How well does Lego take aerosol primer?

[FormelyKnownAsSmashyPants]

Hi all, thinking about buying some Lego technic gears and sprockets for basing but wonder how well primer like chaos black adheres to it? Edited March 11, 2020 by Captain Smashy Pants

[Astral Arcane]

I used to spray paint my Legos all the time as a kid (so they would match color haha) As I recall, the solvents in some spray paint can slightly dissolve the surface of Lego plastic, but not enough to damage the structure. I would recommend getting a spray specifically designed for plastic such as Rust-Oleum plastic paint and of course, experiment first on a sacrificial Lego. You may have more luck if you slightly sand any smooth surfaces with a light grit paper (high number) to promote adhesion. 

 

Legos are made from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. Games Workshop models are a polystyrene formula. The acrylon portion of Legos is what makes them much harder than GW models. 

Edited March 11, 2020 by Astral Arcane

[Fajita Fan]

I wouldn't waste GW primer on Legos, I agree you should just get some cheaper hardware store primer that's meant for plastics like lawn furniture.  

[Stercus]

A decent car primer will stick to pretty much any plastic without corroding the detail. In the uk I recommenced the grey one from halfords. It’s genuinely brilliant, and cheaper than the GW equivalent.