• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Paint work...is this the right idea?

Share this page

Z

zimasprite

Jedi Hopeful
Offline
Hey guys,

Pretty soon, I'll be trying my skills at paint work. The car current has bondo and 2K primer on it. I'm going to stick with that system, so please let me know if I'm on the right track.

1. Any sheet metal, filler work.
2. 2K primer (high build?? - NAPA's basic system is 2K high build) -- Do I need a sealer here at all??? Do I sand at this point...if so, what grits?
3. Put on body icing/putty to smooth any voids out. Sand/Wet sand.
4. Put another coat of 2K high build primer. Do I sand here?? If so, what grits?
5. Single stage urethane. Not sure on color choice yet. Probably a couple coats.

Pictures of what I've started are here
https://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u230/zimaad/68%20Sprite/

Thanks for any help....Drew
 
That link to Tony's sight has been like a bible to me with my body work. John knows his stuff. Also don't be afraid to stop by your local body shop. The ones around here are very helpful and willing to give you sound advice.

You are starting on a grand adventure. It is hard work but also a lot of fun when you stand back and see what you have created through your own hard work and talent.

I would suggest sealing everything with a coat of epoxy primer before beginning the rest of the work.
 
I have some paint type questions as well that don't seem to be covered in the website. When I get done with all my bodywork and the car will be all bare metal except for the places that I have repaired, I plan on spraying it with a coat of self etching primer that is supposed to give real good adhesion to bare metal and the filler as well. Then I will go around the whole car looking for places that I might have missed and fill them in with spot putty and sand smooth, then another good coat of the self etch primer(I bought two quarts already thinned). Next, I was going to spray the basecoat, but should I apply some sort of sealer first? In the past, I had good luck painting right over spray can primer or even hand sanded paint without primer. What is it that sealer does? and is it necessary?
 
With my cars, we strip to bare metal, etch & shoot epoxy primer then do the bodywork....they'll never rust again with epoxy primer on all sides.
 
I bought my etch primer off ebay made by a company called Kent. It says "The Etch Primer can be applied to: Bare steel, aluminium, galvanised and zinc coated steels, fully cured paint, polyester bodyfillers and G.R.P." That way I can get all the body filler work done and then sand off all the bare metal and spray. I just wonder if I need a filler sealer before I basecoat?
 
I always use sealer. Think of it as insurance. It will protect you from almost any incompatibility of primer and final paint, and it will allow for better (more even) coverage and not allow any bleed through. It is usually cheap (compared to paint) and easy to spray.
 
hehee... yeah, sealers are a good thing. I have a lot of confidence now in epoxy filler/primer too. This B has turned out well with that as the "substrate" for a single stage OEW topcoat. Any place where filler was used, it was USC's "all-metal" instead of Bondo.
 
I've gotten to the point that I don't want any bodywork done on the bare metal! I want it sealed beforehand.
 
Everyone has their own opinions are theories on bodywork. Unfortunately, there is no "correct" process. There are different "systems". The trick is finding something that is "fool proof" for your ability level, budget, and desired outcome based on the car. This is where it might pay to nose around some local body shops or talk to people in a local car club that have done several cars themselves.

I often try new products and processes, and I always keep in my mind that it is a learning process and if I have to do it again it will turn out better than before and each car I do turns out better than the last.
 
That epoxy stuff is tough, just hit it with a hammer and test it.
 
Tony, I really appreciate and enjoyed your bodywork link above. Excellent advice all. But your avatar has to be about the ugliest thing I have seen in a while ;-)

As for paint systems, I have pretty much stayed with PPG. I agree, etch and shoot epoxy over any bare metal before any fillers. They all stick to the epoxy better than metal. True, etch and prime is an additional step but epoxy is much tougher than the self-etching primers and a whole lot less hazzardous to your health.

The one place we may differ is in primer/surfacers. I really prefer the new catalized surfacers. They don't shrink and are almost as easy to sand as lacquer, maybe easier in the end as sand through is not as likely. Lacquer primer just continues to shrink for too long, like weeks or even months. Even though it may be a small amount, this eventually shows up as flaws in the finish.

