Re: Connector Bolts.

I did not clean the bolts. I made the assumption (probably wrong to do) that the bolts in their nice new plastic bag were clean. Can I pick up the epoxy paint through Rockler?

TFD

Those bolts were more likely coated with a light oil to prevent rust.

The epoxy paint isn't really necessary. Your problem is that the primer isn't adhering. No matter what paint you put over primer that is not adhering, it won't adhere. There's nothing magical about epoxy paint. Go ahead and clean all of your hardware in alcohol and even give it a rub down with a 3M pad or like abrasive pad.

What are you observing when you hit it with the primer? Does the primer seem to be going on evenly, but failing to adhere after it's dry? Or - is it producing fisheyes when you spray it on?

When I first put on the primer it coated nicely, the same with the paint. The bolts have cured for about 2 weeks now and when I run my nail over the face of the connector bolt the paint comes off quite easily, you see the bronze underneath.

I am going to give a new set of bolts a nice cleaning in alchool and then a scrub with an abrasive pad as suggested. Hopefully this fixes the problem

I know some climates are worse than others for causing corrosion of metals, but sheesh, I never heard of a place where bronze rusts!

I think they are actually steel bolts that have some type of paint or coating on them to make them look like bronze:

I just looked at the link that someone else posted and am wondering if these are the same connector bolts you are using? If so, scrape the bronze coating off before priming.

I did do that. I used a 3M abrasive pad and put the bolt in my drill and spun the Dickin's out of it against the pad. I had nice clean metal and I then washed it in alcohol. When it dried I primed it with Krylon zinc metal primer. I am going to let that dry for a day or two before I applyl the first coat of white paint.