TheSamba.com :: View topic

Fri May 27, 2016 10:37 am

Hello all,

Finally getting started on my '53 oval that's been sitting in my various yards for 15 years or so. Couple of things first, this is not going to be a show car, nor is it going to be original. It's sitting on a '64 pan which I intend to use.

The pan needs pan halves, which I have. I'm ready to cut out the old and weld in the new but I want to get the seam sealer and paint ordered up before I start cutting. Problem is I really don't know what brand to use. I'm not interested in using POR-15 or anything of the like as I'm going to media blast the entire pan and all parts once the new pan halves are in. I am leaning strongly towards the epoxy primer route, but don't know who's paint has the right cost/quality ratio. The brands I've looked into are:

SPI
Eastwood
PPG

What do the experts think? I could really use some advise.

Thanks.

Fri May 27, 2016 2:28 pm

A Qt. of primer and a Qt. of paint pretty reasonable price and durability.
http://www.masterseriesct.com/page7.php

Fri May 27, 2016 3:08 pm

So you are looking for a temporary coating right? Before it gets blasted?
Parts usually come with a black coating on them. You could leave that on and it should be fine. The only parts youd need to coat are where the welds are going. Depending on how you want to do it, plug welds or continuous. I suggest use the black coating thats alrwady on it, since itll be blasted anyways no need to use more money on paint or primer thatll be blasted off later. Just get some weld through primer that comes in a can and spray on the pieces where they will be welded. Then some more etching primer and spray over the welds to protect them.

What are you planning to paint it with after it is blasted? I would suggest the por-15, or if you want epoxy primer then your choice of color over but por-15 would be one of the best option

Fri May 27, 2016 3:30 pm

Julio_Arcos123 wrote: So you are looking for a temporary coating right? Before it gets blasted?
Parts usually come with a black coating on them. You could leave that on and it should be fine. The only parts youd need to coat are where the welds are going. Depending on how you want to do it, plug welds or continuous. I suggest use the black coating thats alrwady on it, since itll be blasted anyways no need to use more money on paint or primer thatll be blasted off later. Just get some weld through primer that comes in a can and spray on the pieces where they will be welded. Then some more etching primer and spray over the welds to protect them.

What are you planning to paint it with after it is blasted? I would suggest the por-15, or if you want epoxy primer then your choice of color over but por-15 would be one of the best option

I was actually referring to the final paint finish. I just re-read my original post and realized I made it sound like the other way around. I will be plug welding the pans in and will look into the products and methods you have suggested.

I am going to have a bare metal chassis that will need to be painted very soon after blasting. I have heard that POR-15 doesn't do well in zero rust applications, so I was hoping to avoid using it here. Powder coating is not an option in my area. Epoxy primer seems to be the best bet, but I just don't know what line to use.

Fri May 27, 2016 5:11 pm

Yeah powder coating would also be really expensive.
Whered you hear that? Yes its made to paint over rust and treat it, but also for bare metal without rust. Its a non porous coating so water moisture cant get through at all. Its also pretty thick and strong. I brushed on 2 or 3 coats of it on my pan after grinding off the surface rust and have not had any problems. It wont scrape off if scratched once it is dried.
Primer is good, but then you have to buy paint as well or something to go over it. Its not the best idea to leave primer uncovered, even if its epoxy. It adds up. A can of por15 is like 40 and should take care of the whole pan.

If you really want to go with the primer look at 5star products or pro form. Theyre good stuff not over expensive but it does depend on location sometimes

Sat May 28, 2016 4:28 am

Use whatever you want but, my advise is STAY AWAY FROM POR-15!

I painted my pan with it after I removed all the original paint and prepped it as per the instructions. It went on "streaky", some glossy and some of it flat.
Looked like crap but I thought "well it is the pan and it's supposed to be really durable".
Not even a year later it was peeling off in big sections. Some parts of it I removed with a SHOP VAC!
Needless to say I had to strip it all off and start over. Well at least it wasn't too much trouble to remove all of it.
Went with Masterseries this time, so far so good.

Dan

Sat May 28, 2016 7:29 am

If you're having someone do it, have them epoxy prime it too. If you're doing it, you could use foam brushes and Master Series Silver primer, or spray any one of the name brand epoxy primers. As long as the bare metal gets sealed up quickly after sandblasting, you're good.

Sat May 28, 2016 10:45 am

Thanks for all the advise guys! Some clarifications: This is a "body off" resto-mod. I will be spraying the product on to the chassis, I have the equipment and the space to use it in. I want the product here before I blast it as the window to flash rust is small. Total money spent is not so much a concern as the fact that the money is well spent. I would hate to find out that if I had spent $100 more on A then my finish would not have failed. I would also hate to spend $100 more unnecessarily.

So here is where I'm at.

SPI - Called my local Jobber and he recommended 2 - 3 coats of their Epoxy Primer and that's it. I asked about top coating and he said that if I wanted to he would recommend any major brands SS Polyurethane gloss or semi-gloss black but that he can't supply that to me.
My thoughts on it are that I can't find anyone who has really spoken poorly of this product, so quality should be high. Freight (I live in Northern BC Canada) will be very reasonable to the store I manage here in town. It is expensive compared to other options.

Eastwood - People are split on its quality level, but no one speaks too terribly of it. It will definitely need a top coat, which they sell. Price of Primer and Top Coat are reasonable and with freight would equal that of SPI to my door. It will ship across the border, but that's fine as it meets the VOC requirements in Canada (Much stronger regulation than most of the US, think it's more like California).

PPG - I sell their household products here in my store and they won't even talk to me about Automotive, tell me to contact this number, then a different one. No patience for that *** and I hear it is pricey. This one is OUT.

MasterSeries - Looked it up, they sure do toot their own horns lol. I have 2 concerns. 1 - Is it legal in Canada, I cannot find VOC ratings on these. I must be blind. 2. - Why is it priced in the range of POR-15? worries me I guess.

POR-15 - I have read too many stories of failure on bare metal to go this route. It's nothing against POR-15, just that I want to be extra careful here.

I'm leaning toward SPI simply because it has a good rep, is readily available to me, they will sell it to my store so I can save some money there, and it is already in Canada so I know it won't get stuck at the border. Eastwood and now MasterSeries are nagging my mind though...

Tough decisions.

Sun May 29, 2016 4:06 am

Any epoxy primer really. The cheapest I have used is Kirker's enduro prime and it is good. I've used PPG's a lot and it is great. also Sikkens and Upol. all good. Just topcoat with color and clear or single stage. Nothing wrong with Magnet paints chassis black either. It's a little fussy when spraying though.