Prospector® Knowledge Center

Primers – Considerations to Ensure Enduring Performance

Posted on April 9, 2025 by Ron Lewarchik

Primers are a key function of any paint system. If the performance is subpar, the system comprising the substrate, primer and
topcoat is doomed to premature failure. Most early failures of a paint system are linked to poor adhesion of the primer to substrate
or a failure in adhesion of the topcoat to primer. Accordingly, the performance of the primer-topcoat system must be considered
together. Longer term failures are often related to a failure to engineer a primer to meet the physical and environmental
performance of the primer when put into service.

There are also a cadre of additional considerations which include ease of application,
appearance, physical and functional properties including those with the topcoat type
for the intended application. These characteristics must also be carefully considered
when formulating a primer and coating system that provide acceptable
performance. This article will concentrate on considerations necessary to obtain
initial and long-term adhesion of the primer to the substrate.

Details of the formulating considerations in regard to the multiple substrates that a

primer will be applied to (i.e. metal – if so, what type/clean or unclean, pretreatment),
wood, rigid and/or flexible plastics, drywall etc.). Secondly, there are also a myriad of issues to consider such as cure conditions
ambient cure, thermal or light cure, as well as application how the primer will be applied (brush, roller, air atomized spray,
electrostatic spray or disk, electrocoat etc.

This article will consider some fundamental issues of paramount performance for any primer:
 1. Substrate surface tension and flow and wetting of the paint
2. Substrate micro and macro structure as well as porosity
3. Mechanical effects and internal stress
4. Maintaining film Integrity, substrate and topcoat adhesion
5. Surface chemistry and bond strength
6. Pigmentation
7. Evaluation of adhesion both initially and after accelerated testing

1. Surface tension, wetting and surface structure– The relationship between surface wetting and adhesion is the first factor to be
considered in designing a primer to optimize adhesion. If a coating in a liquid state does not spread spontaneously over the
substrate surface, then there is limited opportunity to form mechanical and chemical bonds with the substrate surface.

A liquid will spread spontaneously on the surface of a material if the surface tension (force/unit length or dyne/cm) of the liquid is
lower than the surface free energy of the solid to be coated. For example, the image below provides a visualization of various
degrees of wetting properties for a drop of liquid applied onto the surface to be wet.

Figure 1 – Images of Various Degrees of Substrate Wetting

Accordingly, in Table 1, when the Liquid Surface Tension (LST) is lower than that of Solid Surface Tension (SST), then wetting of the
solid will occur. The greater this difference, the greater the opportunity that the liquid has to wet and spread on the surface of the
solid. Accordingly, to improve wetting as the initial step to gaining adhesion, either the LST can be decreased and/or the SST can be
increased. Waterborne paints and powder coatings have a more difficult time spreading on surfaces due to the relatively high
surface tension of water or that of a powder wetting in comparison to most paints containing a higher level of organic solvents to
provide wetting.
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Accordingly, to improve wetting of powder coatings and waterborne coatings, organic cosolvents (for waterborne) and/or
appropriate wetting agents (waterborne and powder) are normally employed. In summary, when LST < SST, wetting occurs.

Table 1 – Liquid Surface Tension (LST) and Solid Critical Surface tension (SST) (dynes/cm) @ 20° C

2. Mechanical adhesion and internal stress– The profile of the substrate the coating is to be applied to also can affect adhesion.
Smoother surfaces are more difficult for coating adhesion as the surface area is lower and provides less area for the coating to
interlock with the substrate. However, if a coating is extremely rough, it can be difficult for a liquid coating to wet and penetrate
surface crevices. This is illustrated in the diagrams listed below in Figure 2.

Figure 2 Surface interactions between a coating and substrate

The microscopic surface profile in sketch B will provide better adhesion than that in sketch A as the coating provides greater
opportunity to interlock with the substrate. Surface C has pockets and pores that are not easily penetrated by the coating, resulting
in air pockets that can trap moisture and soluble ions resulting in blisters and corrosion (if substrate is an oxidizable metal) and thus
poor long-term adhesion and eventual film failure.

