Epoxy Primer Caution!

I am not familiar with Valspar products and am not trying to dump on them but their apparent statement is just wrong that all epoxy primers, no matter the manufacturer, has a limitation like theirs. Their product is apparently different from similar epoxies from other major automotive paint companies and therefore some caution should be exercised when using it. To me this points up the importance of obtaining the manufacturer's published technical data sheet(s) for each product to determine what limitations may apply to it. No data sheet available? Then no sale. Period. Talk is cheap -- written documentation is far more reliable.

My own experience is with PPG's DP & DPLF epoxy primer and with their OMNI MP 170 epoxy primer. These products can, indeed be used over an etch primer or chemically etched steel -- in fact is it so stated that such surface pre-treatments are an acceptable substrate in the applicable tech sheets. I have used the DP very successfully many times over chemically etched steel so Valspar just doesn't know what it's talking about regarding PPG's epoxy. I am sure PPG would say the same :o).

Rod

Sorry to hear about your misfortune with Valspar's unusual "epoxy" primer that has "etch" properties. Unfortunately, I doubt you will get much satisfaction from Valspar as a company. If you have a tech sheet from them for the product you used and it states not to use it over their own etch primer then I think they are pretty much absolved of any liability. They certainly are not going to endorse using it over another manufacturer's product, even if there is no problem with it. That's a mixing and matching issue that is the responsibility of the individual user. The fact that someone may have verbally led you to believe you could use the primer over the picklex is just so much...blowing in the wind. Companies are generally not liable for any verbal information from their own employees -- and certainly not from distributor employees. It's what's in "authorized" writing that counts. The fact that other paint companies recommend their own epoxy over their own etch is not particularly relevant, IMO. The fact that a tech sheet from Valspar indicates not to use that primer over their own etch should have been a warning flag that there might be a problem with other similar products from other manufacturers. I take it that it was your material supplier (not Valspar company) that verbally recommended you use the Valspar primer over the picklex plus an OMNI topcoat. That being the case, perhaps the best you can hope for is that your supplier will feel guilty enough about the bum info to give you a free gallon on OMNI MP170 (w/catalyst) just to keep you as a customer. I doubt Valspar gives a you-know-what about it. Sorry to be so blunt but that is my take on the situation.

In any event, good luck on Monday getting as much satisfaction as possible.

Rod

Valspar hardner is sold at tractor supply for their line of paint. Best Paint Made i believe is the brand. $30 a gallon so i don't equate them with automotive quality paints. I have seen wood varnish and boat bottom paint made by Valspar. I wonder why he choose Valspar in the first place? I think i will go over there and ask.

I have used OMNI MP 170 epoxy primer over chemically etched metal and zinc phosphate coatings left by rust remover with no problems. I concur.

Sounds like a bad product, like the peeling GM clear coats. Could it be they won't scrap the formula because they have spent $ to develop this paint?

Anyone who blasts, strips or wire brushes to bare metal has done a lot of hard work and spent a good sum on materials and equipment to get there. Products like picklex @ $40 a qt are made to preserve the metal until paint day so primer and top coat can be applied together within the time window for chemical bond to each other for the best adhesion possible. Anyone who has a paint failure after all this effort is going to be upset, rightfully so.

Based on what i have read on both boards, I'm concerned enough by the triple failure of one of Valspar's higher end products--The Epoxy Primer, not to use their product at this time. I still haven't gotten an answer on what properties the valspar epoxy has that made it the painters product of choice either.

I want to hear about products good and bad as well as techniques, tools and tips that may save me $ or labor.

Marine paints are a whole other world. A boat that is moored in fresh water in a cool climate will retain its finish longer than a boat moored in cool salt water. For bottom paints, What works well in cold salt water doesn't usually have half the performance in warm salt water, because of the thousands of critters that live and thrive in warm salt water just waiting to attach themselves to hulls, rudders and props. If you like their products, that's fine and if you feel they are being dumped on that's fine with me too. I think they need to be held accountable for product failures and any information they put out that is wrong or in their own self interest.