ESP primer from Owatrol
ESP primer from Owatrol, is a high adhesion primer and cleaner combined. It comes from a company that seems to make a lot of high performance paint related products that “just work”.
For kitchen painters, ESP is almost too good to be true as a primer for laminate surfaces. Brush on, leave for 10 minutes and wipe off excess primer. It has no body as such, which is why it comes into its own with laminate, especially – you aren’t looking for a primer to fill pores and level the surface to a certain degree.
Leave 2 hours to 7 days and start painting your 2nd, 3rd, 4th coats as per the specification.
I asked Gary at Owatrol to clarify a couple of points:
What happens if you leave Owatrol more than 7 days before coating up with finishes?
The ESP will have lost the ability to adhere the coating applied to the non-porous surface.
ESP is a cleaner. So you would wipe on ESP, leave a few minutes and then wipe off all traces, leaving you a super clean surface? For arguments sake you get distracted and leave it for 15 minutes. The ESP has dried solid. What then?
ESP will take two hours to fully dry and once it has, the surface will be fully prepared for painting with any paint or varnish, excluding two-pack epoxies. It is a cleaner and primer in one so once applied, you have between two hours when it dries, to seven days to paint over the primer.
It says in the literature that ESP will remove wax, if used with a kitchen scourer. Any good?
Unfortunately I have not tried this and have not received any reports from the industry to confirm or deny this. What I would suggest is that when our R&D department state something in our literature, it is usually with firsthand experience and they would not publish information that is not factually correct.
Beeline Primer Sealer is a sealer basecoat for wallpaper over laminate surfaces. Can you wallpaper over ESP?
No. It is for paint and varnish only.
Can ESP be mixed with, tinted or added to any other paint products?
No. It is transparent so if you wish to add a tint to the finish, then it must be added to the paint or varnish that you are using.
Final question, to which I know your answer! 🙂 What EXACTLY is Owatrol made of?
A secret even I am not allowed in on I’m afraid!!
Thanks for those frank answers. Owatrol has a lot of interest from the specialist painters associated with the site and we are always looking for ways to incorporate the best products into our work flow. It is always good to gain that extra bit of insight from the people who use or see a product used in hundreds of different scenarios. If you have any other questions about ESP or Owatrol products, go to the Traditional Painter forum.
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7 comments to “ESP primer from Owatrol”
Hi there
Great site. Looking to prime then paint some upvc windows -the exterior side. Does this stuff work to prepare the outside surface too?
Can I use ESP on wood as a primer, or just on melamine ?
ESP is designed for creating a key coat on smooth non-porous surfaces.
If i use ESP, can I start painting with my eggshell 2-3 coats? Or do i still need an undercoat?
Would I use Owatrol on the fronts of my kitchen cupboard which I had previously painted with Dulux cupboard paint, or just the backs, which are still the original melamine? Thanks.
ESP is designed for cleaning and priming melamine.
Do you class Formica as Laminate? CIf so, can I use ESP on Formica as a PRIMER?