Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I am preparing a large project and am using some polystyrene blocks to create the pieces I want. I have used it before and usually cover it with PVA or wood filler to and spray it with black spray paint for a quick coat. I know spray paint dissolves the polystyrene and have had some cases in which my coating was not thorough and I had some damage. I want to avoid this so I plan to brush paint the piece to avoid problems. Can anyone help me? What type of paint should I get to do this?

Thanks in advance

Artists Gesso.

Use this as the undercoat. Slather it on.

Otherwise, some pale grey house paint acrylic emulsion (mistinted ceiling paint is good. It dries faster than wall paint).

I slather it with watered down ready mixed builder's filler. Perhaps stipple some texture onto that was well- works well for rocks! To be extra sure that nothing dissolves, undercoat stuff by hand using a cheap primer from a store (not GW paints..) When I have an accident I use milliput to repair the holes, but I don't usually have to.

Maybe I'll try gesso on my next terrain project... whenever that may be...

Some cheap matt black emulsion paint will do the trick, or get some other colour mixed up.

There is waterbased spray paint at homedepot, it takes about 2 coats to cover but is very good for scenery

I use a mix of PVA and acrylic craft paint, because I can't be bothered to go buy anything else for my tiny, one-off projects. Resilience is the primary concern for an undercoat, so for bigger/more serious projects I'd recommend gesso, latex house paint, spackle, and PVA/craft paint (in descending order of resilience, from what I've seen).

20 oz. (no clue about the metric conversion) bottles of craft paint will do the trick. Big quantities, small price, and lots of colors

I usually use water based spackle thinned down to where it will brush on and then make sure it covers all the holes -