I have a rear filler panel that I'm preparing. Came as is bare steel, nothing else but a shimmer of oil to protect it.
Should I use an epoxy as the first coat or an etching primer?
I bought a quart of etch, but am having second thoughts using it first from an article I read.

Check out this link
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php3?s=&threadid=50918

Just wondering what article did you read that has you nervous about etching primer?...Eric

Should have added, you need to fully clean that panel before you start to sand it for primer prep.
All paint manu make a heavy duty oil remover, I believe PPG's is dx440, dont quote me on that. Since am a cheap arse I just use lacquer thinner and wipe the panel til the rag is clean. Then come back with a regular surface cleaner like dx330. I ONLY use thinner when I have a panel like yours, covered with oil.

Once the part is clean you can then prep it for primer. Dont just hose it off and then start sanding, all you'll doing is sand the dirt etc into the panel. YOu can use a da with 180 for the flat spots then use a RED scrothbrite pad for the areas not reachable with the da. Once done sanding clean again with surface cleaner then prime

I would go ahead and use the dp epoxy. You will not have a problem. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

what article did you read that has you nervous about etching primer?...Eric Eric,
Something out of carcraft last month.
I will continue with the etch. I'm cleaning out the spot and the moment with a phosphoric acid solution. Tomorrow, I'll neutralise that and etch away. I'm experimenting under the driver's side carpet. Bad spot there that will cost me dearly one day if I don't fix it now.

Any suggestions getting the kick panel out. It seems stuck in there. I hvane't had enough guts to put on the plastic, because it might be brittle. Also read that the air vent knobs will not come off.

70ss PPG no longer makes DP expoy due to VOC rules. Its replacement is DPLF which is not even close to the same product. The old expoy worked great, the new expoy is junk on bare metal.

Jt pay very careful attention to that link about the metal treatment and the use of etch. Metal treatments and etch DO NOT like each other. They can react with each other and make for paint problems later on. Even tho they contain the same acids its the other chemicals that dont agree. Kinda like dropping off a black man in a KKK rally, even tho both are made of blood, flesh, heart, lungs etc, its just that one chemical in the black man's skin.

I too saw that car craft article. Good atricle for a mag but the thing that bugged me was why spend all that time, money and then spray enamal paint?? JT spend some time on this site...
http://www.ppgrefinish.com

Eric, what happens is the acids attack each other. I had a large manufacture as a customer when I was repping. He built a large machine and painted it in etch primer and then a polyurethane single stage over that (this particular S-W etch can be top coated with just about anything). Most of the this machine was mild steel, but there were a few things that were machined aluminum. They were washing the aluminum in a phosphate acid "bath" before etching and painting. You guessed it, the etch and paint were coming off in sheets. I had never seen this so I studied up on it and if you get the tech sheets on metal conditioners you will see that any product that leaves a "coating" on the metal will say NOT to use an etch primer.

I meant using the dplf. I have never had a problem with this product. :D

but the thing that bugged me was why spend all that time, money and then spray enamal paint?? Hmph! I was wondering the very same thing. The following article has not appeared yet either.

the old dp primers are still available under a different part numbers in ppg's industrial line---real cheap too, $89 for two sprayable gallons. the product was too good to let go and the EPA forced it to be moved into the industrial line