A primer is the first coat of paint on the model’s surface, which is then covered with a base coat of paint. Some modelers apply one or even several coats of primer before painting the model, others rarely or do not use it at all. A standard question from beginners arises – is it necessary to prime the model?

In this article, we tried to highlight several main reasons why it is still worth applying a primer before painting.

Firstly, priming the prefabricated plastic model will help you to identify the drawbacks of preparing the model for painting. After you have sanded, putty and processed the model, you need to make sure that it is ready for painting. It is the priming that will show you all the existing preparation flaws, if any. If there are chips, cracks, roughness and unevenness somewhere – all this will make itself felt.

The second reason is the primer, due to its properties, significantly improves interaction, adhesion of paint and surface. That is why, for example, when painting a car, primer is also applied first.

The third reason is that a primer is required when working with complex models (a combination of different types of plastic, photo-etched, resin). All of these materials have different adhesive surface properties. Therefore, the paint will “stand” on them in different ways. To avoid this, you must first go through the primer.