I have heard the opisite as far as rust. If there is some pitted rust, it will adhere just fine, as long as you hit it good with a wire wheel and get anything loose off. The biggest thing is to make sure that the surface is free of any grease / oil / waxes.
We just did the underside of 3 comercial mower decks last winter, we will see how it held up this winter when we hit the decks with the power washer and pull the spindles for rebuild.
Using a good cleaner like purple power to clean the surface should get rid of most anything that will keep it from adhering. Also, we wiped with acetone just to be sure there where no residual oils.
Make sure you wear some gloves, once it dries acetone wont take it off your hands.