epoxy primer

i'm going to fix up the body on my car sometime relatively soon- but money for paint is something i'm just not going to have for a while. i actually don't mind the primer-black finish on the car now, and i think i'd just as soon leave it in primer until i can afford a really nice paintjob, with primer surfacer and all that.

if i use an epoxy primer, am i safe to drive the car and leave it out in the rain? and not have to worry about the occasional bird-poopy either?

i was thinking i could do bodywork in sections, and cover each area in epoxy after it's done. that way i could still drive the car, and then just do a final full coat of it afterwards to blend all the areas together. plus it's not shiny, so it won't show off all the little flaws.

is this a bad idea?

Not a bad idea, in fact it's a good idea. I am doing the same thing. Epoxy prime is the only kind of primer you can do this with. It is also the only kind you can put filler over so if you need to do filler work, make sure you are putting it over epoxy. Sherwin Williams has it in black or gray.

That, actually is probably a bad idea. Epoxy primer is not UV resistant, so the sun will break the paint down relatively quickly. You could however shoot some epoxy primer on there and then cover it with some primer surfacer. It won`t be that much more and you can still do your body work when you have the time and money to do so.

PPG epoxy primer has to be coated with paint within 72 hrs if I remember right. If you don't ,you have to sand the whole surface and spray again with more primer.

You should be able to do a panel at a time until you get the whole car done and then block it out and primer it again and then paint the whole car.

Done well the epoxy is a really the best way to go for a base.

It is true that it is not uv resistant and covering it is really neccessary. But instead of using primer you could use a cheap paint and use it a guide coat when you go back and sand the whole car to make sure it is perfectly flat and no low spots. You will have low spots after driving it and people leaning on and everything else that life brings to the project.Cheap black paint is as cheap as primer and it will look better too. Not to mention that you will find every low spot there is with black paint.

One more thing, the cost of the epoxy was more than the cost of my paint . I used acrylic enamel so it would be easier to touch up and match.

Goodluck , Jim Nilsen

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Originally Posted by makoshark

That, actually is probably a bad idea. Epoxy primer is not UV resistant, so the sun will break the paint down relatively quickly. You could however shoot some epoxy primer on there and then cover it with some primer surfacer. It won`t be that much more and you can still do your body work when you have the time and money to do so.

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True not UV resistant but the other option is what? Nothing? I think sometimes people don't "read" the question enough. He is asking what the best thing to apply to the bare metal/filler to prevent flash rust/further damage WITHOUT the expense of a top coat. I am in the same boat, have to work slowly and can't afford hundreds of dollars to top coat while I am doing the work. Epoxy primer IS the best alternative as it seals well and is the only primer that filler can applied on top of, so body work can be done slowly. Applying primer/surfacer over the epoxy would be a nightmare to do bodywork on. It would require knocking down the entire area at least to the epoxy level and then there is no guarantee all the surfacer is off to give the filler a good base to adhere to. Of course before top coating it will need a final wipe and another sealer coat first.

From bare metal do the body work and get it to where your happy (preferably perfect)
Then shoot it with PPG DP-90 or 60. It's about $220 per gallon with activator here in CA. Let it flash off then shoot a high build primer over it. You should be okay with that combo.

PPG DP-90 and 60 are non-sanding epoxys so make sure you lay down a good high fill primer while it's still tacky. If you have to sand the epoxy you'll be pissed off at it because it gum's up the pads really bad and it doesn't sand worth a crap. I also found that filler doesn't really like to stick to it as well as metal or polyester primer. For primer check out PCL's stuff. I personaly like it and it's only about $60 per gallon.

Once it's sealed you really don't have to worry about it to much. Yea it's not UV resistant but as long as it's out of the sun it should be fine in the elements.

I did the same thing Ryan spoke of: DP90 first, then several high-builds. Eventually going with a two stage; looks waaaaaay better than my original paint (duh).