On Tuesday, August 31, 1993 1:49:29 PM UTC-5, Wayne Smith wrote:
I'm painting some car sheet-metal parts, with most of the paint taken
off (ie down to bare metal). I then brush on some muriatic acid and
rinse with lots of water, then dry immediately.

The primer recommends a metal-prep, and the DU-Pont stuff that I've
got smells like isopropyl alchohol, and it's not cheap ($15 for a pint).
You're supposed to wipe it on and let it flash off, then you're ready to
prime.

Is this stuff really alchohol? Is there a cheap metal-prep alternative?
Should I be using something else?

I'm using acrylic lacquer (it's a little cheaper than enamel and it drys
faster). Is there such a thing as a clear coat for this? Is there
anything I can use to improve the gloss (short of applying 40 coats?)
(These are under-hood body parts, and are quite irregular, so I don't
want to sand between coats).

Also, is there anything wrong with *not* sanding the primer prior to
applying the acrylic lacquer?
-Wayne-

years ago i did a project, spraying a Dupont lacquer clear coat over bare, unprimed cold rolled steel. I cleaned the metal using lacquer thinner followed by the clear lacquer. a week later the client called and said they could easily scrape the lacquer off using their fingernail. I went to my neighborhood auto paint store and told them what had happened. First, they said to never use lacquer thinner as a cleaner because when it dries it leaves behind a film that prevents the clear from adhering, to use naphtha instead. Second, they recommended pre-spraying a clear, lacquer adhesive that flashed almost immediately followed by the clear lacquer. it's an adhesive but you would swear is lacquer thinner, it's so watery. after removing the old lacquer finish i cleaned with naphtha, sprayed the adhesive and then the clear coat. that was 7 years ago, never any complaints from the client. i was told the adhesive is very popular for adhering clear lacquer over moon hubcaps, keeps them shiny with no maintenance.