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Thu May 07, 2020 1:01 pm

Hi all, sorry if there is something i missed on here, I have been trying to use the search function, I promise. I have a fiberglass buggy, and in my quest to at least try everything in my restoration, I want to give a shot to fixing the body (mostly just a few holes here and there where there used to be a top, a couple of small gouges, and the new dashes need to be glassed to the hood)

so I think i have most of the stuff covered for the fiberglass repair, found a ton of good info in here and the kit car forum...

what i can't seem to wrap my head around is the prep, I have been told/heard/read everything from:

-go over the whole body with 80 grit until the fiberglass feels like 80 grit

-get a DA Sander and hit everything with 320 *(or 400 depending on what i read that day)
to a few others...

-sand with one of the above methods, then seal it with primer, then 2-3 layers of high build, sand smooth, then go paint, clear, etc

-sand, then go right to high build, then sand that smooth with 400 on the DA sander, then base coat, etc.

so - I guess what I am asking.... is there, for lack of a better term, and because I am an idiot, an idiots guide for fiberglass vs painting metal?

from everything i see/read, it seems that it's all pretty similar once it gets to past primer, am I mistaken there?

is there a right amount of time between when i use the high build and sand and so on until I should shoot the base coats?

also, is there a certain type of high build primer that works better for Fiberglass, or is it all kind of the same? I was thinking of getting the Slick Sand or Featherfill, as a lot of what i see/read seems to use them...

also, because I am an idiot, I will say that I may be giving flake a go here. not sure about dry flake vs. traditional, I guess i can figure that out before i start. The buggy is golden orange, and I think I am going to keep it that color, or as close to it as I can, so my thought was to use a golden orange flake (probably something along the lines of Roth Oddball Orange) over an orange base. though some things I read/watch seem to say that if I am using a color flake I should use a black, white, or silver base?

yeah, I know this is probably all a really, really bad Idea, but I don't have the $ to get it done by a pro, so I figured if I am only out a few hundred and a lot of hours for now, I am ok with "not completely terrible" until i can swing better.

stuck in a pic or two, just in case my color question didnt make sense.

Fri May 08, 2020 6:21 am

Well.....lets see:

"so I think i have most of the stuff covered for the fiberglass repair, found a ton of good info in here and the kit car forum..." So use fiberglass matt and resin to patch any holes. Be sure to taper them on the outside and reinforce them on the inside. Use a high quality filler (Rage products are good) to make sure everything is smooth.[i]

"-go over the whole body with 80 grit until the fiberglass feels like 80 grit "...Well it will feel pretty smooth with 80 grit on a DA. I would shoot 3 coats of high build polyester based primer. Evercoat makes good products. Featherfill, Slicksand, G2 are all about the same. You will need at least a 1.8-2.0mm tip to shoot these products. The 80 grit finish will give it plenty of "tooth"

"-sand, then go right to high build, then sand that smooth with 400 on the DA sander, then base coat, etc. "...[i]After you shoot your 3 coats of high build let it cure....I like about a week but in warmer/dryer climates less would be fine. Then use some guidecoat and sand. Depending on how well you shot your guidecoat will determine what grit sandpaper you start with. I just shot some G2 and I started with some 220 to get things going. Went to a 320. Then a 400. Then for metallic finished you really should go 600 grit. For non-metallics you can go 400.

Some people shoot their base over the high build. Some people like a sealer (I use a thinned epoxy primer over the high build). I have had good results doing both. So you would shoot high build, let cure, apply guidecoat, sand as described, tack cloth, degrease, shoot thinned epoxy (optional), shoot base and then clear.

I can't help you with flake but here is a picture of my old Manx with a Kirker metallic paint. The flake is not huge.

If you use flake be ready to really bury it in clear. Understand what that means for a day of painting...think sealer, flash time, base, flash, base, flash, base, flake, flash, clear, flash, clear, flash, clear, flash, clear, flash, clear, flash, clear...…...that's a LONG day and lots of things to go wrong for a beginner.

Fri May 08, 2020 12:23 pm

thank you for all the tips and feedback - i honestly truly appreciate it.

I guess the good thing for me is if I f*** it all up, I can't possibly do so any worse than it already is.

the whole process with the flake and clear and more clear and then more and then so on etc is the one thing that is really giving me pause. and maybe I am way, way off on this, but the thought there is a. i really like the look of flake, and
b. (and this could be me getting horrible advice) is that an amateur doing paint with metallic is apparently a lot harder to get right, and flake covers orange peel.

side note - I LOVE that color on your Manx. even if I were to be able to get a finish 3/4 as good as that i would be happy.

after reading your reply here, I was wondering, is single stage a smarter move for someone like me? I might be happy with something like this color: https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-tropical-sunset-orange-pearl-3-1-ssu-96oz.html

Fri May 08, 2020 12:47 pm

Metallics aren't that hard to shoot at all. And I am a total rookie. 3 coats and then a little drop coat and done.

The paint you linked requires the use of a white base coat and, for real gloss, a clear as well. I have attached a picture of a little Alsport trike that I just did with the Summit paint series. It was their Orange metallic and Kirker clear.. It was fiberglass as well. I just followed the priming instructions I gave you, then three coats of color and 3 coats of clear.

My Manx used the bright orange metallic from Kirker. It is very affordable as is their clear. And its really easy to use.

https://www.kirkerautomotive.com/color

Fri May 08, 2020 4:38 pm

thanks! I may just steal your color there. that looks real close to what i want!

thank you very much for the advice!

Sat May 09, 2020 11:31 am

No problem at all!

You can take a look at my original build from WAY back when if you like...

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=239643&highlight=manx+build