Polyvinyl butyral etch primers

Polyvinyl butyral etch primer 10 13 5 min 1 h Adhesion primer for ferrous and nonferrous metals... 

The purity of the zinc is unimportant, within wide limits, in determining its life, which is roughly proportional to thickness under any given set of exposure conditions. In the more heavily polluted industrial areas the best results are obtained if zinc is protected by painting, and nowadays there are many suitable primers and painting schemes which can be used to give an extremely useful and long service life under atmospheric corrosion conditions. Primers in common use are calcium plumbate, metallic lead, zinc phosphate and etch primers based on polyvinyl butyral. The latter have proved particularly useful in marine environments, especially under zinc chromate primers . 

A low acid polyvinyl butyral-based pretreatment primer ( etch or wash primer are alternative names) is usually advantageous as the first treatment of a metal-sprayed surface before painting. Up to an equal volume of spirit soluble phenolic resin is used as a diluent to the polyvinyl butyral of conventional pretreatment primers. This has an incidental, but particularly valuable effect, in reducing the free acid available to penetrate into the pores of the coating. The modified pretreatment primer is highly water resistant and this helps to avoid damage due to condensation. 

Etch primers are widely used. They are mostly based on polyvinyl butyral and contain chromates and phosphoric acid. They are said to act both as primers and as etching solutions because it is believed that the chromates and phosphoric acid form an inorganic him, which provides adhesion, while oxidised polyvinyl butyral provides an organic him. For direct application to new galvanised steel, the best known primers are based on calcium orthoplumbate pigment and metallic lead, but these are now less used for environmental reasons. Zinc-dust paints and zinc-phosphate pigmented paints are also used, but the trend is to use pretreatments to assure good adhesion. 

A characteristic of the group (a) of resins is that they air-dry solely by solvent evaporation and remain permanently solvent soluble. This fact, combined with the need to use strong solvents, makes brush application very difficult, but sprayed coats can be applied at intervals of one hour. A full vinyl system such as (o) possesses excellent chemical and water resistance. Many members of group (o) have very poor adhesion to metal, and have therefore been exploited as strip lacquers for temporary protection. Excellent adhesion is, however, obtained by initial application of an etching primer the best known of such primers comprises polyvinyl butyral, zinc tetroxy-chromate and phosphoric acid. 

Etch primers partially fulfil the roles of both pretreatment and primer. They contain phosphoric acid for surface passivation and are based on polyvinyl butyral ... 

The standard etch primer (WP-1, DEF-1408) consists of two solutions, one containing polyvinyl butyral resin and zinc tetroxychromate in ethyl alcohol with n-butanol, and the second containing phosphoric acid and ethyl alcohol. It is essential that a small critical amount of water be present in the latter. The two solutions are mixed in appropriate ratio for use the mixture deteriorates and should be discarded when more than 8 h old. Single-pack etch primers of reasonable shelf life are available but contain less phosphoric acid than the above and are not considered to be so effective. 

During a repair, the damaged area is sanded down to bare metal and filled as necessary. An etch primer is often used to enable the VR coating to adhere to the surface of the metal. This is a very low solids coating which is applied at a low film thickness. Etch primers typically contain phosphoric acid and zinc chromate (although chromates are becoming unpopular for toxicity reasons), a binder (such as polyvinyl butyral) and a solvent system (usually based on ethanol, butanol and water). 

Traditionally, etch primers have been formulated as one-pack or two-pack products, based on polyvinyl butyral resins. In the more common two-pack products, the etchant (phosphoric acid) is a separate component, which is added to the resin/solvent component immediately before use. The one-pack products contain a small amount of chromic acid and are described as reacted stable formulations. 

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