Primers for body repair: types and purpose. Methods for pasting a car with a film Do-it-yourself primer for a vinyl film

What tools and materials will be required for wrapping a car with a film, calculating the amount of film and its cost. Preparing a car for wrapping with vinyl, as well as methods for pasting a car with a film with your own hands.

This article is intended for persons over 18 years of age.

Are you over 18 already?

Covering the body with a film is today the most common and popular type of car tuning, due to the low cost, efficiency and availability of this method for most car owners. A wide variety of PVC-based films different kind and colors, provides ample opportunities to show imagination and make your car truly exclusive and stand out from the flow of cars on the road. There is nothing difficult in the process of pasting a car body, and if desired, these works can be done independently.

brand-detail-img-title">Camouflage vinyl wrap for car

What tools and materials will be required for pasting a car with a film

First of all, it should be noted that pasting a car with a film with your own hands requires mandatory compliance with the film coating technology, as well as the availability of a place for the production of these works, where you can create the necessary temperature conditions and absolute purity. The room should have moderate humidity, good lighting and temperature below 20°C. To wrap a car with vinyl wrap, you will need the following tools and materials:

• the vinyl film of the selected type in the right amount;
• scissors and a sharp clerical knife;
• atomizer and soap solution made from water and detergent or in a ratio of 10:1;
• plastic or felt squeegee;
• alcohol or solvent for degreasing the surface, white spirit is best suited for these purposes;
• technical hair dryer;
• masking tape;
• dry rags made of soft, non-fluffy fabric;
• primer 3M is a composition that enhances the adhesive properties of the adhesive layer of the film.

All this should be prepared in advance and be at hand during work.

brand-detail-img-title">Primer 3M

What film is better to wrap a car

Today, there are two types of films for pasting a car body - vinyl and polyurethane. Film coatings on vinyl backing are available in a variety of types and colors, which allows them to be used to transform the exterior design. Although they protect against ultraviolet radiation and minor damage, they are inferior in their protective properties to anti-gravel films made of polyurethane, which are only transparent and are used exclusively to protect the body.

Vinyl films are most often used for tuning and styling a car, which is explained not only by their variety, but also by a lower price.

Such films according to the production method are of two types:

• calendered;
• cast.

Vinyl films HEXIS

Cast films are higher quality and durable, they are available in a larger range of types and color schemes, but are somewhat more expensive than calendered ones. What kind of film to choose for your car, everyone decides for himself. But, if you decide to do-it-yourself pasting the car, it is better to choose a cast film, which is of better quality and easier to work with. There are the following types of vinyl films (autovinyl):

• transparent and colored;
• matte and glossy;
• mother-of-pearl and films with a metallic effect;
• graphic films intended for drawing a picture by digital printing methods;
• texture films, with a surface stylized various materials, which include a carbon-look film coating;
• chameleon-type films, the color of which changes under different angles of view.

brand-detail-img-title">Vinyl film chameleon

The choice is really very large, and everything here depends on your taste, and on what effect you want to get by resorting to this kind of tuning. But, in any case, you need to buy a film of well-known brands if you want it to easily fit on any body parts with a complex surface topography and last as long as possible. The most popular and in demand in all countries of the world are the following brands:

• 3M Scotchprint (USA);
• KPMF (Great Britain);
• Hexis (France);
• ORACAL (Germany).

To determine how much film is needed for gluing, you need to know the area of ​​​​all body elements on which it will be applied. It is quite difficult to perform exactly such measurements, therefore, for an approximate calculation of the need for material and its cost, they use proven data.

For full wrapping of the car body, which is recommended when using auto vinyl, the following film consumption is accepted, depending on the car class:

• compact B-class cars - from 18 to 21 sq. m;
• middle class cars (C-class) 23-24 m 2;
• large family cars D-class 25-27 sq. m.;
• business class cars (E-class) - from 27 to 30 square meters;
• sports coupe S-class 30-34 m 2;
• compact SUVs 25-30 sq. m;
• large SUVs 34-37 m 2.

Vinyl film in rolls

It is best to buy auto vinyl in rolls 1.52 m wide, so that when pasting large body elements, you do not have to make joints.

