Primer :(

I can peel my primer off with my finger nail even after 3 hours. It's a etching primer. 2 medium/light coats with 20 minutes in between. HPLV gun with no moisture in the air hose used. Low humidity, and about 80 degree weather. Surface was sanded down properly and cleaned with a prep before the primer. NOW 3 hours later and the primer is still "soft" and I can peel it off with a finger nail. We already redid this 3 times and keep getting the same results...maybe it is supposed to stay a little "tacky" or what??? Sanding down the car to bare metal 3 time isn't fun, the fourth time wont be too much fun and im hoping not to...

HELP

EDIT: Maybe take a heat gun to it and cook the paint? Don't know...

 

Bad primer? Are you using the correct activator?

Let it cook in the sun a day and see if it hardens

 

Eh tree sap everywhere, think a heat gun would do the job of the sun?

 

yes but don't overheat and burn it..is it scraping off soft or flaking as if it's dry?

 

Prop up some shop lights..

 

forgot about those...they work absolutely amazing and it suprises me how much heat they put off..i used 4 lights to dry my engine block when i painted it. because it was like 0*C

 

Back in the day I was a painters helper. He used them.. Seemed to work quite well. We had 4 "T"s (double lamps) and placed one at each corner about 6 feet away.. The booth was like an oven lol.
I'm betting the primer was not in a dry state the way he described it. I bet it needed more cureing time. That is if it's not bad materials. My primer has a 2 year shelf life and it's been like three or four I think. It still got hard.. no lights.

 

it peels like butter, not flakey

 

Bad paint or improper activator/mix ratio...Some etching primers need to sit for 20min to a half hour before spraying, after being mixed. Whats the temp/humidity where you are painting???

 

Not sure what products you are using, but it takes a while for full cure. Be patient. Three hours is nothing. I had a shop unmask a car recently, improperly. Even after a bake cycle he "tore" the clear. The clear had not completely cured, and will tear like that for a while. Next morning it wouldn't move.

This is of course assuming products are good.

How old is the hardener? Once opened up, hardeners are only good for 7 days, at best.

 

Don't tell me that! .. I need to procrastinate a little longer..

 

i've used hardeners a year after...had no problems with it..i know theres a shelf life and all but i don't see how it can go bad if it's closed tight if it's not sitting forever

 

WHAT BRAND PRIMER???

as far as shelf life on activators (hardener) ... not with any of the PPG Omni,(low end) Awlgrip, Awlcraft,(top of the line) or ANYTHING i ever used. After mixing the primer it needs to sit for 10-15 minutes to begin to cook... and my favorite primer is Pro-Line 3066-1 Epoxy High Build. It is the best. bout 150 bucks for a gallon kit, thins down for spraying with acetone and will lock down anything you put it over. Like mayonaise until you thin it, acetone, for spraying.
Dries overnight or 15 hours or so.. high quality primers dont dry in an hour...omg lol.
Are you using WATER BASE? THe isocyanates in hardener dont "go bad"

 

I beg to differ. Call the PPG tech line and ask them. It is in fact the Iso's that are what go bad. Again, I am referring to open cans, not something that is unopened and sitting with the factory seal on a shelf.

As a PPG Tech Rep I see it all the time.