Also, PPG recommends their epoxy primer, thinned 50% or so as a sealer over the surfacer. I have used it that way and have been quite happy with it. The one caveat though is you should top coat within 72 hours. Otherwise you have to scuff sand the epoxy and reshoot another thin coat.

Bayless
 
I got to find me some sealer now. I am so out of touch with everything in the auto paint business. It seems laquer is the new r-12 refrigerant when it comes to being evil to the environment. Talked to the paint guy when I bought the black basecoat and he was telling me all about it. I have about ,lets see quart of paint and another of thinner $90, 2 prethinned quarts of etch primer $45, pint of black and another quart of thinner $40, Oh and speed clear and hardener $110, another gallon of thinner and quart of acetone and this wipe down stuff $30, 120 feet of 120 grit for the 14 long air sander(this is a super sander for flat surfaces but the doors seem to be the only place on the midget) $30, and at least $100 of different sanding discs and the sanders(harbor freight), two different guns $80, a gallon of bondo and some spot putty $30. Thats all I can think of for now, but I am in this job deep. Too much to risk on a screw up. I am going to buy some sealer and another quart of the yellow. I have been told a quart would do a midget, especially with an HVLP gun and this Alsa paints claim to fame is its coverage in two coats. I still need to think about that.
 
Well, the car already has 2K primer on it. I'm sanding some other areas down though that I think need some filler work to smooth some lines. Can I shoot epoxy primer over 2K? Should I just stick with the 2K? The guy at the local NAPA paint shop said I should do filler work, shoot with 2K, do body icing/putty, another 2K, then put on either a few coats of single stage or basecoat/clearcoat.

Thanks again for any help
 
DO you have a local autopaint store?

I'm think epoxy and 2K should be compatible. 2K will build faster and allow for more leveling during the blocking phase.

...but my head is real fuzzy right now. No not paint fumes, I'm just clearing out the partially empty bottles of wine that are cluttering our refrigerator. Don't worry. They are all white wines so no hangover tomorrow.
 
Here is the quote from the place I bought my paint from talking about my paint "Coverage is the key!
With Alsa's Stylin Basecoats you can eliminate the need for three or more coats, by achieving coverage in as little as two coats. Alsa's Stylin bases save you valuable time as well as material." That is why I went with one quart of paint thinned with a quart of reducer. That should be 1/2 gallon of paint. Plenty to paint a spridget, I should think. Especially with the rockers already going to be painted black.
 
Here is talks about the prep for my paint. "APPLICATION GUIDE

How To Apply Stylin Basecoat:
Step 1.- Prepare and prime the surface as you would any normal paint job.

Step 2.- Apply 2 wet coats to ensure uniform coverage.

Step 3.- Let flash off before applying your final clear or taping off graphics.

Step 4.- Topcoat with a poly-urethane clearcoat as you would with any other paint job.

NOTE: Stylin Basecoat need to be reduced with Medium Reducer at a ratio of (1:1). "
 
I think the best advice is to pick a manufacturer then follow their instructions from start to finish. Use only those materials they recommend as compatible. If you already have a world of experience with this stuff then you might be able to mix-and-match successfully. For most of us "hobbyists" it is just a lot safer to follow expert advice. There isn't much worse than putting on a beautiful paint job and have half of it just fall off next year or even next month. I have seen it happen.
 
Bayless said:
I think the best advice is to pick a manufacturer then follow their instructions from start to finish. Use only those materials they recommend as compatible. If you already have a world of experience with this stuff then you might be able to mix-and-match successfully. For most of us "hobbyists" it is just a lot safer to follow expert advice. There isn't much worse than putting on a beautiful paint job and have half of it just fall off next year or even next month. I have seen it happen.
Click to expand...

This is sage advice!! Paint compatibility, unless you know your paint chemistry well, can become a nightmare to the uninformed!! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbsup.gif
 
Back
Top