Preparing your car for vinyl wrap

In order for the film coating to last longer, before pasting the car with a film, the car must be prepared accordingly. For this you need:

• wash the car well with car shampoo and carefully inspect its paintwork for damage and stubborn dirt;
• in the presence of remaining stains from insects or bitumen, remove them with a solvent or alcohol;
• polish the paintwork of the body, the adhesion of the adhesive layer of the film to a smoother surface will be much stronger;
• degrease complex elements body;
• wipe the entire car with a dry cloth.

brand-detail-img-title">Preparing the car for wrapping with vinyl

Ways to wrap a car with a film

There are two methods used today for film coating:

• dry;
• wet.

They are largely similar to each other and differ only in the technology of applying the film to the surface to be treated.

In the dry method, the film is immediately applied to the surface, without pre-training last. In the actions of the gluer, there must be maximum accuracy and confidence in movements, because the adhesive layer will immediately stick to the body part being glued. The advantages of this method are:

• saving time for work;
• better adhesion;
• no need for long-term drying of the car after applying the film.

Car pasting with a dry method can only be afforded by experienced professionals who have gained a hand in the daily performance of such operations.

brand-detail-img-title">Car Wrap Tool

The wet method involves applying a film coating to a surface treated with a soapy solution. This allows, in case of errors in applying the film, to correct its position relative to the body part. This method is ideal for beginners, or for those who decide to do-it-yourself film coating.

If you decide to change the appearance of your car by applying auto vinyl, you must definitely decide how to wrap the car with a film - the entire body or its individual parts. Today, many specialized car services offer various options when the film is applied, including on individual parts:

• rear and front bumper;
• hood and roof;
• car fenders;
• doors and thresholds.

When using vinyl film, it is desirable to cover the entire body with it, because such material does not transmit ultraviolet light. And the paintwork of body elements not covered with a film, by the time it is removed, may have time to burn out in the sun, and will be noticeably different from the rest of the car.

brand-detail-img-title">When using vinyl film, it is desirable to cover the entire body with it

How to wrap your car with a wet film

The technology of car wrapping with a wet method is quite simple. To do this work with your own hands, you must:

• Mark the material, for which, without removing the substrate, attach the film to each element of the body and mark the cut line.
• According to the markup, cut the material. Work needs to be done on flat surface using a clerical knife and scissors, leaving a small margin of film on all sides.
• Spray the soap solution evenly over the entire surface of the body part to be glued, leaving no dry spots on it to prevent the film from sticking to the body.
• Laying the appropriate pattern on a flat surface front side down, carefully remove the backing paper from the adhesive layer.
• Try, as accurately as possible, to apply the film on the body element, pulling it slightly, and fixing it at the upper corners. If this did not work out the first time, you need to lift the material and correct its position relative to the boundaries of the body part.
• With a plastic squeegee, smooth the film from the center to the edges, displacing the soap solution from under it.
• After removing the soapy water, repeat this procedure, heating the film with a technical hair dryer, and at the same time smoothing it from the center to the edges with a felt squeegee. The drying temperature should be in the range of 50-70 o C. This is done to activate the adhesive layer. Try not to overheat the film surface. The hair dryer must be held at an angle of 45 ° and not closer than 20 cm from the surface of the film.
• Cut the edges of the film, leaving a margin of 5 mm, smear them with a primer and, bending, glue to the end surface of the part, smoothing with a plastic squeegee.
• Wipe the glued surface with a dry cloth and leave the car to dry at the same temperature for 24 hours.

It will take another 4-10 days for the final adhesion of the film. During this period, you should not quickly drive a car and wash it.

Squeegee 3M plastic with felt strip for auto film

How to glue a film on a car with a dry method

The technology of dry car pasting with auto vinyl differs from wet process only by the fact that the film, after removing the substrate, is applied to the dry surface of the body elements.

brand-detail-img-title">Dry wrapping machine technology

This work is best done with an assistant, and when working, adhere to the following recommendations:

• for a more accurate film overlay, you need to carefully mark the material and cut with a small margin;
• without removing the substrate, try on the pattern, marking its edges on the body with masking tape;
• remove the substrate only on a flat surface, avoiding its sticking;
• start applying the film from a part of the part with a smaller radius of curvature in order to slightly stretch the material during further operations;
• in case of inaccurate application, slightly warm up the film and, removing it from the surface to be glued, perform the operation more accurately.

