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Urethane paint kit for $180, Enamel for $50?

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62Migit

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Looking for inexpensive paint I found these paint kits. The urethane kit has Kirker paint. You can even add an epoxy primer for $75. Has anyone used their products? I like kits; looking at lists of hardeners and reducers feels like I'm putting together a puzzle.

I taught myself how to use body filler last night and the first piece (trunk lid) of the midget is ready to paint... I think. Now I just have the body/fenders/doors/hood to go! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/crazy.gif

Mark
 

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I would stay away from kits such as these. Find a local parts store, paint dealer, or body shop and ask them to help you. When it come to paint you get what you pay for. Prep is the most important part of any paint job but cheap products are going to give you poorer quality and end up costing more in the long run. Just my opinion. YMMV.
 
Kirker is a fairly known sort of off-brand paint. I have known guys who used it with reasonable results. I have to agree though, /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/iagree.gif shop around and find a local paint outlet that is willing to help and advise. It will make things a lot easier in the end and maybe even be cheaper than the kits.
 
Thanks for the inputs. Mind if I touch on your painting experience and ask a few questions? I'm painting the entire car except the underside of the floorpan.

1. When painting areas that will be undercoated with a rubberized undercoat, should you epoxy primer, topcoat, clear coat, and then undercoat?
2. When cleaning up the dust from sanding the high build primer or topcoat, is it safe to use any solvent (acetone, etc) or a paint-prep type of degreaser, or something else?
3. I've heard great things about epoxy primer sealing bare metal from the elements. If you miss a spot of rust, how will it perform? Will it be bubbling up in a couple years?
4. When painting the fenders off the car and reinstalling them, should I put something (I know it's not its purpose, but maybe seam sealant or other type of RTV?) in the gap between the fender and other body panels?
5. I don't know what kind of rain gutter type system is on later cars, but the rain rail in front of the dashboard on my '62 dumps water in the space between the fender and wheel arch. Has anyone attached vinyl tubing to this rail to guide the water to ground?

Thanks for the help!

Mark
 
DON'T fill in those gaps with RTV. They need to be open. This helps with cooling and allows any dirt or trash that gets down in there a way out. Mine was sealed up and there was a gallon bucket of moist road grime in each fender and this is where it had rusted out and had to be fixed. Road grime is mostly fine sand and with no way out it had just stirred around in there and wore through the paint eventually like sandpaper and rust had eaten through the inside into the cockpit. These are after photos but you can see where I had to weld a new plate in at the bottom of the radius and a new lower hinge area in and in the second pic you can see where after it went inside it ate into the lower rocker and I had to weld a patch in that toward the front. Also, for the areas that are rusted and you can't get it all, I used POR-15, it bonds with and seals and stops rust and you cant get it off without grinding. Por-15 does not adhere to clean metal well without using an etching compound. I just used it on the rusty areas after wire wheeeling and then used rustoleum on the rest and sanded the por-15 and coated it with rustoleum as well.
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1) If you're going to put ugly undercoat over it, I wouldn't bother with the topcoat and certainly not the clear. The epoxy is plenty tough enough alone to protect the metal. I have never painted over undercoat but think that would be the way to go. Everything under my wife's Mercedes is undercoated then painted 35 years ago and it still looks great. You probably would have to use some of the flex agent in the paint though.

2) Epoxy will not kill existing rust. If you paint over it, it will continue and eventually peel the paint. If you have spots that you can't be sure of removing all the rust then use POR-15 or some other rust killer first.

3) I would be leery of using acetone to remove dust and other polutants. Blow everything off with air first then maybe a milder solvent like mineral spirits. Finally finish of with a good pre-paint degreaser.
 
Soap and warm water is my "solvent" of choice to remove dust. Prior to the next coat, go over everything with a tack cloth, followed by a wipe down with wax and grease remover.
Do not fill any of the gaps between panels.
Jeff
 
I am using (internet) Kirker high build primer on my Healey project and am 100 % satisfied with it. Surprisingly, to me at least, when pricing the finish coat, single stage urethane+plus catylyst+plus reducer, the local paint shop including tax was only $25 more than an online supplier for the same product. Considering the help and advice I've received from this shop, I'll be buying local. Bob
 
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