I know there are a million threads on the subject of painting a frame, and alot of criticism for doing a rattle can home job.. but I believe! Anyway, I have meticulously hand sanded a high ten steel frame down to the bare metal with 320 grit as final paper, and meticulously degreased it. I am using Dupli-Color sandable primer and a Dupli-Color Acrylic Enamel topcoat color. Will applying a self-etching primer first really make a huge difference in the durability and adhesion? This coming from someone who can paint well, just never on bare steel. Thanks!

Yes it will. But you can skip the regular primer in your steps when you do so. Honestly though, best adhesion would be to have the frame bead blasted with a fine media, like walnut shells or similar. It'll give the paint more to bite to.

-R

I use the self-etching primer first and then I apply a primer surfacer. The self-etching primer that I use doesn't have the ability to fill imperfections. The trick is to sand the primer-sufacer without going all the way back to bare metal. Dupli-Color primers can be used under catalyzed urethanes-they won't lift the primer like they will paint.

OK, thanks. That all sounds like sound advice. I won't be bead blasting as good as it sounds -have to do it all 'in house'. Good news regarding only having to use one primer, but I've heard it suggested several times in the threads that a primer surfacer is used on top of a self-etching primer... guess it depends on how perfect my original surface is? As far as catalyzed urethane over primer, do you mean clear urethane? You said these urethanes lift the paint so I imagine you mean clear.