Removing the vinyl film from the car

The application of film coatings on a car body is a popular type of styling, the popularity of which is also explained by the fact that at any time, the film can be easily removed without damage to the paintwork, returning the car to its previous state, or pasting it with another material.

To remove the auto vinyl you need:

• warm up the car in a warm room or in the sun;
• heating the surface with a technical hair dryer to 70-80 ° C, pry off the film from one of the edges and begin to slowly pull it up under acute angle moving towards the center of the coverage;
• having reached the middle, repeat the procedure, starting from the other side;
• special care must be taken to remove the film from plastic parts so as not to overheat them and not deform;
• if after removing the film, traces of the adhesive layer remain on the surface of the paintwork, remove them with a solvent or alcohol.

Subject to all technological requirements, removing the autovinyl from the car, as well as pasting the body, can be completely done by hand, without resorting to the services of specialized services.

The main purpose of the primer- strengthening the adhesive effect of films, adhesive tapes or other self-adhesive materials. Primer 3M 94 - indispensable assistant when wrapping a car with vinyl film! Not a single professionally done work can do without it.

All car styling films have a self-adhesive base, everyone knows this. Why then a primer, you ask?! When sticking a film on curved surfaces, it stretches a lot, its adhesive layer also stretches and thins, the film must be helped to stay on the pasted surface in difficult conditions, for this you need a 3M Primer! This is especially necessary when pasting concave surfaces. Having preliminarily smeared the surface to be glued with a primer, we are reinsured from repeated work on such difficult areas as hood stiffeners with a concave profile, complex concave bumpers, places where glue alone is not enough. It should be remembered that the film likes to peel off at the edges of the parts, and swell in the recesses, which is why it is advisable to use a primer.

Instructions for using the primer 3M Primer 94:

Shake the container with Primer 94 before application. The surface to be treated with the primer must not be contaminated, wipe it with isopropyl alcohol or white spirit. Apply a minimum uniform layer on the surface to be glued. Primer 94 should not only evaporate, but also dry a little before proceeding with gluing. Generally, 1 to 5 minutes to room temperature is sufficient. Maximum adhesion occurs within 1-2 days after gluing.

For absorbent and porous surfaces, a second application of the Primer is sometimes required to create a uniform coating surface and good adhesion. In this case, you need to dry the first layer and only then apply the second. Primer 3M 94 is preferably applied with a swab or brush.

Primer tips:

1. APPLY THINLY

2. Dried out
3. If even immediately after pasting it is necessary to tear off the film, consider it no longer suitable for pasting difficult places, since the primer does not come off the glue, as a result, they are both either on the machine or on the film!

For example, when pasting the hood or trunk, the primer is applied along the edge of the hood from the top with a width of about 5 cm and on reverse side under the wrapped film also from 1 to 3 cm. Otherwise, a slight shrinkage of the film over time can cause peeling of the tucked edge and can even turn the film out.

3M Film Primer 94 is used to improve the adhesion of vinyl films to surfaces such as polyethylene, polypropylene, ABS, concrete, wood, glass, metal and painted metal surfaces.

Please note that the primer is initially supplied to our liter store. tin cans, and then bottling into 30 ml glass bottles.

Price: 500 rubles.

Add to cart

Surface preparation: The application surface must be clean and dry. Contaminated surfaces should be cleaned with a 50/50 solution of isopropyl alcohol and water, then wiped with a clean cloth.

Application: Shake primer 3M Primer 94 before use. Apply a thin, even layer to the surface using minimal amount, which will completely cover the surface. Let the primer dry before applying the film. This usually takes 5 minutes at room temperature. Be careful, the primed surface must be kept clean before pasting the film. Porous surfaces may need to be re-treated for uniform coverage and good adhesion. Let the primer dry before reapplying. You can use a brush or swab to apply the primer.

Clean: 3M Primer 94 can be removed from the surface with isopropyl alcohol. It may take some effort.

