[e015475]

I'm not a professional painter either, but my paint and body guy isn't happy with priming a panel unit it is all raw steel - no brown/black pits permitted. They either need to come out with sandblasting or I have to work it for what seems like hours with a DA with 80 grit, then multiple passes with a Scotchbrite pad and PPG metal conditioner until the surface is uniform.

I understand that vinegar is an acid that will remove rust, but it seems to me that you'd want to follow the paint manufacturers directions to a "T" and do exactly what they recommend. Using vinegar and then neutralizing it isn't a process they'd recognize and why build a shaky foundation to a project you're potentially going to add hundreds of hours of labor to?

Foot Stomper's explanation of the cleaning standard is good info, but it basically says "if you can't sandblast, here's how to clean the metal"

My suggestion would be to sandblast the pits and remove all traces of rust then follow up with the conditioner the paint manufacture recommends.

Just my two cents