Nah straight down to bare metal not a spot of rust on it, paint company said I didn't need a primer with my Hammertone as it supposedly goes straight onto bare metal but it doesn't hurt to be sure. I actually read somewhere also that Hammertone reacts better with bare metal to give you a better hammer effect. I'm not to fussed about the effect as the original paint looked really smooth with minimal pattern in it, I would prefer a shinier smooth coat with some effect plus my engine is so shiny It would look weird if the rest looked dull and rippled. I did a few test samples in the oven and it straightened the hammer effect to a really smooth shiny finish with minimal ripples but still leaves the colour effect. And as for aluminium parts, I'm going to hit them with an etch primer.