Note: Read the manufacturer's instructions carefully. Observe precautions!

This product, which does not have full functional analogues from other manufacturers, was developed by 3M, a world leader in the development and production of high-tech materials. Suffice it to recall the world-famous Thinsulate® insulation, Scotch® adhesive tapes, which gave Russian name similar products even from other manufacturers and many more useful inventions for home and professional use.

The main purpose of the primer is to enhance the adhesive effect of films, adhesive tapes or other self-adhesive materials. - an indispensable assistant when pasting a car with a vinyl film! Not a single professionally done work can do without it.

All car styling films have a self-adhesive base, everyone knows this. Why then a primer, you ask?! When sticking a film on curved surfaces, it stretches a lot, its adhesive layer also stretches and thins, the film must be helped to stay on the pasted surface in difficult conditions, for this it is needed! This is especially necessary when pasting concave surfaces. Having preliminarily smeared the surface to be glued with a primer, we are reinsured from repeated work on such difficult areas as hood stiffeners with a concave profile, complex concave bumpers, places where glue alone is not enough. It should be remembered that the film likes to peel off at the edges of the parts, and swell in the recesses, which is why it is advisable to use a primer.

Product Description:

Can be used to improve adhesion to surfaces such as polyethylene, polypropylene, ABS, PET/PBT combination, concrete, wood, glass, metal and painted metal surfaces.

Transparent amber color, consumption of about one liter per 211 sq. m.

Surface preparation:

The surface to be applied must be clean and dry. To clean contaminated surfaces, it is recommended to use a mixture of isopropyl alcohol and water in a 1:1 ratio.

Application:

Shake the jar well before use, then apply a thin, uniform layer on the surface to be glued, using the minimum amount necessary for uniform coverage. Allow time for the compound to dry before gluing. It usually takes 5 minutes under conditions room temperature. Make sure that the surface to which the Primer is to be applied is free from dirt and dust. For porous surfaces, it may be necessary to reapply the compound to achieve uniform surface coverage and good adhesion. In this case, it is necessary to allow the first layer to dry and only then apply the second.

Primer 3M 94 can be applied with a brush or swab. Isopropyl alcohol is used to remove Primer 3M 94.

Product shelf life:

12 months from the date of purchase, subject to the following conditions:

The primer is kept in its original packaging.

The package is tightly closed to prevent evaporation of the solvent.

Release form: metal cans with a volume of 0.946l and 0.237l.

As you know, the fundamental principle of successful painting is priming. The soil is a kind of foundation on which all further layers of paintwork, both factory and repair, are built.

Most of the mistakes made by masters at the priming stage are associated not so much with the lack of painting skills (they just come very quickly), but with a lack of knowledge about the properties of various primers, with insufficient awareness of the right tricks work with a particular product. Like it or not, but complexity modern system repair soil affects.

Indeed, every reputable manufacturer repair materials today offers a wide range of soils. Let's try to understand this diversity and answer the question: is it always necessary to use a primer, and if so, which one to choose in each case.

Today you will know

Soil (from the German Grund - base, soil) - covering the base, an intermediate layer on which paints are applied.

Big encyclopedic dictionary

I would like to start talking about the primers used in auto repair with a brief excursion to the automobile manufacturer: let's see what operations precede body painting on the conveyor and why a primer is needed at all. As they say, everything is easier to know in comparison.

Before entering the paint shop from the tin body, the car body is first of all thoroughly degreased and washed to get rid of the contaminants obtained during the rolling of steel and the manufacture of the body on the conveyor.

Then the body is sent for chemical treatment - phosphating. This procedure is carried out by immersing the body in a phosphating solution, after which a thin film of iron and zinc phosphates is formed on the metal surface, which protects the metal from corrosion and provides high adhesion both to the metal itself and to subsequent layers of the system.

Degreasing and phosphating is also mandatory for galvanized sheets, which are now increasingly used in the manufacture of bodywork and its parts.

After phosphating, the body is again washed and dried, after which a layer of water-borne primer with anti-corrosion additives is applied. Application is carried out by the method of cathodic or anodic deposition. In the first case, the process is called cataphoresis, in the second - anaphoresis.

