g741.org

I posted this over on the g503 as well but I thought I'd get your input as well (seeing how this is going to be applied to my M37)

When ever I stripped an MV to bare metal, I have always used an etch primer on it. This type of primer came recommended to me by two different auto resto guys. Etch primer is very tough I can attest to that but it is also very expensive (around $100.00 a gallon) when compare to the paints we buy from Gillespie coatings (roughly $35.00 per gallon).

How well do the red oxide zinc phosphate or other zinc phosphate primers (made by Gillespie) stack up to the etch primer made by Nason? I'm aware of the maxim "you get what you pay for" but I'm also aware of "A fool and his money..."

I tend to spend a lot of money on my restos so if the ZP primers are what everyone else is using and past muster all well and good. But if not, then I don't want to short change my resto by starting out with a inferior product. I'd rather do it right the first time.

Thanks for your insite into this "mystery"
Regards,
Matt

In my novice opinion you only have to etch metal once, if its been previously painted ( correctly) or sanded then there is no reason to etch the metal again. On my mil trucks I've always primed bare metal areas with Red oxide made by different companies (Martin senour,Gillespie,Valspar) and top coated with Gillespie paint and never had any problems. If I was shooting a true automotive grade paint I'd go with the manafacturers product from start to finish but Gilliespie is really nothing more than a industrial grade Alkilyd enamel with "synthetic properties" ( what ever the He!! that means) it will stick to any decent primer., Just my 2cents

Thank you for your insight into this, M-Thrax.

Regards,
Matt

If you are back to bare metal, by all means use an etching primer. the issue is not the top coat adhereing to the primer, but the primer biting into the bare metal. Etching primer actually chemically bites into bare metal, years down the road, you will be glad you used it, as non-etching primers will turn loose from bare metal over time letting everything start to flake. All it takes is a small chip of damage to start the process.

Good primer and paint cost $$$, it's simply the world we live in. Remember, you will get just exactly what you pay for. Gillespie is a decent top coat at a very reasonable price, but don't be mislead, what you use under it will make a huge difference in its performance down the road.

If you are sanding and coating over a good substrate, other types of primer perform very well. Etching primer is intended to be used only on bare metal.

M-Thrax wrote:In my novice opinion you only have to etch metal once, if its been previously painted ( correctly) or sanded then there is no reason to etch the metal again. On my mil trucks I've always primed bare metal areas with Red oxide made by different companies (Martin senour,Gillespie,Valspar) and top coated with Gillespie paint and never had any problems. If I was shooting a true automotive grade paint I'd go with the manafacturers product from start to finish but Gilliespie is really nothing more than a industrial grade Alkilyd enamel with "synthetic properties" ( what ever the He!! that means) it will stick to any decent primer., Just my 2cents

I am a student of the M-Thrax School of Paint Application, studied under M-Thrax judiciously, hopefully I'll get a completion soon.
That being said, Bill knows of what he speaks. I did acid etch any and all bare metal, used Gilespie primer as well as the final coatings and Martin-Senior/Napa hardeners/solids.

Charles
Thank you for your reply and insight on this. I was at the storage unit a little while ago tearing more stuff off the Dodge. My plans are to sand (or media) blast everything back to bare metal. This truck used to be an Ashville,Pa VFD brush truck so it's pretty rusty. I may just have to bite the bullet and stick with the more expensive etch primer on this project. I have had good luck with that primer in the past, it's just really expensive to buy.

Regards,
Matt

Hey Mike
Click the links below and it will take you to prep & paint pic's of two of my vehicles that I painted with Gillespie red oxide and top coated with Gillespie 24087, ( I used MS Red oxide on the 37 ) Its been seven years since I painted that truck and though the Gillespie has faded badly from being in the So.Fla sun NOTHING anywhere on that truck has ever peeled off, there also a link to my M-37 which I painted 11 years ago and can say the same thing about to but she was garaged and I did use Ospho on the bare bed ( rust converter ) and a couple of other parts which qualifies as metal etching
Just something to think about

M-35a2 http://news.webshots.com/album/29515200JTmindbZmO

M-37 before http://news.webshots.com/album/29514698vlZFQndjgu

M-37 after http://news.webshots.com/album/29514900mnRYSmPJtB