first time painting - should I grind off the thin surface rust or just apply rust converter?

[wwwfarmer]

I agree with the phosphoric acid treatment but you need to make sure it is completely dry before priming. It will have a chalky look when dry. If you are painting with a compressor/gun, also make sure your spray air is dry during priming. Use a filter/drier before the hose and blow-out the hose before using it. Drain the filter/drier after each use.

This is cheap insurance when you think about the cost of good paint and all your hard work. Ditto on the excellent welding job. Can't wait to see the finished product.

Thanks for very interesting comment about dry air. We currently have 95F weather and around 30% relative humidity. I attached an air prepping unit to the compressor (the one that has 2 cylinders, one for oil removal and one for water + pressure regulator) and not a single drop of water was collected while spraying.

 

[Tinhack]

You are fortunate to have such dry air. I'm frequently compressing 85-95 degree air with 75-85% humidity. Besides having an air dryer/cooler after my compressor, I have a filter/dryer before each hose outlet. In addition, I use a small "ball" filter at the spray gun. There's a lot of times spray painting is just impossible due to humidity. The evaporation of the thinner will sometimes cause dew to form on top of the paint. This fogs the paint or gives it a dull white overcast.

 

[Egon]

I wonder how it is all my stuff isnt rusting thru? What makes it rust?

Intergranular Corrosion: What It Is and How To Stop It

Intergranular corrosion (IGC) or intergranular attack (IGA) is a preferential or localized corrosion that proceeds along a metal’s grain (crystal) boundaries.

www.corrosionpedia.com

 

[Sberry]

What planet are you on? Is he painting an implement6 or a space satellite? The guy is doing his first simple paint job,,, this is obviously something that should be explained more clearly I guess. Too simple for some people.

 

[Egon]

What planet are you on? Is he painting an implement6 or a space satellite? The guy is doing his first simple paint job,,, this is obviously something that should be explained more clearly I guess. Too simple for some people.

Just some facts on real life common occurrences! Perhaps go back and review vehicle painting procedures.

 

[fried1765]

What planet are you on? Is he painting an implement6 or a space satellite? The guy is doing his first simple paint job,,, this is obviously something that should be explained more clearly I guess. Too simple for some people.

A "simple paint job" that fails in just 2 or 3 years is much too "simple" for me.

 

[Sberry]

For the guy doing this job. Get some maroon Scothbrite,,, the painters best friend, scuff it off and spray some shat on it. Put the color on it. A lot of equipment doesnt even get primer, gets color sprayed on it.

 

[Sberry]

This would be different IF it did. This is just speculation. Leads me to wonder if some of you actually ever did it?

 

[Sberry]

I know you guys answer good posts etc and I read them but on occasion this type of thing takes a spin. I be glad to look at pics of your paint shops.
Here is what I know as fact. The stuff I thought was so important,, wasn't always so and I didnt always listen to the practical stuff from elder timers and there are a lot of those not very good so I focus here on what I didnt know, where I changed my mind, where I have hindsite now and own paint jobs decades old.
When I babble here its usually from some book learning but mostly long history from hundreds of paint jobs, cant really recall a "fail'.
Have seen them rust thru, mostly on cars but it ain't for anything in this thread, it's simply painting foil thin steel and rust coming thru. ,, just like it did from it's original factory paint where it was in "procedure" .

 

[Sberry]

The fails come from simple things in this kind of work, didnt scrapa a gob off, on cars its people running their hands on them af6ter eating chips, its from not scuffing after blast where paint sticks thru. Rusts thru where a hole was repaired with bondo.
I would tend to think it wouldnt need to be pointed out that link has nothing to do with painting a simple implement. Would be different if he came asking about some exotic stainless alloy in a unique industry.