In summary, from a mechanical adhesion standpoint, liquid coatings with low surface tension and low viscosity help promote better
wetting and microscopic penetration (capillary action). Adhesion can also be adversely affected by stresses that occur as a result
of shrinkage as a coating dries or cures. Environmental effects over time such as exposure to moisture, light, heat, pollutants and
thermocycling also play an eventual role to degrade adhesion.

3. Maintaining film integrity and intercoat adhesion – To maintain film integrity and intercoat adhesion in multicoat systems such
as topcoat to primer or clearcoat to color coat to primer, mechanisms such as interfacial mixing during application and/or
cure helps promote intercoat adhesion, a second mechanism which provides a further enhancement of intercoat adhesion is
the reaction of residual reactive functional groups on one layer of a multicoat system to react and form covalent bonds with
that of functional groups of another coating layer. Other means to improve substrate adhesion and or intercoat adhesion
include the addition of adhesion promoters (see references listed below) and/or hydrogen bonding to adjoining surfaces.
Bond strengths of covalent bonds are orders of magnitude stronger than that of hydrogen bonds and thus preferred to
maintain long term film integrity from a longevity standpoint.

Table 2. – Bond Strengths of various Covalent and Hydrogen Bonds

 4. Surface chemistry and substrate bond strength– In addition to surface tension and surface profile of the substrate, available
substrate functional groups may provide sites for covalent and hydrogen bonding to the coating components to further
enhance the adhesive bond strength of the primer to the substrate.

Table 2 – Adhesive bonding forces

As Table 2 illustrates, the highest bond strength to the surface is provided by covalent bonds, such as those provided for example
the reaction of a dual functional trialkoxy silane coupling agent between the coating and the metal surface.
Most metal surfaces are supplied with a thin layer of oil to slow the rate of oxidation. The oil also lowers the surface energy and thus
is more difficult to wet. For this reason, metal surfaces -for example steel, zinc coated steel and aluminum- are normally cleaned
prior to painting to remove oils and then pretreated to form, for example, a zinc phosphate or iron phosphate treated surface. The
phosphate groups serve to enhance adhesion of the coating through hydrogen bonding of the metal surface to reactive sites on
the polymer.

Reactive groups on the polymer back bone or through the addition of a di or multifunctional adhesion promoter containing epoxy,
amino or silane functional coupling groups can further react with a suitable pretreated metal surface to form covalent bonds that
provide added adhesive strength between the metal and the coating.

For glass or silica rich surfaces, coupling agents such as amino silanes can also serve to enhance adhesion by reacting with a resin
backbone containing an epoxy group with the alkoxy functional silane portion of the coupling agent bonding to the silica surface to
form a siloxane.

Plastics are more difficult to wet as they have a lower surface free energy that may be further lowered by the presence of mold
release agents. Adhesion to polyolefins can be improved by increasing their surface free energy through UV irradiation, once a
photosensitizer is applied, or flame treatment that generates hydroxyl, carboxyl and ketone groups. Other means to improve
adhesion of Thermoplastic polyolefins (TPO) like polypropylene is the addition of chlorinated polyolefins (CPO) to primers. More
recently there are also non-chlorinated adhesion promoters available for waterborne primers for TPO and polypropylene.

These functional groups on the plastic surface provide higher surface energy to improve wetting as well as hydrogen bonding sites
for polymer functional groups on the coating. Other ways to improve adhesion to thermoplastics is to include an appropriate
solvent in the paint to solubilize the plastic surface and enable intermixing of the coating at the plastic-coating interface.

5. Pigmentation– The level and type of pigment used in a primer not only affects coating substrate adhesion, but also how long it
will adhere to the surface. Most primers are formulated at or slightly below Critical Pigment Volume Concentration (CPVC) to
maximize topcoat adhesion (rougher primer surface and higher free energy) as well as many other coating properties (Figure
4).
The use of more polar pigments may provide ease of wetting during the pigment dispersion process but may degrade long term
adhesion as they are more susceptible to moisture migration and disbondment at the coating-substrate interface. Plate like
pigments and pigments that have very low or no water-soluble components also enhance longevity.

