit...

Tell me about it.

I learned the hard way about surface preparation after getting into large scale Resin and Vinyl figure kits. Many a kit I had to strip down to the bare material and redo after a flaw showed up later on, which can be a problem if it happens about 20hrs prior to a competition.

Also I found that in the larger scales you need to simulate/replicate the original surface texture more than on smaller scale kits.
Example:
A leather seat has a different surface texture to a dashboard, to a bonnet, to flesh, etc. A lot of those can be simulated with getting the right shade and luster of your colour.

Hang in there and if in doubt strip the kit and redo it. Often the best and quickest method to fix something.