VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Body - Sheet Metal, Paint & Wood Priming my 41 body

I have two opinions on the type of primer to use as I prepare my body for paint. One is to use an epoxy primer, the other a traditional one. Both are from car guys with a lot of experience. One is retired corrosion engineer who recommends the epoxy, the other has been doing his own body work for over 30 years. I have looked at internet and magazine articles for recommendations. It seems that using an epoxy might be a little overkill, while on the other hand this is a once in a life time restoration.

If I used epoxy I would do my leading first,then epoxy prime everything, do the bondo, and use traditional primer to block sand everything. Is this how others would proceed?

Thanks, Mike

I understand that you should do the metal work first, then properly treat the body and then prime with the epoxy primer. Then you can move forward with your plastic filler for bodywork and regular fill and sand primer to finish for final painting.

Mike,
For the past 20+ years we have been using self-etching primer on the bare metal. It gives a better "bite". An alternative would be a metal prep. Either of those will also treat any unseen rust or corrosion. Then either urethane or epoxy primer thinned to also be a sealer. Look for the directions on the can. Once you have the metal sealed then do the final filling and sanding with filler, high build primer, etc. Make sure that who you choose as final coat painter is comfortable with your plans and work. Many will not stand behind the quality or longevity of the paint if they don't do the entire job.

+1 on this. Also, most recommend to use the same "brand" all the way through. But then again, follow what the painter tells you.

Be sure to use a high quality brush or roller!

Rustcar,

I have an almost new Wagner Power Roller. Its one of the new models with the edger,4 inch roller for tight places, and standard 12 inch roller for painting the top. I should be able to paint the car in about an hour. When you rolled yours did you thin the paint so you wouldn't get so much orange peel? I just hate to spend all the time sanding it out. To get your deep shine did you put on two coats?

As always I appreciate your advice. I hope someday my car looks as good as yours.

Mike

P.S. I did take Charlie's advice and had by buddy weld up my old Fulton holes in the door frame. Now my car will be more aerodynamic and not look funny. I guess I should post some pictures of my progress???

" I HAVE A BRAND NEW WAGNER POWER ROLLER ".........your kidding right, your going to paint your car with a power roller ??

THATS HILARIOUS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mike..........

I basically grew up in a body shop.

Having said that, the process I used on Barkers Landeau and Ray's 28 CSC was this:

Product line of choice (because it's what we use at the shop, and what I'm most comfortable and familiar with) was DuPont Chroma System. Granted I did all of the work from bare metal all the way through to the end. Even though Bill's car was epoxy primed, I still sanded it to bare metal to prep it with my system.

1. Sand to bare metal. Keep the metal clean. Don't let your kids, wife, buddies touch it. Natural oils will have it rusting in no time.

2. Clean the metal with a pre-cleaner such as RM-901, or any good wax & grease remover. Use lint-free towels - available at the paint supply store.

3. DuPont's epoxy primer is self-etching, so no separate etching chemicals are needed. I apply 2 coats of the epoxy primer to insure coverage.

4. Do your body work. Just sand the areas that will be worked. When I'm done with the filler, I always run over everything with 320 on a DA and spray on a sprayable filler. The product I use is Evercoat Featherfill. They don't use this in the shop, but I found it's great stuff, sprays nice, sands out wonderful. The gun I use to spray this has a 2.0mm tip so I can really hose the stuff on. Then I let it sit for about a week to really cure out. A couple of good coats should do if your body work is good. Spray with a guide coat, then I block out with either 150 or 240 and the longest board that's practical. On the big areas I use a 36" board. Repeat until you have no low spots. This stuff will gum up your paper, which is why I use the coarser stuff.

5. Then I spray with DuPont regular primer (4104) and block with 320. If I'm satisfied and there are no low spots I spray on one last even coat of primer. Make sure it's nice. spray it with guide coat again, and wet-sand it all with 400. When I'm done with this, sometimes I'll take the car out and wash it with a brand new wash mitt and car soap. This cleans out all of your body gaps and eliminates more of the dust.

6. Re-mask the whole car with clean paper and tape. No need for extra dirt/dust/lint.

7. Pre-clean with the wax & grease remover again. Tack cloth the ENTIRE thing - including the paper. Trust me, this makes a difference. I now paint my stuff in a climate controlled downdraft booth so this doesn't apply to me, but if your shooting it in either your garage (not a good idea unless it's detached from the house) or a side-draft booth it's good practice to hose down the floor and hang a few chains from under the car to help ground it out to help eliminate static electricity from grabbing dirt particles in the air.

8. Tack everything again. I wear a shoot-suit, lint-free. I've also stopped wearing my canister respirator and have been using a SATA full-face positive pressure supplied air respirator.

