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Not generally.

Depending on the specific cases, sometimes I'll put down a light grey base coat if I have a lot of PE / Resin / Putty / Styrene in one place to get a consistent colour base to make it easier to work with thin colour coats., but I don't do this for any adhesion purpose.

Cheers,

Matt

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On aircraft models, I usually just make sure the PE is clean and dry after sanding it with a fine grit wet/dry paper before painting. However with armor, I usually prime the PE before painting. I never really thought about it before but I guess I prime the armor PE since it is usually on the outside and likely to be handled more while a lot of the aircraft PE is in the cockpit or in placed not handled so I don't worry so much about paint chipping.

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I take the view that all 'bare metal' PE parts should be 'primed', even if there's no painting. This is because in my tropical region, PE parts can discolor, and even rust(!) over time. However, I only prime with Mr Hobby's Mr Metal Primer (rattle can), because it uses a different chemistry which dries like a thin film of silicon, and it dries CLEAR, as compared to Tamiya's grey and pigmented primer. I get no problems with chipping paints after the PE is pre-coated with Mr Hobby.

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In my VERY limited experience with PE, I simply washed the entire fret with soap and a soft toothbrush, then sanded the surface with 800 grit sand paper...then washed it again.

I've found that if I didn't do the sanding (regardless of whatever else I did), paint wouldn't adhere very well. 800 grit is just enough to rough up the surface to give the paint something to grab onto. 1000 grit might work too, but 800 has always been just fine for me.

I never actually primed the PE itself, but I do prime almost all of the exterior plastic I paint. After roughing up the PE, MM enamels stick just fine and will even hold up to a little bending of the PE part (i.e. harness or lap belts)

JED

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Hmm, Tamiya does have a metal primer that dries clear too. First time I've used it, I was a little surprised as the other plastic primers came out white/grey or whatever their respective color is. I have an Aires PE tree withme, it does grey/blackish up a bit from fingerprints (maybe air too), so I keep it in the container it came with until I need to work with it.

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Giving it a dip in Vinegar helps etch the surface to better accept paint. Just like those who paint sheet metal who use a prep compound that removes contamination and etch the surface.

Thanks, I did that. let it sit in the vinegar for about a half hour

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