Time between primer coat and final coat ?

[Snollygoster1]

We have just finished all the welding on my beetle and are about to begin priming/blocking/painting etc etc.

My problem is that I have limited time as I will be doing it alone and was planning to complete this process over several months which which could possibly mean leaving the primer exposed for long periods of time before the final topcoat. I understand this is not ideal and there is a limited safe window between these two coats as the primer is porous.

My question is what is the maximum time that I could possibly leave the primer exposed ?

This is my first paint job so I'm still learning. My plan at this stage is to do it in small stages (ie work on one or two panels) and to shoot a quick topcoat over the primered metal to seal it before moving on to other areas of the car.

Cheers

[jspbtown]

Well I would shoot the entire car with epoxy primer. That isn't porous and as long as you don't expose it to a lot of sunlight it will prevent rust.

After that you could shoot the entire car in high build primer. If you really want to be fanatical you could block whatever section you can at a time and then reduce your left over epoxy to use as a sealer then shoot whatever you block.

Then when you are all done with everything you can scuff the sealer, and then shoot some more sealer and then go for your color.

[kman]

I 2nd the epoxy primer. If you are doing all the work indoors I wouldn't worry about taking your time as long as the primer is properly sanded before topcoat. If it is sitting outside then at least cover it from rain and for sure lay down that 1st coat of epoxy primer/sealer.
_________________
71 vert build. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=572951&highlight=dead