Used to block sand everything wet until a painter told me to stop

Spent 10 years wet sanding primer before paint because that's how my old boss taught me. Last month a painter at the shop in Phoenix said the water was swelling the filler and causing ghost lines on metallics. Anyone else still deal with this?

2 comments

2 Comments

dakotawood28d ago

Shit, really? So all these years I've been soaking my filler and wondering why metallic flake was looking weird on certain angles... guess that explains a lot. I always thought the water was helping the primer lay down smoother but I bet I've been causing my own problems without knowing it. That Phoenix painter might've just saved me a ton of headaches.

grant_allen8527d ago

Man that Phoenix painter was absolutely right. @dakotawood you're not alone, I did the same thing for years before someone finally set me straight. Water gets trapped in the microscopic pores of the filler and primer, and when you lay down metallic paint it pushes the flake around unevenly as it dries. On solid colors it's not as noticeable but with metallics you get those weird tiger stripes or ghost lines that only show up in direct sunlight. The trick is to switch to a dry sanding method for the primer stage, or use a sealer coat after wet sanding to trap that moisture before color goes on. I started using dry sanding discs on a DA for primer blocks and my metallics lay down way more uniform now. Just make sure your paper is fresh or it'll load up and gouge the primer.