Cataphoresis is better than anaphoresis - it provides more reliable anti-corrosion protection of welds and hidden cavities. The thickness of the cataphoretic primer layer reaches 20 microns, and the application by electrodeposition ensures the formation of a uniform coating on both horizontal and vertical surfaces, and hard-to-reach places, hidden cavities, and cracks are perfectly primed.

To date, there are practically no anaphoretic installations for painting bodies, they have all been replaced by cataphoretic ones.

Next, the cataphoretic layer undergoes high-temperature drying (180 ° C), after which another, last primer is applied to it - leveling. It performs a dual function: firstly, it fills and smoothes micro-roughnesses, creating a homogeneous substrate for enamel, and secondly, it serves as a kind of damper that protects the paint from chips and cracks. Unlike cataphoresis, the leveling primer does not protect against corrosion.

Finally, after drying and sanding, a decorative coating is applied to the primed surface.

Body at the factory (BMW 7 series)

Conveyor technologies are the best illustration of the fact that it is impossible (at least for now) to combine anti-corrosion, leveling, cushioning and decorative functions in one material at a sufficiently high quality level. Even the most modern car enamels will not provide a high-quality and durable result without careful surface preparation, without the formation of a reliable base for a decorative coating.

And now it's time to move on to the main topic of our conversation - repair primers.

Primers for car refinishing

Like the primers used on the conveyor, all primers for repair painting are divided into two large groups:

• primary - the so-called primers (from the English prime - main, main),
• secondary - fillers (from the English fill - fill, fill).

The materials used in repair painting differ from those used at the factory (in terms of application method, drying conditions, viscosity, surface preparation method, etc.). But the functions are exactly the same. Primary ones are needed to protect the metal from corrosion and ensure a strong adhesion of the paintwork to the surface of the part. Secondary - for leveling minor irregularities of the painted surface, creating a homogeneous substrate for enamel and protecting the paintwork from chipping.

There are primers that have the properties of both primers and fillers at the same time. Naturally, different materials are also used for applying to metal and plastic.

But first things first. Let's start with primary primers for metal.

Primary primers (primers)

The primary primer is also etching, it is also anti-corrosion, it is also adhesive. Areas of its application - areas of bare metal, places most susceptible to corrosion.

Such primers have excellent adhesion to metal, because one should not forget that in addition to the protective one, the primary primer performs another, no less important function: on it, as on a foundation, the entire repair system is built, the main requirement for which is good adhesion of each subsequent material with the previous one. Therefore, replacing this material or eliminating it can lead to the fact that the entire system will crumble like a house of cards.

Ensuring good adhesion is only half the task that the primary primer solves. Equally important are its anti-corrosion properties.

It would seem that today, when most cars are painted using a two-layer system (base + varnish), and the varnish layer is durable and practically waterproof, anti-corrosion primer is not so necessary.

Indeed, if you paint an iron fence with modern car enamel, then the metal will remain for many, many years. But we do not paint fences, but car bodies, and the situation with them is much more complicated.

The fact is that thin steel sheets, from which the bodies are made, are subjected to constant alternating loads during operation, especially at the joints where mechanical stresses are maximum. And since upper layer varnish in order to avoid abrasion and scratching should have a high hardness, then sooner or later microcracks form in it, which, gradually developing inward, reach the surface of the metal.

Then the matter is small: water under high capillary pressure penetrates to the metal and on a seemingly undisturbed layer of enamel, for no reason at all, an ugly red smudge appears ... And if such places are polished, rust centers up to several centimeters in size will be found.

Things are completely different when using anti-corrosion primer on bare metal. Now the development of a crack will be stopped at its boundary, since cracks do not form in the soil itself - due to its very small application thickness (about 10 microns).

But an attempt to apply a thick layer of anti-corrosion primer, on the contrary, will lead to a decrease in its strength and adhesion properties. This is just one of those cases when porridge can be thoroughly spoiled with oil. Therefore, only one thin layer, which is also not worth grinding.

