Overheard a painter at the supply house say he never uses a tack cloth on fresh primer.

I was grabbing some 2K clear at the local jobber yesterday and this older guy was telling the counter guy his method. He said, 'I just blow it off with clean air and wipe it with a wax and grease remover rag. Tack cloths leave a film that can cause fisheyes.' I've been using tack cloths for years on primed surfaces before basecoat. Tried his way on a hood repair this morning. Used my shop air with a fresh filter and a clean microfiber soaked in the prep solvent. Laid down the base and it went on smooth as glass. No dry spray, no weird texture. I always figured the tack cloth was the final clean step. Maybe it's adding something back. Anyone else skip the tack cloth and just rely on air and solvent?

3 comments

3 Comments

harper25415d agoTop Commenter

Yeah that older guy is onto something for sure. But the part about the film always causing fisheyes isn't totally right. The residue is more likely to cause adhesion problems or weird gloss issues later on, not just fisheyes. Fisheyes usually come from silicone or oil contamination from somewhere else. The tack cloth gunk might make the topcoat not stick right, which is its own headache. Good move testing it out though, clean air and solvent is the way to go.

grant.lee1mo ago

Stopped using tack cloths on fresh primer years ago for the same reason. They can leave a sticky residue that causes more problems than they solve. A good blow-off and solvent wipe is the cleaner method.

murray.betty1mo ago

That bit about the tack cloth leaving a film makes total sense. I read a tech sheet from a paint company once that straight up said not to use them on fresh primer for that exact reason. They called it 'tack rag residue' and said it could mess with how the next layer sticks. Your hood job proves it. Clean air and the right solvent is just taking stuff off, not putting anything back on.