9. Spray your sealer and let it flash.

10. Once it's flashed, tack it again. Now your ready to start shooting color. Follow manufacturers data sheets for best results. Follow them to a T! I let my basecoats flash off for about 15-20 minutes @ 70 degrees and tack everything again before I spray the next coat. You can only do this between sealer coats and base color coats.

11. Tack one last time before spraying your first coat of clear. This will be the last time you tack. For clear I like to use DuPont's 72500 or G2-4700.

Good luck, let me know if you have any questions or need clarification.

Let me add a technique given to me by a fellow VCCA member Hugh Murray. When you don't want the filler to have a sticky surface immediately cover with clear plastic (I use bulk plastic wrap (3000 ft box) purchased from Sams Club). Can also do that with sanding primers. It keeps the moisture from making the outer surface tacky. Helps the life of sanding paper a whole bunch.

Wow,

Thanks for the fine description of the whole process Bryan. Its a lot to digest but it will serve as a fine guide for me and others thinking of painting their cars. It also points out why body restoration work is so time intensive and expensive.

What is best about our chat site is the diversity of experiences we are sharing to make all of us successful at this fine hobby.

To Ruscar and Mike I was only kidding about using a roller to paint my car.

Thanks to all, Mike

P.S. I have two buddies who have painted their cars themselves, they will enjoy these posts.

Absolutely! One thing I should point out is that some people may think I'm anal about excessive tack cloth usage and the importance of cleanliness. It only results in less work in the end. Cleaner paint jobs require less polishing and more clear coat to protect the finish.

Most of all, HAVE FUN!

One thing people should know, is that if your using a paint or a primer that needs a catalyst activator, be very sure about the face mask your wearing is compatable , it has to be able to block the VOC's that might kill you if you inhale them !!!!!!!!!!

mike lynch

Mike L,

I was going to do the 41 project with a powder puff, but now that you have raised the poisoning concern, I think I'll skip that deal and drag the whole stricken thing to Oregon and tell Mr Seagraves that I'm a-staying right there with him until he gets it painted using his detailed method.

You may think that would present a problem with his missus but I am also known as a silver-tonged southern gentleman in these here parts and so he will want to get the job done as soon as he can and get me on down the road. Know what I mean? It will be like me a-riding in to the sod-busters farm in Shane. Fellow's wife went gaga over Alan Ladd. Yep!

Anyhow, I sure ain't going to paint it myself. That needs to be done by a pro.

Mike B,

It tickles my mind that you tacked up those holes the visor made. Good Boy! Good Boy! I'm right proud of you. Now go and see how many others you can talk into taking their off too. The elimination of eye-sores is a wonderful thing indeed.

Seagraves,

That was an excellent response to Mike B's question. If there is anyone who can follow your instructions and get the job done in a fine fashion then it will be Mike B.

Best,

Charlie

BTW: Mr Seagraves. Don't worry. I wasn't serious about moving in with you. The barn will do just fine.

He could repaint his vehicle using nitrocellulose lacquer, easy to spray , fast learning curve in his driveway or back yard. Without have to worry about getting killed by V O C particulates.

I will paint my 35 chev roadster under a large maple tree , in pieces, with 12 foot market umbrella to protect the parts ( 16 )against falling stuff..

mike lynch

But they will not allow us to shoot nitrocellulose lacquer. We have to sneak out to some outer town and purchase it and then hide while we paint.

well, sounds like problem, but nitro smells like cotton candy.

So your not having preying eyeballs from the neighbors, suggest you don a THONG , that aught to divert their eyes while spraying away.. Nitro can be sprayed outdoors without a mask, but should wear one inside garage confined space.

mike lynch

By no means am I a painter, but, after reading your detailed instructions, I could make a good attempt at painting.

Great instructions.

I'm going to try it myself. I can't afford 12 to 15k to paint. If I screw it up, at least I can say I did it myself & have no one else to blame...Joe

just be sure to heed M_L's post above regarding two part paints. If you mess that part up you won't need to worry about explaining the painting errors!!

joe THE secret to painting is to concentrate on getting the spray pattern correct width , about 6 ". Next pass To partly cover the line you just painted. Keep the gun FLAT at the specified 8--10" from the surface, keep wrists tight and not swing the gun in an arc over the surface. Take the spray gun beyond the edge, squeeze trigger and clear gun before re-starting off the end of the panel.

Follow recommendations for thinning paint on the can. Try to use all products from same manufacturer Paint......primer ....thinners.

mike..........

...and also keep a steady speed. best to try it out on an old fender or something with complex lines to give you a good feel for it. Also best to try with a basecoat/clearcoat first before graduating up the single stage paints. I've found that the clear is a ton more forgiving than S/S because the S/S is a lot thinner and you will end up with more runs than the Red Sox had all last season!

A friend is trying to decide whether to use Kirker epoxy for his primer. A lot of his rational is based on the expense of different brands of epoxy primer. Has anyone used Kirker or has another brand that they favor.

Thanks. Mike