How long after applying vinegar on aluminum hull can I wait before applying SE primer?

[BWR1953]

An hour?
Two hours?
A day?
A week?
More?

 

[Watermann]

After it's rinsed and dry.

 

[MNhunter1]

I had a similar question on my build, see answers below:

3) Acid/vinegar wash - once I etch the bare aluminum, do I need to lay down the paint in a timely manner, or is it etched once its etched, i.e. can it sit for a few weeks/months before I actually lay down the paint? I'll want to rinse the hull and other parts needing paint with the pressure washer after the vinegar wash/etch, which would ideally be done outside before the weather turns. I can paint in my heated garage at anytime. Hoping I can get everything stripped and etched(now while it's warm), and just give a good wipe down with acetone prior to paint, even if it's weeks or months later and the dead of winter. My understanding is the chemical wash is creating a physical etch, which shouldn't necessarily have a hypothetical "expiration date". I'll also be sanding all surfaces to be painted with 220 as well.

Etching has a shelf life. Oxidation starts once the raw aluminum is exposed to Air.

SHSU

From Watermann:
What you could do on the boat since it looks to have had a DA sander run over the surface is vinegar wipe down, rinse and then shoot the coat of SE primer. I've been shooting SE with the 1.4 tip that gives a nice even coat. There is not going to be a problem with the adhesion of the paint to the rough primer after that but if you let it sit around dust and debris will collect on the surface so you would need to tack cloth the surface before painting.

 

[BWR1953]

Thanks guys.

 

[renns]

I realize your question is about self-etching primer, but the Interprotect 2000E instructions have some very specific steps to prepare aluminum. Here's the a snippet that might be of interest:
"ALUMINUM: Degrease by wiping with a rag soaked in Fiberglass Solvent Wash 202. Grit blast, grind with a 36 grit disc, or sand with 40-60 grit sandpaper. If gritblasting, use aluminum compatible materials. Bring the surface to a uniform, clean, bright metal surface. A surface profile of 23 mils (5075 microns) is recommended. Remove sanding residue with a brush, vacuum or by blowing off with a clean air line. Within 1 hour of preparing the surface, apply a coat of Interprotect 2000E thinned 1520% with the correct thinner. Apply 45 additional coats of Interprotect 2000E"

 

[BWR1953]

45 additional coats? Is it for an aircraft carrier?

 

[renns]

45 additional coats? Is it for an aircraft carrier?

Original document said 4-5. Not sure what happened to the hyphen when cutting and pasting!

 

[Berdink]

Thanks for this thread.
I'll post a link to it my 67 thread.
.
Have you done this yet?
How did it go for you?

 

[BWR1953]

Thanks for this thread.
I'll post a link to it my 67 thread.
.
Have you done this yet?
How did it go for you?

I used the cleaning vinegar several years ago when I was working on my Kingfisher. I only waited a few hours from cleaning to painting, so it wasn't a big deal and worked very well.

For my Chieftain, it could be days or even weeks between cleaning and painting, hence the question. Got some good answers, as we always do on iBoats.