B
Bob Hollinshead
Some common mistakes I've seen people make is not prepping bare metal properly for good primer adhesion. Keep in mind epoxy and DTM type primers need the metal to have some texture and it also needs to be perfectly clean. The perfect texture is achieved by sandblasting or sanding with 80 grit on a DA, some fiber discs like 3M's Clean-n-strip discs also work well. Failure to texture the metal and clean it well can lead to less than adequate adhesion. Blasting jambs and similar areas is usually no problem but outer sheetmetal should be left to a professional to avoid warpage-(Shine should do a thread on blasting techniques). Hand held gravity fed spot blasters are an economical way for anyone to clean small areas-they work well. When sanding change your paper often so it produces a sharp scratch pattern and not a shiny polished surface.
Clean the bare metal with solvent based wax and grease remover then follow that with waterborne wax and grease remover-spray the cleaner on and wipe it off while it's wet, or you can pour the cleaner on one towel then wipe it on and wipe it off with a clean towel. Why two cleaners?-they each offer their own benefits. (Update: New SPI guidelines call for waterborne to be used first, then solvent base.) Should sandblasted metal be cleaned-definitely and especially if you recycled your sand. I've seen primer fall off of sandblasted steel when the person didn't clean it before priming. You'll end up with some towel fuzzies on a blasted surface as the texture grabs the fibers-no big deal just give it a light scuff with a red scotchbrite and a blast with the blow gun and they are gone and they need to be gone!
Simple Green, 409, Dawn dish soap, Ajax, Fast Orange, Engine Degreaser????-- these can all be handy during the precleaning stages of a job but you shouldn't be cleaning your bare metal with them for the final clean before primer.
Will a wire wheel work for texturing the metal-No they mostly provide a polished or burnished surface, they do work well for rust removal though.
Will an acid etched surface provide enough adhesion? No, if you use acid make sure to neutralize it well and then mechanically texture the surface with sanding or blasting. Acid works great for rust removal but needs to be completely removed for any primer application.
Safety concerns? you need to understand the safety concerns for all autobody products and tools-every one is dangerous in one way or another.
Feel free to add or modify as needed.
Clean the bare metal with solvent based wax and grease remover then follow that with waterborne wax and grease remover-spray the cleaner on and wipe it off while it's wet, or you can pour the cleaner on one towel then wipe it on and wipe it off with a clean towel. Why two cleaners?-they each offer their own benefits. (Update: New SPI guidelines call for waterborne to be used first, then solvent base.) Should sandblasted metal be cleaned-definitely and especially if you recycled your sand. I've seen primer fall off of sandblasted steel when the person didn't clean it before priming. You'll end up with some towel fuzzies on a blasted surface as the texture grabs the fibers-no big deal just give it a light scuff with a red scotchbrite and a blast with the blow gun and they are gone and they need to be gone!
Simple Green, 409, Dawn dish soap, Ajax, Fast Orange, Engine Degreaser????-- these can all be handy during the precleaning stages of a job but you shouldn't be cleaning your bare metal with them for the final clean before primer.
Will a wire wheel work for texturing the metal-No they mostly provide a polished or burnished surface, they do work well for rust removal though.
Will an acid etched surface provide enough adhesion? No, if you use acid make sure to neutralize it well and then mechanically texture the surface with sanding or blasting. Acid works great for rust removal but needs to be completely removed for any primer application.
Safety concerns? you need to understand the safety concerns for all autobody products and tools-every one is dangerous in one way or another.
Feel free to add or modify as needed.
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