How do you use inks and acrylics on certain spraycan base coats?

[Volleyfire!]

Basically in order to save time I've been spraying vehicles for Bolt Action with cans from Battlefront, namely British Armour (Desert) and British Armour (Italy) as a basecoat. I also use spray cans of black or white Army Painter to undercoat figures, and Uniform grey for German vehicles.
The Army Painter takes ink and acrylics without any problem, but I find difficulty getting anything to cover satisfactorily over the Battlefront finish. The paints and inks pool much like they do if you paint a resin model that you haven't washed first to remove the stuff that stops it from sticking to the mould. Is there any tip for getting over this problem, apart from not using Battlefront sprays which I'd rather not have to do.

[Brandlin]

Inks and washes usually pool because you are applying them to a matt surface that doesn't allow them to flow properly.

I haven't used all the paints you mention but i do know that the army painter sprays have a satinish finish.

You can improve the application of paitns inks and washes over matt paint by giving is a coat of gloss varnish first. This is particularly effective with inks.

[robh]

Try diluting a drop of ink in alcohol (pure if you have it in your first aid box otherwise plain vodka) and using that to test. If it does not work your other option is to matt varnish the figures before using inks.

Really you should be varnishing first anyway. 

[Hammers]

Try diluting a drop of ink in alcohol (pure if you have it in your first aid box otherwise plain vodka) and using that to test. If it does not work your other option is to matt varnish the figures before using inks.

Really you should be varnishing first anyway. 

Or you can drink a drop of alkohol and then apply  the ink. The result may not improve but you will not care as much.

[Daeothar]

Interestingly enough, I experienced a similar thing recently.

I under- and basecoated a resin model with a solvent-based spraypaint, and washed it with my standard black wash from Vallejo.

It was a very busy surface; lots of details and nooks and crannies, and the paint was a very bright metallic silver, that dried very smoothly and somewhat glossy.

A perfect surface to throw a wash on, right? I had been using this very same recipy on plastic miniatures of the same line (Dropfleet Commander Scourge ships) just a week before, and there the problem did not occur.

Now, I cleaned the resin pieces as usual and there were no strange or extreme conditions, so I had every reason to believe it should work as normal.

Except it didn't, and I simply resigned myself to the fact that I probably had not cleaned the resin well enough.

But now that you have the same issue, it might be something else after all, and I can stop the downward spiral of guilt and self-doubt (actually, not really; who cares, it's just a hobby ).

The only thing I have to figure out now, is how to repair this. I could strip the model and begin again, but I'm hoping that using a small tipped brush and the same wash might work to get into the small voids left by the wash.

It's only in the smallest cavities, enclosed little recesses etc; it'll be a lot of work, but probably still faster than cleaning the whole thing and starting over. But I think I'll try and use a surface tension breaker just to be sure...

[Keith]

Simple tip to try (if you havn't already). If you mix a little detergent, such as washing up liquid, into the wash it often over-rides the pooling effect by breaking surface tension. If you see bubbles then you've used too much ;-)

[Daeothar]

Yeah; that's my go to stuff... 

[Commander Roj]

 

Or you can drink a drop of alkohol and then apply  the ink. The result may not improve but you will not care as much.

 

That is the best painting tip I have ever received!

[Volleyfire!]

Or you can drink a drop of alkohol and then apply  the ink. The result may not improve but you will not care as much.

I might have to try mixing it with a drop of single malt, and if that doesn't work I'll take to the bottle instead . 
I'm trying the varnish first to see if that works, using Testors.