Acidic

Primary primers based on polyvinyl butyral (as it sounds!) have the best combination of anti-corrosion and adhesive properties today. They can be single-component (1K), but two-component (2K) PVB primers are more often used (read what are one- and two-component coatings).

as a catalyst chemical reaction for these soils, a mixture based on phosphoric acid. That is why such soils are also called acidic or acid-containing, as well as reactive (because they enter into a chemical reaction with the surface), wash primers (from the English wash - clean), phosphating, etc. (lovers of belles-lettres should be delighted).

Such primers dry quickly, have excellent adhesion to any alloys used in the automotive industry (ordinary and galvanized steel, non-ferrous metals, etc.), and perfectly protect against corrosion due to the formation of a film of insoluble phosphates on the metal surface (almost like at the factory).

The process of adhesion of acid soil to the metal surface proceeds quite aggressively, one might say, at the molecular level. Therefore, its use can be especially recommended in areas of metal with hard-to-reach places corrosion. To some extent, the "acid" acts as a rust converter that does not require rinsing with water.

It is strictly forbidden to putty surfaces treated with acid primers, since during the curing of polyester putty an active chemical reaction occurs that destroys the primer film. At the same time, the opposite operation, when the “acid” is applied to the hardened putty to protect the bare metal around the repair area, is possible without problems.

By the way, is it possible to do without etching anti-corrosion primers? Sometimes you can, but more on that later.

In the meantime, let's talk about the primers applied immediately after the anti-corrosion ones.

Secondary primers (fillers)

Secondary soil - it is also a filler, it is also a filler, it is also a leveler. From the name itself, the ability of these soils to fill small irregularities on the surface of the repaired elements is obvious.

The leveling function is more relevant for a car service than for a factory - after all, smooth metal is used at the factory, and here in a nightmare you will not dream of such a thickness of soil that is necessary to level irregularities on surfaces covered with putty. Therefore, in a car workshop, where you mainly have to deal with putty parts, the secondary primer becomes in the full sense of the leveler: it must hide all the pores and craters present on the putty, the risks left by abrasive processing, the transition points of coatings from one to another, etc. .d.

At the same time, the primer-filler also acts as an insulator of a heterogeneous repaired surface from aggressive solvents that are part of the cover enamels, and also provides high adhesion both to the repaired surface and to the paint. Every refinish system has a base acrylic two-component (2K) primer that solves all of these problems.

And even though some shortcomings remain on the surface after priming, but, firstly, they are not as pronounced as on the paint (due to the high density of the leveling primer) and, secondly, it is polished before painting. The large thickness of primers-levelers allows their grinding to a depth of 30-40 microns, which makes it possible to significantly improve the flatness of the repaired element. The surface is smooth, uniform and with the desired roughness - beauty!

Sanded and non-sanded

All secondary primers can be divided into two types:

• traditional sanded - designed for finishing leveling of puttied areas with subsequent grinding;
• non-sanding - designed to work “wet on wet”, when the entire part is primed from edge to edge and almost immediately, without grinding, a decorative coating is applied.

The latter are indispensable in preparing for painting new elements or those that have already been used, but do not have defects (that is, unfilled). allows to exclude drying and grinding of the filler primer, and, accordingly, to reduce the time and materials spent on these operations.

Main technological characteristics“Wet” primers are, firstly, excellent spreadability: they form a very smooth surface suitable for applying enamels without preliminary grinding, and secondly, the minimum holding time before applying paint. For such materials, it is usually 15-20 minutes, after which a cover enamel can be applied to the primed surface and finally dried together with a primer.

Wet-on-wet primers are usually labeled "Wet on wet", "w/w", "non sanding", etc.

Many secondary primers, depending on the mixing ratio with the thinner, can be applied with equal success in both sanded and wet-on-wet versions.

Thick (high build)

Standard leveling primers are applied in 2-3 layers, while providing a total coating thickness in the range of 100-150 microns. In most cases, this thickness is sufficient.

For comparison, the maximum depth of the mark left by the abrasive grain of the P180 grade material is 8-10 microns.

But there are products on the market that allow you to achieve even greater thickness - up to 250-300 (!) Microns in three passes, which is commensurate only with liquid putty.

Such thick-layer primers are convenient to use in complex restoration repairs, when large areas and entire damaged parts are restored.

