Am I the only one who noticed cheap primer makes a paint job go bad in 18 months?

Michael Wright · 2026-09-24T18:30:03.325166+00:00

I do collision work here in Spokane and about two years ago I started using a cheaper primer to save money on my own projects. At first it looked fine, laid down smooth, sanded easy, saved me maybe $60 a job. But after about 18 months the paint started lifting on a couple of fenders I did, small bubbles near the edges and around the seams. I peeled one back and the primer had chalked out under the color, no bite at all. Same gun, same booth, same prep routine, only thing I changed was the primer. I went back to the good stuff and those older jobs are holding up fine after 4 years, so I know it was the primer not my process. I'm out about $800 redoing two of those jobs for free to keep my name clean. Has anyone else had a cheap primer bite them like this, and what did you switch to?

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Am I the only one who noticed cheap primer makes a paint job go bad in 18 months? | Auto Body Repairers - Rigidtalk