I am wondering what the difference is between 1 and 2 part etch primers, do the aerosols actually compare to a 2 part etch. Ive been told they are the same but given the amount of BS my reps fed me so far I thought id toss it up here.

We have sprayed Dupont for over 15 years now and have been told by our reps that Dupont absolutely will not warranty anything that has any aerosol product on it. Even if its a Dupont aerosol. As for the product itself they don't even compare. In my opinion the aerosols shouldn't be used for anything other than minor break throughs on 1983 Honda Civics.

Couldn't agree more.

I use a DeBeer 2 part etching primer over bare metal and this stuff really sticks! Even sanding with 80 grit it takes some getting off.

Where as the 1k aerosol and in the gun etch primers I have used always seem to come away quite easy, sometimes almost still sticky.

I dont believe the spray can stuff has anywhere near the same acid content as a 2 part etch. and I have seen first hand parts flash rust with spray can etch on them in just a matter of weeks

Stick with the 2k etch, it takes a little longer to mix it and put it in the gun and cleanup but from experience the corrosion resistance is far better , but if its the type of job you dont really care about go with the aerosol etch. We have all done it

Everything I've been told makes me agree, 2k is the way to go.

But, in all fairness are all 1k etches the same? I would think that some may be a little better (less bad) than others. Plus, I think there are 2 types of aerosol etch primers. I've seen the common pigmented type that has a small amount of mil build (the stuff we've all used/abused at some point). Then ther is the aerosols with the etch that is transparent yellow and much more potent, with almost no solid content. I would think that this is much more like a true etch primer (but still inferior). Maybe I'm wrong, but I would think the 2 different products should not quite be grouped together.

I do not know of any paint company that would warranty them either, but every paint rep I've met I unofficially said that using it on very small burn throughs, within reason, is perfectly acceptable...even under waterborne.

Ben wrote:
Maybe other paint comanies are different but when I took the sikkens WB certification course 4 years ago they specifically said "do not use autowave over any spray bomb etch (spray bomb or from a gun) or spraybomb filler primer.If you put sealer over top of the bomb stuff you would be ok but it kind of defeats the purpose.

Jayson M wrote:
PPG say to not use it their water either but my Rep did admit it would be fine to hit the cut thrus before water if your not using a sealer.

smooth wrote:

Not a good idea, even on small spots. You would be better keeping a small amount of over reduced epoxy around for small spots.

Excellent idea Ryan I had forgotten about you mentioning that before.Do you over reduce it with sra and by how much?