In such cases, the use of a "thick" primer makes it possible to completely exclude liquid putty from the technological chain, and not only with an unconditional increase in the quality of the resulting surface, but also with a significant reduction in time and labor costs: after all, before painting a part on which liquid putty is applied, its must first dry, sand the putty and prime again on top. And High Build soils do not need this.

Colored (tinted) primers

Wouldn't want to bypass this interesting feature modern secondary primers as a possibility of touching up. Tinting allows, firstly, to increase the hiding power of top coats and reduce their consumption, and secondly, to obtain shades as close as possible to the factory primers, which means that the repaired part cannot be distinguished from the factory one even by chips that appear during the operation of the car. Such requirements are imposed by owners of serious, expensive cars.

In addition, when using a substrate that is close in shade to the cover enamel, these chips will not be so noticeable and will not cause significant harm. appearance car (such as when using a white or yellow primer on a dark car). This means that the repair of these chips can be postponed to a more convenient time for the owner.

Also, tinted primer can be successfully used to simulate the factory painting of the engine compartment and internal cavities. After all, the pursuit of savings has already led to the fact that many manufacturers have ceased not only to varnish the engine compartment, but also do not apply paint there at all, limiting themselves only to colored primer (the so-called under-hood coating). This is especially common among Japanese and Korean cars (for example, "Nissan" is blue metallic, and under the hood is blue matte "non-metallic"). AvtoVAZ recently also switched to a similar technology.

In this case, the primer tinted in the desired color saves us from wasting time and unnecessary consumption of materials, since without it we would have to first apply the filler primer, and then the enamel with a matting additive.

Tinting is carried out both by adding enamels or pigment pastes to the soil, and by mixing soils of different colors with each other (of course, the soils must be from the same manufacturer).

For example, proportional mixing of white and black primers makes it possible to obtain a material of any gray shade (according to the Value Shade scale), which will help reduce the number of paint layers, which means reducing its consumption and reducing repair time.

Some manufacturers offer entire systems of colored primers. One of these is the development of Sikkens - the Colorbuild system of colored primers, which includes primers of six colors (red, blue, yellow, green, black and white). By mixing these primers, it is possible to obtain a substrate of 46 different colors without the addition of expensive tinting components of top coats.

in cans

Another interesting material- one-component primer-leveler, produced in aerosol cans. He earned special sympathy of the masters when used in the case when the ground was pierced at several points on a part already ready for painting. In this case, the aerosol primer saves a lot of time that would have to be spent on diluting the primer, filling it into the spray gun and washing after work. After that, the applied primer must also be dried.

With the help of a primer in a can, this work can be done in a minute, then the primer dries in 5-10 minutes, then light sanding - and the defect is gone.

Epoxy primers

Continuing the conversation about primers, we, as promised above, will answer the question - is it possible to do without etching primers in the painting business?

It turns out that it is possible if you use soil based on epoxy resins. Epoxy primer can also be classified as anti-corrosion materials. Only unlike acid-containing primers that protect the metal through a chemical reaction, epoxy primer provides physical protection: due to its tough and rather thick film, it reliably blocks the access of moisture and oxygen to the metal.

So these two soils perform their protective functions, albeit in different ways, but equally well. What then are the advantages of epoxy primer over acid primers? When and why to use it?

As you know, the usual anti-corrosion primer can only be applied on top of the putty, but not under it. But in this case, it turns out that the metal will be protected only around the putty area, and under the putty itself, no additional protection will not be.

And then it is enough to have a microcrack in the metal, as water, due to capillary effects, tends to get under the putty layer with inside. And since putty is hygroscopic, absorbing this moisture, it begins to swell, and a freshly painted car will soon literally bloom with ugly bubbles, the size of which can exceed the diameter of a five-ruble coin. That's already painted so painted!

How to protect the putty from moisture entering from the inside? This is where epoxy primer comes to the rescue: first, a layer of epoxy primer is applied to the metal, and putty work is already carried out on it.

Epoxy primer is the only anti-corrosion material that can be applied under polyester putty - no more bubbles! This technology is used in top quality painting systems and allows you to bring the warranty on painted elements to seven years or more!

