How To Prepare Metal For Painting: 5 Important Steps In Preparing Metal For Paint

5 Important Steps In Preparing Metal For Paint

Preparing the metal surface for the painting process is an important condition in order to make sure good quality and sustainability of metal coatings. If in case you don't prepare the surface, then even the most advanced metal coating mechanics will not be of any use. Therefore, in order to prepare the metal surface for the painting process, you need to carefully follow the below-mentioned 5 important steps:

Step 1: Clean The Surface

First of all, get rid of the grease, with the help of mineral spirits, in order to prepare the new metal surfaces, and then put on a rust-dissuading primer before going for painting. If in case the painted surfaces are in good condition, at that time, get rid of the dust with the help of a clean, dry cloth. Make the surface shine with the help of a light sanding, and then cleanse using mineral spirits in order to affirm good sticking. To put an end to persistent dirt, clean the surfaces using a mild detergent solution or a commercial product suggested for cleaning painted surfaces.

Step 2: Remove Loose And Peeling Paint

If in case the existing paint is not in good condition, then at that time, you can get rid of it using hand wire brushing, sanding, or scraping. However, the majority of the homeowners go for power tool cleaning, which can assist in removing paint quickly and easily. They use power tool cleaning due to the reason that the above-mentioned methods, i.e, hand wire brushing, sanding, or scraping are labor-intensive that mostly fail to give the expected results. But, there is one disadvantage of using power tools & that is they can make metal surfaces shine, which can possibly result in paint-sticking problems.

Step 3: Remove Rust

Another important step while you prepare metal for paint is to check for rust so that the paint will stick to the surface perfectly. To strengthen the smoothly rusted metal surfaces to the fresh condition, you can use a brush in order to remove loose rust, sand the area, and then put on a high-quality rust-dissuading primer, for instance, Rust-Oleum Rust Reformer. Rust-dissuading primers, also called rust converters, can be helpful in covering the rusted spots and convert them into non-rusting, paintable surfaces.

Step 4: Repair Small Holes And Dents

In order to repair holes as well as dents, you need to sand the area as long as you reach bare metal and then cleanse with the help of a degreaser mixed with mineral spirits. In the case of small holes and dents, insert an appropriate epoxy-based composite straight into the hole and/or dent. For larger holes, put on epoxy filler to the edge of the hole, trim a piece of fiberglass mesh nearly one inch larger than the hole, and insert it into the filler. After that, cover the mesh using epoxy, starting from the edge & moving to the center of the hole.

Step 5: Prime The Surface

Priming is regarded as one of the most important steps when it comes to preparing metal for paint, particularly, if the surface is exposed to moisture. When you have to choose the right primer, consider some of the important aspects like the metal type to be coated, the desired appearance, performance requirements, as well as the environmental conditions. To start the priming process, water-based or latex primers should be avoided on metal surfaces, due to the reason that moisture can ooze through, which in turn, will make the paint to fail within weeks or months. It is highly suggested to use two types of metal primers: the rust converters and galvanized metal primers. Rust converter is perfect when it comes to avoiding rust from returning and making a rusted surface extremely easy to paint & a galvanized primer is ideal for metals, like aluminum that stops paint from sticking to the surface. Iron oxide as well as zinc chromate primers are also considered good & are used on the majority of the metal surfaces, including interior and exterior iron and steel.