Neutralizing Phosphoric Acid Treatment??

I don't want to start a firestorm about rust treatment here. But. I am stripping a vintage front end loader for my Ford 850. Most will get sandblasted. Because of some deeper pitting I am also going to treat with Permatex Rust Dissolver Gel which is a phosphoric acid based product. After treatment it says to just wash any residue off with water. But this will not neutralize the acid prior to painting. What is the recommended way to truly neutralize the acid treatment prior to paint? The paint I am using is OK to use after phosphoric acid treatment according to their coatings specialist at Sherwin Williams. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Larry

I know its a different situation but at work we clean large heat exchangers with phosphoric acid and when done flushing we use soda ash to neutralize it. Baking soda will be do the same.

Due to the chemical process you don't need to worry about neutralizing. The phosphoric acid is neutralized in the process of converting the rust to iron phosphate. All you need to do is rinse well in order to flush away any excess. Just follow label insrtructions.

If the washdown is complete and done well nothing else is needed. But, I a belt and suspenders kind of guy, so I wash with a bucket of water/baking soda solution using a big car wash mitt. Then follow with a hose down.

Just rinse it off with water and dry the metal. If it is especially humid you might dry it with a hair dryer.

Thanks all. I am also a belt and suspenders kind of guy, so I will use fresh water with some baking soda for the first rinse, and then rinse again with pure water and dry quickly to avoid flash rust, just doing one section at a time. I know I can spray the primer on fast enough to avoid the flash rust. The paint I am using is not overly sensitive to temperature, so I will get it done fairly soon (still winter here in Maine). Again, thanks to all who helped on this; Larry.

I have never rinsed before painting. I just let it dry good and wipe off any excess. Never had a problem. Bottle does say to rinse if there is any powdery residue but I only wipe it on with a clean rag.

What type of primer and paint are you using? Neutralizing is important for epoxy primer.

Thanks or the question. Although I have always used PPG Acrylic Enamel for my tractor restoration, for the loader I wanted something extra durable, so I went with Sherwin Williams Dura-Plate 235 that is an Epoxy Phenalkamine used for marine and industrial applications. It is very good in corrosive environments and can be applied down to 0 degrees F. For the top coat I am using S-W Acrolon 218 HS which is an Acrylic Polyurethane which is good for exterior exposure, high gloss, and no fading. This past week I painted the hyd cylinders, pivot pins, hyd tubes, etc., but not the loader frame or bucket. After I treated the metal parts with acid, I wiped it off with a cloth, then I rinsed it off with baking soda and water and dried it off. I then rinsed and dried about another 3 times. Just prior to painting I used a nylon scrub pad and then a wash down with prep all. Results seem to have been fine, no lifting, peel, bubbles, etc. The only problem I had was I used the same cheap Harbor Freight spray gun that I used for Acrylic Enamel, and I am guessing the orifice is way too small, as I was not getting the paint coverage rate that I am used to. I did use reducer on both paints, up to 10% of total volume, but I guess paint still had too many suspended solids. For the frame I will need a different spray gun. Regards, Larry.