Epoxy primers have not only excellent adhesion to a wide variety of surfaces (galvanized, galvanized steel, aluminum and all its alloys, stainless steel, fiberglass), they are also a good substrate for cover enamels (due to their good filling properties and good spreadability). Therefore, you can cover the putty areas with a couple more layers of epoxy - and after grinding the part is ready for painting. Note that this is not the only possible variant in this case, read about the rest in the article on priming.

Liquid putty is also recommended to be applied specifically to the epoxy primer and topped off with another layer of epoxy primer - like a sandwich. Also, this primer works well on fiberglass, and also as an insulator of old problematic coatings.

And if you treat the edges and ends of the elements with this primer, you can forget about chips and undermining of paint in these places, as well as their premature corrosion. After all, it is the ends of the doors that often rust faster than the rest of the surface. This happens because modern paintwork materials to increase decorative properties(pebble reduction) have a high coefficient of surface tension, which leads to stretching of the paint on the edges and ends of the elements with a corresponding decrease in its thickness.

It is not advisable to use two different anti-corrosion primers during the repair process on one element. At the same time, most manufacturers categorically prohibit applying epoxy primer over acidic.

However, these soils also have some disadvantages due to their very properties - increased strength and toughness. Because of this, epoxy primers are more difficult to process than conventional fillers. Also, epoxy primer can sometimes cause contouring during stain repairs - again, due to its increased rigidity.

Yes, and the maximum thickness of their application is much lower than that of acrylic primers, which requires a very high quality of surface treatment of parts, which is not achievable in every "paint brush". Therefore, epoxy primer performs best when used as a primary primer, followed by the application of a filler primer.

Insulating primers of incompatible coatings (sealers)

When restoring repairs, in most cases we have to deal with already painted parts, including those that have previously been repaired, perhaps more than once. And here the question arises about the compatibility of the old and new coatings, since the origin of the materials of the old repair coating is unknown to us. And although no one has been painting with nitro enamels for a hundred years, as, indeed, with cheap repair "Cadolins", in car repair practice there may still be coatings that, by their properties, belong to thermoplastic materials (soften when heated or in contact with solvents).

To isolate such coatings, there are so-called insulating primers or sealers (from the English seal - to seal, isolate). They will help to play it safe and avoid problems associated with the conflict of the old and new coatings (swelling, loss of adhesion, contouring).

To check the coating for thermoplasticity before starting work on "used" parts, it is enough to carry out one simple test. Take a rag soaked in solvent and leave it on the old coating or where the paint is damaged. If after a couple of minutes the coating has softened (the nail leaves traces on it), then it should be removed or isolated.

In many systems, primers that are intended for wet-on-wet painting have the properties of insulators. Some of them are transparent and can be tinted, they can be used both as substrates directly under the enamel, and with the subsequent application of a filler.

As already mentioned, epoxy primer is also an excellent insulator for old coatings.

Adhesion primers for plastics

Drawing parallels with anti-corrosion primers applied to metal and creating strong adhesive bonds with it, in the case of painting plastic parts, special adhesive primers for plastic are used for these purposes.

Such a primer is usually a very liquid transparent substance with small additions of "silver" (to control application). The layer thickness is minimal - only a few microns. Basically, these are ready-to-use one-component materials.

As a rule, such primers are universal and applicable, if not to all, then to most types of plastic used in the automotive industry. You can specify this in the instructions for the product, and you can find out the type of plastic from which the part is made by marking on its inside.

Most often, this is a plastic of the polypropylene group, always referred to as PP in the first letters. For example: >PP/EPDMC<, >PP/PD< и т.п. Можно с уверенностью утверждать, что около 80% всех пластиковых деталей автомобиля (бампера, капоты, крылья, детали салона) выполнены из пластмассы этого типа. Использование праймера по пластику на таких деталях носит обязательный характер.

New original plastic parts may already be primed. Such parts do not need re-priming.

The spectrum of all soils is of course not limited to these materials. To consider all their types and subspecies within the framework of the article is probably an unrealistic task. But what has been said is enough to understand how flexible and versatile the system of modern repair primers is - with their help you can solve any problem facing the painter.