- Couldn’t agree more about the sanding—skipping it’s like painting over Teflon.
- I’ve seen folks spend big on fancy primers, but if the prep’s sloppy, it still peels.
- Personally, I like a quick pass with 150-grit, then a tack cloth. Never had much luck with self-etching either.
- Only caveat: if you’re in a super humid spot, sometimes that extra primer layer does help... but mostly, elbow grease wins.
if the prep’s sloppy, it still peels.
Yeah, that’s the truth. I tried to shortcut the sanding once—big mistake. Ended up with flakes after the first winter. These days, I just crank up some music and go to town with the sandpaper. Haven’t bothered with self-etching either, didn’t notice much difference. Might just be my climate, but a solid prep and decent primer seem to last fine for me. Elbow grease > fancy products most of the time.
I’m with you on the prep work making all the difference. I made the rookie mistake of thinking a quick wipe-down would cut it on my 80s-era frames—nope. Paint started bubbling up by the next summer. Now I go through the whole process: sanding, degreasing, and then a decent primer. I did try self-etching primer once, but honestly didn’t see much of an improvement over regular bonding primer in my pretty mild climate.
One thing I noticed, though—humidity seems to play a big role. If I rush it and paint on a damp day, even after good prep, things just don’t stick right. Maybe it’s just my old windows or New England weather, but patience really pays off.
It’s tempting to skip steps when you’re staring at a dozen frames, but every time I’ve cut corners it’s come back to haunt me. Elbow grease is free, at least...