Aluminum Primer

[Chuck]

If anyone here is repainting an old aluminum frame you might want to check out Moeller zink primer #025801.
It is available on Amazon for about $12.00. Used on boats for aluminum below the waterline. It is a zinc phosphate epoxy in a spray can. Excellent corrosion protection.

 

[Brian]

Do you have any photos of it on a frame? Is it a thin or thick primer?

 

[Chuck]

Brian,
No I don't have any photos. I will take some on my next restore. As the paint is in a spray can it comes out rather thin.
You should be fine using multiple light coats.

 

[petergt4]

If anyone here is repainting an old aluminum frame you might want to check out Moeller zink primer #025801.
It is available on Amazon for about $12.00. Used on boats for aluminum below the waterline. It is a zinc phosphate epoxy in a spray can. Excellent corrosion protection.

Is it an epoxy, or just enamel?

I've had lots of success using an enamel based zinc phosphate on various aluminum car parts in the past. I can imagine epoxy would hold up much better, especially for a mountain bike application...

 

[Chuck]

Peter,
It's an enamel. For durability (adhesion) try a vinyl wash two part primer. You catalyze it with an acetic acid. As soon as you spray it on the metal turns dull showing it has reacted with the base metal. Apply a light coat followed twenty minutes later with a topcoat. I have even used this primer on polished stainless steel spokes. Thirty years later the paint is still on them.

 

[petergt4]

Peter,
It's an enamel. For durability (adhesion) try a vinyl wash two part primer. You catalyze it with an acetic acid. As soon as you spray it on the metal turns dull showing it has reacted with the base metal. Apply a light coat followed twenty minutes later with a topcoat. I have even used this primer on polished stainless steel spokes. Thirty years later the paint is still on them.

So is this the same as the Moeller primer you mentioned above? Sounds like it does an incredible job.

 

[Chuck]

Peter,
Not the same. The Moeller primer is for corrosion protection. Vinyl wash primer is for adhesion.

 

[petergt4]

Peter,
Not the same. The Moeller primer is for corrosion protection. Vinyl wash primer is for adhesion.

Thanks for specifying which is which.