axle painting primer or no primer
 

painting my rear axle today hopefully, just likely some rattlecan Tremclad or some other Rust paint. should i use a primer first though?

or do i go whole hog and POR-15 it?

Re: axle painting primer or no primer
 

Think the answer would very on how much prep work you put into the axle.
If you have spent many hours cleaning it down to the bare metal and have it spotless, than ya, spray come primer on it.
If you hit it with a water hose and still have bits of gear gravy on the outside, than just use some rattle can.

Re: axle painting primer or no primer
 

lol...im half way btwn. wire brush the rough rust off, but no bare metal or gear gravy (hahaha that made me laugh) on it

Re: axle painting primer or no primer
 

I just got thru painting mine....I cleaned and scrubbed with scotchbrite pad and wire brush with mineral spirits and purple power. ...it cleaned up pretty good but not sandblasted clean...when dry I then sprayed it with krylon colormaster paint+primer in matte black. .(says dtm on can)..looks decent but not show quality....I've used this method before with good enough results...

Re: axle painting primer or no primer
 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I would finish it off with a wire brush and clean it like Mongocanfly and hit it with a nice paint primer combo.

Re: axle painting primer or no primer
 

I'm working on a transfer case now. ....it has lots of (gravy) on it...what a pain....
ill prime the transfer case before I paint it...the paint I'm gonna use on it is not a dtm style paint. .....

Re: axle painting primer or no primer
 

Every paint on the market is made better by applying a primer.

Re: axle painting primer or no primer
 

Depends what you want it to look like few years down the road. My best results are tremclad top coat over por15. Tremclad only i have rust forming just sitting in the garage after a few years. My trans and trans case has por15 then tremclad over and they are just as clean as when i painted them.

Re: axle painting primer or no primer
 

imo... rattle can paint is only better than no paint, but not by much
better off with brushing on rustoleum or por15