Ok, so this is my first time doing any body work. And this is currently where I am at. I am at a point where I am trying to be finished with the bondo. So I have some questions, as you can see the body was blasted and had some bondo under the existing paint. I left some and added some. So now for the questions: 1. So I now have a light coat of bondo. Do I spray expoxy primer over that? Or do I spray high build primer first? 2. What if I find imperfections after that, can I still use bondo over the primer? Basically, I don't know what I am doing and would really appreciate a step by step please. Keep it simple please, remembering I have never done this before. And yes I plan on spraying it myself. I don't have the money for a painter and it will not be a show car. Just a driver. Thanks.
There is a skim coat. Used to be really heavy in the metal top but we removed all that and I will be installing a stock style top.
Once you have epoxy sealed it and working with your high build primers, leave the "bondo" in the cabinet. Use some two component spot glaze for pinholes or small blems, it will spread and sand thinner than "bondo". That's a great looking 5w body, love the deck lid!
Thanks, Chip Quinn (need louvers?) louvered it. He also did my hood. I love louvers. I know some people don't.
Hey Brady, I would use the filler primer that was designed to go over bare metal. Ryan and I used Squeeg's system on our 32's and it works great. Back in the day we needed to use the epoxy primer to get adhesion to the bare metal, then you could use the high build primer over that. No need for that anymore. This will save you time and money. Mike
Let's see how much you love the louveres when you get through sanding around each and every one. Other than that it looks good. There are two kinds of body work people, fanatics that are never satisfied and people like me that know what "close enough" means.
Go to a paint jobber that sells PPG and get some CRE primer. It's a high build, direct to metal, sand able epoxy primer. This stuff is amazing, I was introduced to it during a restoration course I took at their training center..been using it every since. You can do your mud work over this product, it sand great and if ya break through to bare metal again no biggie. My only question is...why did you leave the old filler on and use that as your foundation? Judging from the inner panel how bad was the damage they were covering? I only ask because you may be creating a **** sandwich. Hopefully the metal under that old filler was prepped properly and won't bite ya in the ****. Body looks killer....I even say downright mean..awesome that your digging in and going for it. What color are ya going with?
Guide coat what you have right now, focus on the areas that trouble you most. You can use SEM self etch primer as a guide coat keeping it thin and within reason. It has a mild acid in it that promotes adhesion over bare steel so it won't do anything but help once you get to build or surfacing primer. When you're satisfied with the work below just touch up the self etch and go right to surfacing primer. If you wait more than overnight you'll need to scuff the etch primer. A red Scothbrite is enough for that. Once you've surfaced the build primer you can seal the whole works with reduced epoxy primer in order to seal and prevent excess solvent penetration into all that filler/primer work. Once that cures for an hour or so you can go to paint. Remember to allow the epoxy to stand at least 15-20 min before it's applied, or whatever the "sweat time" is on the product you choose. And the louvers? I hate sanding louvers! How is the rest of the louvered panel (any of them)? If it's just the way you want it with no body work or blocking required there's a way around that. It takes a total commitment in time and task. Walk away once and you're sanding each one. How? Once again we visit the self etch primer. Let that cure per product directions then go to epoxy primer, again let it sweat in 1st, then spray enough to get a nice film build and look at it close enough to be sure you like it. Cure for an hour or so (you'll have up to 36 hrs for it to be non-sanding) then go to paint. A note of caution though, be sure to use the same color epoxy that you seal the body work with or the final color will be different, I.E., black as a sealer then black epoxy the louvers. The alternative is carefully sanding each louvered area in build primer, but be sure to guide coat to avoid digging "trenches" around every one that will show real bad from 10-20' away. A guide coat will expose it easy so you can avoid it. Good luck and good for you doing it yourself.
The blue-ish green stuff was there after the body was blasted. The pink stuff is what I added. This body needed lots of work. I can strip the whole body but I would be going backwards. As far as color:..... 1. 1940 Mandarin maroon OR 2. 1941 Mayfair maroon OR 3. Mercedes Dk Red, Dundelrot Brand code: 50742 OR 4. PPG Red oxide primer over regular primer.
Brady: The body looks really good in the pics. Be sure and send us some pics when you get maroon #1 on there Tim
It's awesome you are doing this on your own. You have to pay either way and this way you learn. Your questions are going to receive lots and lots of opinions and (best) ways to accomplish the goal. Everyone who does bodywork has their own (best) ways. I have been doing bodywork for 30 plus years now,(taught it at a college for the last 10), and could go into great detail on how I would do it, but it loses something in writing it out(and I'm a slow typist). Best advise..... Go to a auto paint supplier( we have one 20 minutes away ) and pick their brain. All the body shops in your area have to get their products from someone, so there has to be one close. Tell them your story and I'm sure they will lead you right. They want you to be happy. They want you to tell all you meet what awesome products you used, and most importantly, they will sell you the correct, compatible products. Good luck and keep us posted.
Look for the threads by Paint Guru. His advice is thorough and he can answer any particular questions you may have.
Nice car Brady and good on you for tackling this! These responses are what have scared me from doing paint; they are all good, but all with a different twist. But threads like this help me learn this mystical art form. I've never done a large paint job myself so I can't offer much, but some of the advice PaintGuru laid down in his primer thread made sense to me. Highlanders mention of a reduced epoxy also makes sense as epoxy actually hardens and will not soften from solvents in coats applied over it. BTW, I see that car in choice #4
Once you get a coat of epoxy and high build on it, start blocking one section of the car. Perhaps start with a small panel such as the cowl, then work through the doors, quarters, etc. Block, prime, block until that panel is 95% straight before you move to the next panel. Select the side of the car that needs the least amount of work and do the entire side, working front to back; cowl/door/quarter. Then tackle the other side, then finally the roof and deck. This will give you a feel of accomplishment rather than attacking the entire body. Once every panel is at 95%+, you can prime the entire car and get yourself in an **** retentive wet sanding mood. Going with dark red or Maroon demands a pretty darn straight surface before color. Use long blocks on the large panels and get some good music going... Good advise given to patronize a local paint supplier that will spend the time to answer your questions on materials and provide some guidance. Since you're a novice, you may want to poke around Youtube to watch some how to videos and pick up some block sanding techniques and tips.
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