I’m new to bodywork and need a little advice. When I was young and dumb, I started sanding off the old paint and covered the entire car with Rustoleum “Automotive” primer. I know now it was dumb and I’m working on fixing my mistake. I’m planning to work on one panel at a time as time permits. Once all the prep work is finished, I plan to take my Cougar to a pro to get it painted the original color, burgundy.
Here are the steps to prepare my car for paint as I understand them:
Strip the panel to bare metal
Weld in patch panels
Apply epoxy primer
Hammer and dolly
Apply body filler
Block sand
Second coat of epoxy primer
High build primer
Block sand
Does this plan sound okay? I don’t have an air compressor nor do I plan on getting one if I can get away with it. One big enough to run a DA sander or a HVLP gun is out of my budget. Can I get away with either applying a quality epoxy primer with a high density roller or using a product like SprayMax 2K Epoxy Primer in an aerosol can?
You could save a step, and use a “weld-thru” primer…might save you some flash-rusting, while doing your welding.
Only other thing I would be concerned with is compatability of whatever epoxyprimer you use, and the final paint system. But, I’ve only done my car, so, will defer to those with greater paint knowledge than I…Jan-O would be a good one for this.
Thanks, guys. Can you recommend an epoxy primer? I’ve heard great things about SPI. I heard rolling on primer is okay for high build primers, but epoxy primer can go on a little thick. Do you know anyone with experience with SprayMax?
I haven´t done anything to the top on this car, and as i know, the top on my car is still the one that was put on by the factory.
But on other cars, i´ve painted the roof the same as the rest of the car, then waited at least one month, preferably 2-3 months to let the paint breathe out, then scuff the areas that the top covers, to ensure good adhesion for the glue.
On the epoxy stuff, i´ve only used top line products, like the epoxy primers from Glasurit, Sikkens, and both Glasso and Sikkens can be brushed on or sprayed on with a paintgun, and i´ve used both methods
I gotta say, if you can swing a decent used compressor, it will save time and money in the long run. It has to be a good one, the little guys wont do crap (top right). I picked up this used one:
Makes painting a breeze. I shoot Omni MP Primer out of a crappy $40 gravity gun from Lowe’s, and get a gallon plus a quart of catalyst for under $100. Those rattle cans get expensive.
You dont mention how you plan to get to bare metal, I assume sanding as that’s good for most of the outside. But take under the hood for instance (which I spent today doing …lol)
This little $20 siphon blaster tore it up (slowly) using Alum. Oxide for the top coat and soda to finish. Took awhile, but more thorough in irregular places, and gentle enough to preserve stuff like this:
It does’nt feed well over 3’ vertical climb or under about 80PSI, but after that, it was easy going.
I second that. You would do yourself some favors by finding a compressor, in the long run. I found a decent 29 gallon compressor at Harbor Freight for under $200 and they have some smaller HVLP guns there for $20. May not seam like it’s worth it, but at $6 a can for primer? Then to take the car to a shop and spend $8000 for a paint job? I painted my car for under $1000 primer, paint, and clear. It’s a lot of work, but a lot of the guys on here have painted their own cars and have award winning finishes… Might be worth thinking about.
SPI products are top of the line and are half the cost of Dupont and other name brands. Barry has a black epoxy that unless your doing a show car it is fairly close to the black that’s used under the hood on the core support and inner rails. Be sure to follow his curing procedure before you spray it
Do your self a favor and use an air compressor. You can use a small cheep unit and a HLV gun from Harbor Freight if your on a budget.
