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Thu Jul 02, 2015 5:26 pm

Hey guys, So I have the body and doors primed inside and out, I used a DTM primer from USC (2520 I think). It's a super thick primer. I asked for epoxy primer when I went to get it, but noticed it didn't say epoxy anywhere on the can. I figure that doesn't matter. It is a bit textured, but i figured I'd just scuff it with a red scuff pad, or wet sand(or dry?) with 400, sealer, color and clear. Does that sound about right? I'm not building a show car(at least that's what I keep telling myself :lol: ) but I definitely am looking for much better than a 5 footer... more like a 6 incher. Just wanted to make sure i'm not missing a step here. Thanks the the feedback.

yea...I even did the roof :?

Thu Jul 02, 2015 7:26 pm

That should be fine. I would sand it if it were me. Grab some spray paint and spray yourself a light mist (guidecoat) with black so you know when you have sanded it well enough. Just sand til that guide coat is gone and you will be ready to paint. 400 grit for solid colors, 600 for pearls and metallics.

Check your tech sheet. Lots of that DTM Poly primer is able to be topcoated and would save you from having to use a sealer. It would save you time, money and would most likely turn out better not using sealer.

Thu Jul 02, 2015 9:54 pm

Epoxy primer may be textured and not need to be sanded depending. Did you take it down to bare metal beforehand? How did you prep it before applying the primer that's on it now? Any bondo or other fillers involved? How did you spray it? I'm not an expert on DTM poly primer. Is it a 2k primer? Compatible with the sealer/paint you're going to use? So many questions. I'm still learning myself so I'll be glad to help you out with anything I know

Fri Jul 03, 2015 6:32 am

This one is not a poly, it is a 2k DTM primer. The tech sheet says it is easy to sand, and it is, but does not say anything about being able to topcoat. It does talk about sanding prep for next coat. Seems like a really good primer though. I did take the body down to mostly bare metal, there is some filler under this layer of primer, and I will be laying Evercoat G2 poly primer over this, outside only. The interior, trunk and engine bay are ready for color I think.

Fri Jul 03, 2015 10:03 am

I have used just about everything out there and if I were you I would use something besides that G2. I didnt like it compared to the other Polys. I would use Evercoat Slicksand, or Evercoat Superbuild. Slicksand is my personal favorite. Great build and sands pretty easy if you get to it soon after its sprayed. Superbuild is just slightly harder to sand. G2 seemed like it got a candy coating on it. Hard as hell to sand until you get that "shell" off the top. Just my experiance. But for real my experience is if you can sand it the day after you spray it. Its much much easier to sand than if you wait.

Fri Jul 03, 2015 5:03 pm

I'll keep that in mind, thanks but I already bought the G2, it's what my local supplier had in stock. I bought it a while back hoping to get to where i'm at now long ago. So unfortunately another gallon is not in the budget. But that's not the first time i've heard about the hard shell. I'll just have to work with it. I appreciate the heads up though.

Mon Jul 06, 2015 7:42 pm

buguy wrote: Just sand til that guide coat is gone and you will be ready to paint. 400 grit for solid colors, 600 for pearls and metallics.

So just checking, I sanded my doors (interior side) with 600 wet after guide coat and it seems pretty shiny, I wanted to make sure i'm not going to have a problem with my sealer sticking. I've never sanded smoother than 320 before sealer. BTW, the sealer I am using is the Nason ready to spray, 422-23 I think.

Tue Jul 07, 2015 9:13 am

I've gotten good results with nothing finer than 320 grit.

Tue Jul 07, 2015 7:55 pm

320 is a little course for my taste. I do 400 minimum. But im sure you could get away with 320 on some colors. 600 is no problem. Sprayed over 600 a billion times.
And whats nice with the 600 wet is, if you open a garage door and look out the door over a part, you can double check it for dings and such. Its shiney enough to show them.
Just an FYI, when I do blends i paint over 1000 grit and sometimes finer. Never an ahesion problem. Dont sweat it at all. 600 is the norm for metallics.

Thu Jul 09, 2015 8:45 am

buguy wrote: 320 is a little course for my taste. I do 400 minimum. But im sure you could get away with 320 on some colors. 600 is no problem. Sprayed over 600 a billion times.
And whats nice with the 600 wet is, if you open a garage door and look out the door over a part, you can double check it for dings and such. Its shiney enough to show them.
Just an FYI, when I do blends i paint over 1000 grit and sometimes finer. Never an ahesion problem. Dont sweat it at all. 600 is the norm for metallics.

You are the pro sir, I will go with what you say, 600 it is. Thanks for the advice, I'll let you know how it turns out.

Sat Aug 01, 2015 7:10 pm

Well, I said I'd let you know how it went. I finally layed color down last night. I completely misjudged how much paint I was going to need. I had one quart of sealer and one quart(plus reducer) of color. I was only able to get one full coat of color on, and wasn't able to do the engine bay, so I didn't do my clear yet. I will be getting more paint on Monday and hopefully finishing it up later this week. But here are some shots anyway...

And out in the sun...

Also wanted to let you guys know that I used a NOS Graco CX-10 turbine sprayer on this. My father-in-law's parents used to sell them years ago. They have passed, and they were going through some of their stuff (they had an airplane hanger full of stuff) and they found a few of these still in the box, never used. It worked beautifully, layed the paint and sealer super flat. I'm very anxious to shoot some clear with it. And I'll update with finished pics once I have some.

Sat Aug 01, 2015 7:43 pm

Dude you better get something figured out. If you dont topcoat that within 24 hours you have to sand it ALL AGAIN!

Sun Aug 02, 2015 8:08 am

buguy wrote: Dude you better get something figured out. If you dont topcoat that within 24 hours you have to sand it ALL AGAIN!

Yea, I figured I'd have to go over the whole thing with 1000 wet. Sucks but I did it to myself. I had the money to buy a gallon but figured a quart would do the job. :oops: And it came out so good too...

Sun Aug 02, 2015 4:03 pm

Just think how good it will come out next time now that your getting the hang of it!!

Sun Aug 02, 2015 6:41 pm

Man I hope so...Lesson learned for sure. I'll be buying a gallon tomorrow. I keep saying i'm not trying to build a show car, but I am trying to do the best that I possibly can within my abilities. I am a perfectionist with everything I do so I will definitely not be happy with "good enough". Thanks for the help though, it is much appreciated.

Sun Aug 02, 2015 7:20 pm

You need a gallon of clear coat too if you want something to really be proud of.

Mon Aug 03, 2015 6:04 am

Mike Fisher wrote: You need a gallon of clear coat too if you want something to really be proud of.

That I do have.

Wed Aug 05, 2015 7:15 pm

Well, I stayed late last night and got down 2 full coats of color and 2 coats of clear. I think it turned out fantastic but I'll let you guys be the judge...

I'm very happy with it. The metallics pop really nice, I got very little orange peel and only 2 runs, one is low in the engine bay so no one will see that one. The other one will buff out easy. Thanks guys for all your input, it is very much appreciated.

Wed Aug 05, 2015 7:27 pm

you should have painted it all at once. you'll never tie the jambs etc in correctly. bugs are a pain seeing there is no real ez way to hide a tape line

Wed Aug 05, 2015 7:37 pm

It looks good & you are only getting better, so just keep the coats thin enough not to run. 8)