Body prep work clarification for the confused...

[jhunt]

Ok, I have read many threads and posts about body prep work and I must admit I am confused on the proper method to prepare for paint.

I have my cruiser completely disassembled and want to start preparing for paint. The original color of the cruiser was yellow, but the PO painted it a non-cruiser brown. So I know that I want to take the PO's paint off but this is where my confusion starts.

Do I take the paint off to bare metal? Down to the original primer? Or just bare metal on the rust areas, and rough up the rest?

This is going to take a while, so when I get it cleaned up to bare metal is there a rattle can primer of some sort I can put on it to prevent rust? If so will I then have to take that off when I am ready to paint?

I have just seen so many types of advice I am not sure what is the "best" method or if that there really is a "best" method.

If there is some resource you could point me too that would be great, but any experience and advice will be readily accepted also.

Thanks.

 

[bigbrowndog]

Your budget will be what governs what you can do.
If the original primer is in good condition why remove it?
What condition is the brown paint in and what type of paint is it?
Is the brown paint suitable to sand and paint over or was it a poor quality job?
How much rust?
These are some of the things you need to take into consideration to decide the quality of the paint job you desire.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

As the previous poster said your budget will be the biggest deciding factor. With that said a little word to the wise. If you don't plan on stripping this down to bare metal don't use any type of chemical stripper. You will have to strip it to bare metal if you go this route. The stripper will eat into the body filler and cause it to contaminate the paint you apply.

Was there previous body work done to it? If you're not too worried about spending some coin time might be another aggravating factor. If it has had some bodywork done to it, and you decide to strip it to bare metal remember you will/may have to reapply body filler, dolly, sand prime, block etc. etc. This will be extremely time consuming even to a skilled bodyman. You may also find some interesting discoveries (aka hillbilly ingenuity) during the stripping process. I once removed the floors in a mustang and found a one way traffic sign cut to fit the drivers side floor pan. Boy was I excited.

To sum it up, if your body skills aren't up to par, you love this cruiser and plan on keeping it for awhile I'd pay a reputable person to do it. If you're really interested in learning bodywork take a class at a local community college or buy an instructional book and a door from the pick and pull. Hit the door with a hammer and start trying to fix it. Once you THINK it looks good grind the filler off and hit it again. That's how my dad taught me over 16 years ago minus the instructional book (he WAS the book). He's been doing bodywork for over 50 years. Also try this link. https://forum.ih8mud.com/paint-body/288677-painting-finishing-101-a.html This is the "text book" way to perform bodywork, but it will cost you gobs of cash to do it this way. I could cut more than half the steps out and have a similar end result. The shortcuts come with practice though. Hope this helps.

 

[jhunt]

Thanks for all the info, it has given me something to think about. I found an auto body class at my community college and I think that I am going to take it.

It is a skill I would like to learn and if I an going to do this, then I need to do it right.

 

[saucebox]

I like the 'buy a door and beat on it' approach. Simple and cheap, with no lingering 'damn I ruined my panel' feeling. Wish I would have thought of something that obvious years ago...

 

[copasspupil]

I would not say it will take "Gobs of money" to repaint it. I have <500 in my cruiser.

The others have made some great suggestions for you. The only comment I'll say is that whether it has primer or not, there still might be rust underneath. This is your decision to strip it down or go to primer. I'd hedge my bets and sand to primer myself, fill in the low spots, make some boards to sand with - I placed a pic of mine. Cheap and easy to make. - and epoxy prime the rig, BC/CC it and be done with it. You also have a chose with either going the True Value way or auto paint. If it will be a trail rig, I'd head towards the TV. It is cheap, can be re-shot easily and will match up well for touch ups.