I'm contemplating putting primer on my A this winter. I'm no where close to being ready to finish paint and the long term plan is to take the body off next year to do the frame. So, I'd like to paint it one consistent color and stop any bare metal from rusting at the same time. I imagine when I do final paint, it will all be stripped off again and painted properly. I just don't want to make myself more work than I need to. I have a two bay garage, a 26 gallon compressor(not really big enough), no gun, and no experience. I'm not expecting perfect. Just to get this thing one color. This car won't be painted for a couple years. It still has some minor body work to be done. I'm looking for smart *** comments and statements not relevant to my situation. If possible, a few suggestions on where to buy paint, how much and what steps I should take to minimize money and effort would be great.
Best I've found for the money and for durability is epoxy primer. PPG sells real good stuff. A gallon would more than do you. Not the cheapest stuff on the block, but it will keep the metal sealed.
I'm not expecting perfect. Just to get this thing one color. This car won't be painted for a couple years. It still has some minor body work to be done. Years......this statement shows the need for using a primer with great adhesion, durability and some water resistance (no primer is water proof!) Epoxy fits the bill. I prefer House of Kolor, but that's just personal preference. OK, so if epoxy is the way to go, how do you do it? Get yourself a cheap primer gun. A lot of guys will say get a Harbor Freight one, but I say, if you are going to do this now, you'll be doing it again, get a better quality gun. No you don't need a Sata or Iwata, but a decent Devilbiss gun can be had for about 100$. You can even buy differetn needle/cap kits so you can spray regular paint, as well as primer. I got a Finishline from smartshoppers.com, for a hair over 100, shipped, about 5 years ago. Spraying primer isn't that hard, a bit of reading, and some practice, and you'll be able to shoot a panel without runs, but even if you run it, or orange peel it, primer has to be sanded anyway! Just be sure to follow safety precautions, as most auto paints are pretty dangerous. An organic vapor mask at a minimum, and wear long sleeves, and gloves, too.
I have used a harbor freight before a man bought.Shoot good dont think it will last one two times good and cheap. Dupont sells a good expoy at a good price.In my town Oreilly sells dupont.
Buy online or at a shop? Is it cheaper online? I have a painter friend with a discount at Sherwin Williams. Any opinion on their auto paints?
^^^this^^^ right down to the smartshoppers suggestion and mention of the finishline gun. You can run a gammot of fluid tips on the finishline guns using the same needle and same air cap. I have one with the biggest fluid tip they make which I use for spraying my polyester primes (super heavy stuff) Grab yourself a finishline gun with a "general purpose" fluid tip and you'll be set for basic primers and base coats/single stage paints. While you are at smartshoppers check out the kirker enduroprime (i think that's what they call it) I've used it in the past with good results and will use it again. It's a 2k epoxy, it's cheap and seems to be on par with the old DP series from ppg as mentioned further up the page. You'll have to scuff it if you leave it on there for a while like you mentioned (scuff before recoat) but I se no reason to strip it off and start over in a year or when ever you finish.
I would go with the PPG DP Epoxy products, you've got 3 choices of color: olive drab, red oxide or black, all are excellent for protecting against rust, also they are great as an under coat before doing bodywork (2:1) filler can go on top of the epoxy), it can also be used as a sealer before you topcoat (2:1:1), I also use it as a finish coat for ch***is and frame (DP90)BLK. If you want to prime over it you can scotch brite the finish before spraying a 2K primer over it. It's pretty universal. You can even use it as a top coat but I would spray a semi gloss clear over it since it does not stand up to UV rays from exposue to prolonged sun. Cheap gravity feed (1.4) guns from Home Depot will spray your primers fine. When it comes to topcoats, figure spending $300-600 for a decent gun, all your "jap" imatations will work for primer. just a few cents
You have to remember, most painters like to stick with the brand they like to use, or are just knowledge-able about. But the real deal is: all the major brands have pretty good products...as well as a cheaper line (stay away from them if you wnat quality jobs). I would also suggest getting to know your local body shop supplier. They will have halfway decent prices, are close, and usually have stuff RIGHT NOW, and sometimes can be good for recommending products to use, if you are unfamiliar. Internet stores may have cheaper prices, but the shipping will add a lot to the overall cost, so factor it in, the paint may not be as cheap as you realized in the beginning!...and what happens if you get a bad batch...costs yo to return it, IF they let you!
All good suggestions. Is it a better idea to not prime it and just wait for when it's ready? Maybe just prime as I fix things. Maybe I'm making more work for myself? Here's a pic just to get some idea of what I'm working with.
regular primer will hold moisture.... honeslty you have to use an epoxy or etch primer. SEM sells an etch primer for direct to bare metal. Put two coats on and let it sit an hr, then you can put a highbuild primer on it, like slick sand from evercoat. The dupont DTM epoxy primer is nice stuff but its high.....the SEM etch is avalible in a ready to spray gallon for like $100 which is pretty cheap. a gallon of slick sand is close to $70. harbor freight guns are cheap and great for someone who is going to spray every once in a great while....but if your actually going to start spraying invest in a nicer gun....all depends on your budget. If you spray the SEM on it and put a nice high build primer on top that'll hold over for a while..then just sand the highbuild and continue bodywork. epoxy and etch primers are thin and can be sprayed out of a normal size tip like most basecoat guns...but high build is thick and is best sprayed out of a 2.0+ tip..... this advice is "budget minded" of course...
Excellent points. Get your product local. Use a good Epoxy primer. Go to Harbor freight and get the HVLP gun they have on sale right now for $10 to $14 bucks. For a first timer like yourself it's be fine and work good for you. Your little air compressor will be fine for now. Ask questions at the paint store. There is/are no stupid questions. Practice and have fun. Mike
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