Non-hazardous primer for aluminum

It will work okay unless the cover will be handled roughly, or extensively.

One simple method is to wash thoroughly until water beads on it, then mix up a dilute solution of Drano, or any drain cleaner containing sodium hydroxide. Soaking an hour or so in that solution will etch surface. Then Krylon or automotive primer followed by black.

There is also a substance called "aluminum jelly", I believe, that puts a conversion coating on the aluminum. This can then be primed and painted. A little more work, but makes for a tougher result.

Thanks Don. Came across a black self etching primer made by Eastwood Company suitable for bare aluminum and called them. They said it's hazardous but there is no HAZMAT shipping fee and a respirator is not required, just use in a well ventilated area. Couldn't find a MSDS. They also said if a flat black finish is desired then the primer is all that's needed. Sounds good to me....Anybody familiar with Eastwood's self etching primer or products? Their chassis black seems quite popular.

Did you mean "beads" or "sheets", Don?

--------------------------------------------------- I drive way too fast to worry about my cholesterol. ---------------------------------------------------

PPG alumaprep does contain phosphoric acid -- but it isn't nearly as nasty as ferric chloride.

Gee, I forget now which way it goes :-) I'll need to try it again.

When considering paint prep and finishing products for metals, there aren't many non-hazardous products to use. Press-on vinyl film products would be about the least hazardous. I suppose you're wanting to order a product, and want to avoid the hazardous shipping fees.

You can paint a bare aluminum (clean, not anodized) panel for indoor use, without special treatment or primers, if you'd care to. Scuffing the surface with fine abrasive or a 3M/Scotch-type pad will give the surface enough roughness for good adhesion. You would want to wipe it down immediately after scuffing with a solvent that will not leave an oily residue (such as acetone or lacquer thinner), and then apply the paint immediately. Having already previously shaken and agitated the paint, a few-ten more shakes should be adequate.

Using a primer will provide some filler, so the scratches from the scuffing will be less noticeable. Spray can primers are very thin, with very low solids content, so they don't provide much in the way of filling or leveling.

The diluted phosphoric etches aren't extremely hazardous to use, you can find phosphoric acid in a lot of beverages and foods. If you have a small cut on a finger, it will sting, about the same as grapefruit juice will.

I've seen aerosol cans of self-etching primers at auto parts stores, and other places with paint departments. This type of primer from one source probably won't be any better than one from another.

Breathing any airborne refinishing product or the vapors is not a good idea. A well ventilated area is outdoors, where there is usually less possible sources of ignition.

WB ...............

Considered having the part anodized instead ???

Very effective in the form of printable media allowing the finish to include text.

That plus the "for shop use only" and "use a real respirator not a dust mask" warnings I've seen associated with zinc chromate use.

Tell me about it....Have something called Laser Buddy used for archiving laser print. Use it with the press-on film mentioned above. I hold my breath, quickly spray then run (literally) even in a well ventilated area. The fumes from that thing are bad news compared to the usuals like acetone, xylol, MEK etc. that I handle from time to time.

Yes, in fact I have all the components for over a year now (cooler, sulphuric acid, dyes etc.) to anodize it myself but it would be my first go at it so some practice will be needed. Leaving that for a bigger project. Giving it out to be anodized would be a last resort.