Etching primer

S

Senile Old Fart

what is the obsession some people have with self etching primer?

I do not know the history of self etching primer but I would think it was originally developed to treat new metal to accept paint without sanding.. as in stamp a part, dip it in self etching primer, rinse, prime, top coat, assembly line style.
From there it trickled down to the repair shops back before the day.

Now it is an ancient dinosaur that won't die.

How close to reallity is my thought?
 
Pretty well on, it was all we had back in 60-70"s as epoxy really did not come into this market until about mid 70's.

It will go away as I understand, it becomes illegal in Jan, not sure but have picked up epoxy sellers because of that in different industries that use acid etch for speed on aluminum.

Acid etch is nothing more then a lacquer and the activator part is not an activator at all, nothing more the thinner and a small % of acid in the plastic or glass jug.

People who work in production shops use it for speed, reason you can base over it in 10-15 minutes and type of cars they are doing, the customer is not going to own for more then three years anyway, as will be traded in, repoed, wrecked or stolen, so they never see an issue with the product.
 
This is the kind of info I love around here. I didn't even know what the stuff was, just knew it wasn't good
 
I've never carried etch primer in the store, I just didn't see any good that would come of it.
 
I almost used ecthing primer until I found out about Spi on onter forum. I'm glad I didn't.
 
We use to sell a lot of acid etch primer, but had a deal with the jobbers, you sell it to all the dealerships you want but if a Restro guy comes in, he talks to me before he gets it.

It just bothered me so much, one day I pulled it and sold all I had to an industrial supply house just to get rid of it.
I have slept great, every since!
 
had to bring this thread back up after talking to amother local restorer. He swears by acid etch. He's been doing top quality resto work for 30+ years...right now hes restoring a 57 chevy serial #2 that will be a points restoration. Uses Spies products only. I know there are guys out there that still use it with great results but i just dont understand why when there is a far superior product out there in epoxy.
 
because some of them are like me. i'm an old crochty bastard thats been painting for 40 years. you have no idea how many times i have been screwed by ppg or dupont and the likes. once you get a comeback free system you will fist fight a grizzle bear before you change. i just never cared for etch and did not use it. when and if it bites him you will see cans fly out the back door.
 
good point. Hasn't failed him yet and the work is phenomenal. When you find something that works and never fails you..guess theres no reason to change. I dont even see a listing for epoxy in spies arsenal of primers...could be wrong though. Their tech sheets tell you for maximum corrosion protection, use the priomat acid primers.
 
Let me add, if he is using the Spies red/brown it is a very good acid etch and does break a lot of the acid etch rules. Don't even know if they still make it but my concern would be is he basing his success on the red/brown and now using a regular acid etch, that is where a problem would come in, for him.
 
ive been using akzo nobels acid etch wipe. its like a baby wipe but with acid etch on it. wipe on, let flash and primer. i use it on mostly chrome bumpers and other chrome parts.
 
I use them too. I was feally leary about it at first since acid treatment are usually a no no but after some testing found them to work great with spi epoxy. Keeps the metal from rusting for a while.
 
I think DuPont had some stuff like that but it was in a little plastic bottle, not on wipes. Do the Akzo wipes turn the metal slightly blue?
 
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