Stainless Steel Wash Primers—Which and Where to Get It?

Q. I have a couple of hundred 3/16-inch 304-stainless steel dowels that I need paint to bond too. I am not concerned about corrosion, only concerned about proper bond of paint to the SS. Besides the obvious degreasing and sanding, I keep reading of “Wash Primers.” So what brands are there and where I can I get them? I asked a few paint stores and they do not carry it. I am located in the upper Midwest (MN) if that helps on recommendation of a supplier/distributor that does carry it. After applying the wash primer, do I then apply the top coat over it?

Also, by any chance, is there such a thing as an aerosol can application of any wash primers? I’m looking to keep it as simple as possible for application. A.N.

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A. Wash primers are an acidic mixture of phosphoric acid and a vinyl resin. The purpose of the wash primer is to prepare the otherwise inert surface of some materials for paint. The phosphoric acid will provide a very light etch to the surface that will give the next coat an improved surface bond to. The vinyl resin will act as a light prime coat to keep the metal surface in a state where it is ready to accept its next coat. Depending on the level of performance necessary, you may want to follow up next directly with the top coat or for better performance, an intermediate primer, then the top coat would be recommended. It is not intended to be a stand-alone final coating.

I am not aware of them in aerosol cans, but would check the PRODUCTS FINISHING web site (www.pfonline.com) and click on the Suppliers tab, then look under Paint.