Technical Prepping to paint bare metal- or, basics of painting

I've probably been reading too many painting threads lately but...

What are the correct steps and materials used to paint bare metal? Not sheetmetal but misc. parts like brackets, A-arms, etc. that are usually sprayed with cans not guns.
I've always wiped the metal down with acetone or carb cleaner to de-grease it, then sprayed primer followed by my paint of choice (varied with what I had on the shelf).
But during my recent reading on painting, people have talked about self-etching primer, primers for bare metal, and other stuff I've never even heard of before. And lately I've been seeing cans of paint that say "paint and primer in one"- what kind of voodoo magic is that?.

I'm painting a lot of little parts for my current project and, even though I'm using spray cans to do it, I want it to look good and be durable.

How about some pointers for the painting illiterate!!

 

Blast "em" blow "em" off with high pressure air . DON,T touch "em" or wipe "em" with anything , epoxy prime 2 coats , dry 24 hours , ready for paint .....

 

When I am painting small part's like brackets and such I usually put them in the blasting cabinet, I remove the part wipe it down with metal prep followed with etching primer.

After the primer has dried I lightly sand, then use a tack cloth and spray a couple of coats of color.

I'm sure this is not the only way to do it but it works for me. HRP

 

the reason there are so many different ways to paint stuff is, there are a lot of different expectations of how it will look and hold up.
1 if you are looking for all one color and ok duration it can be cleaned then sprayed or brushed with an all in one paint.
2 if you are looking for concourse quality and life time durability, many more steps and procedures need to be done. sandblast, make any repairs, clean thoroughly, epoxy prime, use filler if necessary, filler prime, block sand, filler prime, wet sand, clean thoroughly choose a top quality polyurethane or urethane paint wet sand and buff.
lots of options in between with in between results. aspire to do the best, with the time and money you have available.

 

I usually blast the part in my blast cabinet, blow it off and shoot it with a spray can. Most suspension parts I use rustoleum hammer tone, no primer needed and really durable. You can get it in a number of colors.


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I think tb33anda3rd said it best. What is the final result and durability you want? Rust needs to dealt with either way. Rattle can spray jobs are fine for small brackets, but not durable for the long haul.

 

I give everything a double whammy. After I degrease I wash it down with rust remover metal prep. then I follow it up with two coats of the aluminum pigmented permanent rust sealer/surfacer. For suspension, firewall I use a full polyester urethane top coat . This is overkill I know ,only going to paint it once. As Remo says why take a chance? If you only want to fix things up, and your car is barely driven in foul weather you can use epoxy , spray cans ,Rust-Oleum , definitely recommend acid etching your parts before painting with anything.

 

For small parts I sandblast, then blow them off, spray bomb them without primer and bake them in my $5.00
stove at 275 degrees for a half hour. It really toughens them up. As soon as they cool off they are ready to install.
I've done nuts and bolts and they can be tightened without chipping if you are careful.

 

Clean the part of any rust, grease/oil and dirt. Wipe with reducer, lay on a light coat of self etching primer (has a dull green color) and spray bomb away. If you want a better quality finish activated urethane is available in spray cans. They are a one time deal, they are activated by pushing a pin that is on the bottom of the can. Shake well, use it all up as it will harden in the can in about 24 hours. A little longer if you throw it in the frig.

 

Same here. clean and wipe down with reducer. Prime with Bondo 720 (gray) or 721 (black). It's a lacquer based primer, drys fast, fills & sands nicely. It will accept just about ANY spray paint without problems.

 

Look for DTM primers...Direct To Metal Primers come in both Epoxy and Urethane. If you want to just coat and paint use epoxy, if you want to coat and sand and then paint use urethane

 

I don't usually deal with painting small parts, but when I do, I chrome it like a bumper on a Buick. Only kidding I am in the spray can shop.