6. Evaluation of adhesion There are multiple ways to determine and quantify the adhesion of organic coatings to a substrate. Two of
the most common means of determining adhesion include ASTM D3359 (Cross Hatch Tape Adhesion) and ASTM D4541 (Pull-Off
Adhesion). ASTM D3359 describes two methods to determine cross hatch tape adhesion: method A is a simple X, where method B is
a lattice pattern. Method A is used in the field and for films > 5mils, whereas Method B is used for lab determinations.
ASTM D3359 Ratings are by area of the cross hatch removed by specialized adhesion tape and include:

5B (no area removed) > 4B (less than 5%) > 3B (5 – 15%) > 2B (15 – 35%),1B (35 – 65%) and 0B (greater than 65%)

ASTM D4541 (Pull-Off Adhesion) utilizes a device to measure the Pull Off Strength of a dolly glued to the surface of the coating. The
device determines the force required to disbond the coating in pounds per square inch. This not only quantifies the amount of force
required to pull off the coating, but also the type of failure (cohesive or adhesive), how and at which layer the coating fails (topcoat
to primer, primer to substrate etc.)

PosiTest AT-A Automatic Adhesion Tester (SOURCE: DeFelsko)

Sources:

1. Metal Surface Treatment – The Key to Successful Performance, Ron Lewarchik, 4 November 2016
2. Achieving Superior Coatings Adhesion, Jochum Beetsma, 13 June 2014
3. Reactive Silanes for Enhancement of Coating Performance, Ron Lewarchik, 6 March 2015
4. Adhesion Promoters 101, Marc Hirsch, 19 May 2016
5. Pharmacy [Link]
6. Eastman Coatings and Inks Adhesion Promoters
7. Organic Coatings, Science and Technology, Frank N. Jones [Link]., Wiley & Sons, 2017
8. Prospector Knowledge Center
9. [Link]
10. Science Direct
11. Science & Technology AJ Kinloch, Chapman & Hall
12. [Link]
13. ASTM Standards
14. [Link]

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Filed Under: Paint & Coatings, Featured
Tagged With: Paints and Coatings, primers

About Ron Lewarchik

Ronald J. Lewarchik, President and CEO of Chemical Dynamics, LLC, brings 40 years of paint and coatings
industry expertise to his role as a contributing author with the Prospector Knowledge Center. As a
contributing writer, Ron pens articles on topics relevant to formulators in the coatings industry. He also
serves as a consultant for the Prospector materials search engine, advising on issues related to optimization
and organization materials within the database.

Ron’s company, Chemical Dynamics, LLC ([Link]), is a full-service paint and coatings firm specializing in
consulting and product development based in Plymouth, Michigan. Since 2004, he has provided consulting, product
development, contract research, feasibility studies, failure mode analysis and more for a wide range of clients, as well as their
suppliers, customers and coaters.

He has also served as an Adjunct Research Professor at the Coatings Research Institute of Eastern Michigan University. As
such, Ron was awarded a sub-grant from the Department of Energy to develop energy-saving coating technology for
architectural applications, as well as grants from private industry to develop low energy cure, low VOC compliant coatings. He
taught courses on color and application of automotive top coats, cathodic electro-coat and surface treatment. His
experience includes coatings for automotive, coil, architectural, industrial and product finishing.

Previously, Ron was the Vice President of Industrial Research and Technology, as well as the Global Director of Coil Coating
Technology for BASF (Morton International). During his fourteen-year tenure with the company, he developed innovative coil
coating commercial products primarily for roofing, residential, commercial and industrial building, as well as industrial and
automotive applications. He was awarded fifteen patents for new resin and coating formulas.

From 1974 to 1990, Ron held positions with Desoto, Inc. and PPG Industries. He was the winner of two R&D awards for coatings
utilizing PVDF resins, developed the first commercial high solids automotive topcoat and was awarded 39 U.S. patents for a
variety of novel technologies he developed. He holds a Masters in Physical Organic Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh
and subsequently studied Polymer Science at Carnegie Mellon University.
 Ron lives in Brighton, Michigan with his family. Contact Ron via email or through his company’s web site at
[Link] to learn more about his consulting services…

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