To Etch or Not To Etch

[DoxieLuvr2015]

Ughhhh I’m tired of being hunched over freaking grinding and scraping...but it’s almost finished....soooo should I really etch the deck? I just wanna paint it with rustolium already. I need some support here

[EastCoastCB]

You really don't HAVE to. If you've wire wheeled it or brushed the hell out of it it will be fine. But a quick slathering with ospho will make for a better result in terms of adhesion and rust prevention. It will convert any rust into an inert oxide leaving a nice surface ready for paint.

[DoxieLuvr2015]

Ohhh your are right....I guess you are telling me to do it right the first time. Thanks for the pep talk. Going to find a spray bottle.

[banman]

Originally Posted by DoxieLuvr2015

Ohhh your are right....I guess you are telling me to do it right the first time. Thanks for the pep talk. Going to find a spray bottle.

Dude! I was blinded by the shiny metal! What do you think etching is? You've done, done it! The wire wheel is the etch!

Seriously, with metal prepped that well you start to get an invisible surface rust as soon as you set down the grinder. Wipe down the metal with a rag soaked in ospho if you'll be ready to paint in the next day or two.

If it's weeks before you can paint, protect the surface with a coating of oil -- you obviously have to wash this off before painting -- Humidity is a real factor here -- I can literally see the difference in days (time for fresh metal to flash rust) between summer in Colorado and where I now live in Ohio...

[ol trunt]

Apply a light coat of Ospho or Rustmort with a small brush, small short napped roller or even a rag. Don't spray the stuff. The active ingredient is phosphoric acid and your lungs aren't rusty. Also, after the rust converter dries a white film will appear on the steel where there was no rust. This film needs to be washed away with water on a rag, allowed to dry (fan) and then be painted asap.
Jack

[DoxieLuvr2015]

Thank you all for the support....I ended up using ospho. I'll start back up in the morning to clean it up and paint.

[DoxieLuvr2015]

Okay one last question, is spraying ospho to stop the rust one process and once that is done and cleaned up do I need to dilute and apply again to etch the surface....in my head the first process is enough???? Right??

[banman]

Originally Posted by DoxieLuvr2015

Okay one last question, is spraying ospho to stop the rust one process and once that is done and cleaned up do I need to dilute and apply again to etch the surface....in my head the first process is enough???? Right??

Your "first process" will be enough because you've already wirebrushed down to clean metal.

Compared to a heavily rusted surface (pitted) where the metal will appear black as the ospho turns the rust (iron oxide) to iron phosphate -- might take a couple iterations of ospho to be prepped for paint.

All this is assuming you're using a paint meant for galvanized metal. Some primer paints won't adhere to the galvanizing (zinc) very well. No one can really tell from a pic whether you wire brushed though the zinc coating or not...

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by DoxieLuvr2015

Okay one last question, is spraying ospho to stop the rust one process and once that is done and cleaned up do I need to dilute and apply again to etch the surface....in my head the first process is enough???? Right??

Just once is good.

[gs1949]

I put ospho on my floor with a bucket and a mop. After it dried, I rinsed it off with a garden hose and painted it in a few hours. Turned out fine.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by gs1949

I put ospho on my floor with a bucket and a mop. After it dried, I rinsed it off with a garden hose and painted it in a few hours. Turned out fine.

I mopped the rusty floor of my truck's bed with ospho.
Never painted it yet.

[DoxieLuvr2015]

Yea just nuking it out over here...I appreciate the help.