Body and Paint Questions

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weldedrail

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My car was repainted about 14 years ago. It was a waterbase base / clearcoat over the original paint. They obiously scuffed it up and used primer, however about 5 years ago I was hit in the drivers side quater and pretty much quit washing waxing driving caring for this car. The clear coat started peeling off as it sat in the sun in the same place for about 5 years. I guess I was just at a loss as to where to start on this car becouse I have lots of plans but little budget. Finnally I just said screw it and want to at least have the paint, interior, vynal top and glass in by the summer, engine will come later. So I talked my brother in law to helping me fix the quater, I scored a new rear valance from a wrecking yard and started sanding.

My goal was to get the clear coat off as it was flaking in many spots. I have sanded through the clear colar coat and in some spots the primer and original paint, down to bare metal in some places.

Couple of questions:

Are these high spots where I have sanded through to metal?

If so, what primer can I use that will bond to the metal and the paint, I know this is probablly dependant on the type of paint I use (single stage or base/clear)?

If these arent high spots and I just sanded too agressively does this mean I need to go to bare metal?

My brother in law is good at body work but he's not a "painter" although he does paint a lot at the bodyshop that he works at. He ususlly shoots single stage as thats what they use on the Diesel Trucks that he works on so he dosen't have all the answers about car paint, in fact they use a lot of rattle can primer there. I do trust his work enough to shoot my paint, he has an Iwata gun and we will be borrowing the booth at his body shop.

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#1 rule in body work……. You can't fill a high spot.

I doubt those are all high spots. More likely sanding technique.
You don't always need to totally strip a car to bare metal.

May be a good idea to decide what paint system you are going with before you start buying other products (I may be wrong here).
 
1968FormulaS340 said:
#1 rule in body work……. You can't fill a high spot.

I doubt those are all high spots. More likely sanding technique.
You don't always need to totally strip a car to bare metal.

May be a good idea to decide what paint system you are going with before you start buying other products (I may be wrong here).
Click to expand...

Starting to think I should just hit it with aircraft stripper. The high spots were where the clear had not flaked off, the spots without clear sanded much faster. Was thinking primer would smooth all this out, maybe not.

Not gonna buy any primer until I a sure what paint I will use, still debating on single stage or base/clear.
 
First you must get the entire car down to the same grit lets say 180g. Now you have alot of bare metal so you will need to use a self-etching prime or epoxy prime and start block sanding to get it flat. Once you have it sealed you can use any high build prime on top to get to a 400-600 grit surface to paint on using single stage or B/C.
 
OK Rail, first, I doubt they used a waterbase paint, as that technology was not used very much 15 years ago. If you want to do it right, you can continue to sand it down the way you are, when finished spray 2 coats of Epoxie primer, (that is your adhesion coat) then while the epoxie is still active (within 24 hours ) spray 2 coats of polyester primer (Feather Fill, etc.). Then guide coat and block sand dry with 150-180. Once you have it smooth spray 2 coats of urethane primer, guide coat and block with 320 for single stage, 400 for base/clear. You should have a nice straight car when finished.
 
Tin and junior makes some good points...

If I was in your shoes, I'd strip/sand the entire car to bare metal at this point. Your gonna have waves from one end to the other based on the pics if you dont. I will save time in the long run and will be way way easier to block straight.
 
High spots, in your situation, would only be known if you were actually block sanding the car to begin with.........by that I mean flat blocks or boards that would first expose high spots.

At this point, the guys make good points here.....You should remove the paint (by whatever means you choose.....some guys avoid stripper because of the mess and toxicity)....THEN spray a good quality epoxy etching primer surfacer........Most areas in need of body work should be plain, but blocking the car (block sanding with a 180-220) will expose all of your problem areas that would ruin your paint job if left unattended.

Do NOT hand sand or use a "DA" or random orbit sander at this point....use FLAT BLOCKS or boards available at any body repair outlet, with the proper paper. You want your car flat, then use something flat.
 
i m with rj. i would just strip it to bare metal. all that other paint still on there is just gonna cause you more problems. you re already half way there. a lot of times.. that new paint might react with that old stuff and eventually probably shrink and you ll see scratches, waves, buttholes, etc. if you start from bare metal and work your way out with new stuff. i think you will end up with a better paint job that will look good a lot longer. i recommend going bare metal, epoxy, then fix dents, etc. then featherfill, or another high build primer. sealer, then paint. single stage or base clear. i just think that if you don t get all that old crap off...you might be in the same boat in a few years. just my opinion. my power wagon was taken apart and painted professionally and it is smooth as a baby's butt, BUT i can tell they didn t strip the original paint off, cause it has buttholes, and sand scratches coming back through. good luck. glad you decided to fix it. looks like a cool car.
 
Ok, didn't want to but I am on my way to stripping the whole car. Took the hood down to bare metal tonight. I guess if I work proficently at it one panel at a time I could have it stripped in a week. Sanding sucks! The bare metal hood does look sweet though. This car was extremely straight before the last paint job so it should turn out well if I strip it to metal. Rather strip it now instead of doing extreme block sanding later.
 
sanding DOES suck,
taking the old paint off is the easy part friend, wait till the primer is on and its time to make it smooth.
 
you re right. i hate sanding. almost as much as sand blasting.
you can use aircraft stripper(like you previously stated) also. goes a lot faster. i usually d.a. the paint with 60 grit, then brush it on. just make sure that once you get the paint off....you neutralize the stripper with baking soda water. then wash the crap out of the panel with soapy water. then final sand and preclean before primer.
 
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