I attempted to paint my first figures using MM skin tone base light and I found that the paint when on almost transparent. I could see the color of the plastic (light grey). I also tried with humbrol flesh, a little better, but not much and in fact it seemed that as I painted I was taking paint off as opposed to applying it. I tried a darker color MM skin tone shadow and had the same problem on a test piece of plastic. Is this normal do I need to add multiple coats? I am using nylon brushes and I've mixed well enough to not have pigment left at bottom. Any help appreciated.

Are you applying the paint directly on the plastic ?
That's not the best thing to do with light colors. You'd better prime it first.
A little coat of white paint first should help. Still, you'll probably need to do several coats !

Hi Padrino, I think you need to prime them first, I don't know if you can get Gunze Sanyo's Mr. Surface 500 or 1000 in Canada, if you can get them, they are the best. And make painting so much easier.

Dave

Is MR. Base white a good primer or Mr. Surfacer? BTW Who comes up with these dorky names Mr Bad Ad?

The best primer to me will always be Floquil Figure primer in white or gray (spray or brush on) but since they were bought out by Testor's the quality has been uneven.

My second choice is Painter's Touch Sandable White Spray Primer from Home Depot. It has a nice "tooth" to it allowing paint of any type (acrylic, enamel, oil) to adhere with no problems. Priming is also important to find any blemishes in the surface which can usually be sanded out or filled with putty.

Priming to me is one of the most essential steps in preparing a model for painting. I always allow a minimum of 24 hours for the primer to dry before applying paint. Paint will soak into the primer as opposed to un unprimed surface where the paint floats on the surface. This can cause problems with streaking and/or the paint lifting off or chipping. The priming step should not be skipped.