Prepping my first body for paint. Got tips?

[brrymnvette]

I bought this car to build as a very low budget toy. Getting married and doing a home renovation leaves $0 for a car. So, I bought one that was cheap, parts are readily avail for and etc.

It's an 88 and apparently Ford had the same problem as GM around then with crappy paint. So, what I'm doing right now is sanding it down to the bare metal by hand. I'm using 40 grit and it's working great so far. I've got about 10 hours in it, and I can actually say I kinda like it for some reason.

The plan is to get it all down to bare metal and in primer, then do the body work that needs to be done. There is ONE little spot of rust on this car that needs to be cut out. It's about 2"x3" on the pass front of the rear wheel well. That's it.

I'm hopefully going to get the windshield and rear window out this weekend.



I'm going to put bed liner coating on the underbody and maybe lizard skin on the interior.

On to pics. I did 1/2 the roof today, but didn't get pics yet. They will come tomorrow when I finish it.

I sand then prime b/c leaving it bare metal in my garage is a no-no. It'll be rusted over by the next morn if I don't.

I'm going to try and build a PVC area to sandblast some of the parts like fenders, door, hood to make that part easier to strip.

[indyjps]

Use good primer, looks like rattle can, that could cause problems later on depending on what type of paint you use. a quality etching primer would be better.
Youre very determined doing this by hand, a compressor and DA will make life much easier.
I wouldnt take it to bare metal, the factory primer is better than the rattle can primer, use less aggressive sand paper and knock down the existing paint until you get the top coat off and leave some of the factory primer on, shoot with a quality sealer surfacer in whatever brand you want to use for top coat. you will need to use a flex additive in your primer for your plastic bumpers or the paint will flake off.
Stay with the same brand paint primer, surfacer, topcoat.

Ive done these budget home repaints over the years and have found using hardware store materials bites you in the ass later on

build a wood/ plastic paint area, ventilate it in your home garage and use automotive paint, you dont have to spend a ton on materials, all paint companies have a budget line of primers and single stage paint, you can get very good results using these products.
Ive shot cars with harbor freight HVLP guns ($40) with single stage and gotten good results, there are entry level guns by major manufacturers ($100) that work very well, ebay has many check devilbiss, sharpe and others, there are some nice 3 gun sets now, primer, topcoat, clear priced very resonably, at least get a gun that you can change tips on so you can use it for both primer and topcoat.

Not trying to razz you on this but an HVLP, budget automotive type paint (etch primer, surface/sealer, topcoat) will get you very nice results shot in your own garage. Use a non metallic on your first paint job so you can wetsand any runs/dirt out.

PM me.

[indyjps]

If you dont have your heart set on a particular color check your local paint stores and you can find discounted paint.

PPG OMNI acrylic enamel topcoat burgundy non metallic

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PPG-P...motiveQ5fTools

PPG OMNI acrylic enamel topcoat hugger orange non metallic

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PPG-P...1%7C240%3A1318

[brrymnvette]

Thanks for the tips. I would take it to the factory primer, but it's flaking off like crazy already. It has to come off or I'm afraid it'll just flake off later.

[LarryB]

the only thing I can add is .... keep it clean and clean some more and don't touch it with bear hands

[pimtina]

and don't touch it with bear hands

Or with your BARE hands - sorry couldn't resist it!

[JRouche]

I just got done doing the same thing you are knocking out. I used a D/A sander and 80 grit. Watch the deep grooving of 40 grit, even 80 grit. It can cause problems with bridging of the primer and paint later on, even much later.

My steps were a complete strip to bare metal. Then some hammer and dolly work along with some minor welding and cutting. I removed the drip rails, filled the door handle holes and put in a fuel filler door.

Then I shot on three coats of SPI epoxy primer to seal the bare metal. Then did some plastic body filler work and blocked it all down. Then two more thin coats of epoxy to seal the filler. Then three coats of SPI high build primer. Nasty stuff, ISOs. I used a fresh air breather.

I blocked the HB down (for two weeks) to flatness. Then sealed it all up with three more coats of epoxy to wait to be taken to a pro for final body smoothing and a base/clear coat paint job.

It was alot of work but it should be a firm base for proper paint. Just one way of doing it, there are several approaches. JR

Paint stripped


High build primer


Oh yeah, a guide coat too


Block sanding. Cross sanding helps to get a flat panel.


And the last coat of epoxy, ready for a pro to tackle

[brrymnvette]

That's awesome. Looks good.

[JRouche]

That's awesome. Looks good.

Hey thanks. I think you are on the right road too. Hard work huh? But whats cool is hard work is practically free, sure, the motrin for the tired muscles costs some I would rethink the rattle can primer. After all that work stripping it down. The 1k rattle can primer wont protect bare metal very well. But a decent 2k epoxy can be about 75-150 a gallon sprayable, minus the compressor and gun.

But really!!! It comes down to what you can do. If its not in the budget, yeah, I have kids too, then its just not there. No getting around it. I think you are on the right track cause you are here asking the right questions and getting all the info you need. Then its up to you to decide what can and cant be accomplished. Shes gonna look great anyway it goes. JR