If I paint with epoxy primer.......

[Chase77]

All,

I have the entire cruiser broken down and sprayed with rust bullet in preperation for normal primer and then some paint to finish up my body work ordeal but like usual s*** has come up and Im looking for an exit strategy that would basically allow me to get the cruiser ready to just sand and shoot next summer. I asked around and the word so far is that I can bondo and then lay on an epoxy primer to seal it all up and then next summer all I would have to do is a little sanding and then lay on the actual paint. Any opinions on this?

Thanks as usual,

Chase

 

[ken_79-fj40]

First of all epoxy primer kicks butt. It's like spraying body filler.And yes it will seal it up fine. But I would paint it right afterwards anyway. Do you really want to take it all apart again? If you are painting with a single stage enamel or urethane, the paint will probably be cheaper than the epoxy primer. For me , my primer was around 260/gallon with the activator and hardener, and the urethane enamel was under 200.

 

[buckroseau]

Epoxy primer is great stuff, but most are not meant or that easy to sand. PPG's DP line of epoxy primer I believe says, "Non-sanding" on the can. This doesn't mean you can't sand it, but it won't sand as well as other primers, such as a ureathane primer.

If you have bare metal and bondo, go ahead and spray epoxy primer over it, it is the best for bare metal. But, you want to get the bulk of the block sanding done prior to spraying it. If you still feel you need to block after the epoxy primer is on, I would shoot a coat or 2 of ureathane primer/sealer on and block sand that. This will save you time sanding, and you will have a nice finish.

I don't know how extensive you are getting with your paint job, but ideally you should Jam all the parts prior to assembly. Meaning, you should shoot paint onto the part where it will not be sprayable once assembled, run the base and clear (or single stage ureathane) into the areas where it will be sprayable. Lot easier to do now than later. Something like this:

http://www.crustycruisers.com/ps118.jpg

Assembled, but not painted yet, I think you can see the primer and paint..

http://www.crustycruisers.com/ps161.jpg

After all your parts are Jam'd, put your rig back together. The reason for this, if you happen to scratch a part while assembling where it can be seen, your wet sanding and going to paint anyway? Not that big of deal. If the part was totally painted and you scratched it, you would get pretty pissed. After assembled, back tape everything, something like this:

http://www.crustycruisers.com/ps171.jpg

And let the paint fly. Pull the tape and paper....

http://www.crustycruisers.com/ps176.jpg

Put the rest of your chub on, all done.....

http://www.crustycruisers.com/ps180.jpg

good luck.

Matt

 

[Radd Cruisers]

Epoxy is what the pros use for a base, it really holds well and like he said its not meant to be sanded. Although if it sits for more than 72 hours depending on products you will have to scotch bright the whole thing.

It is the base to a paint job, you can body fill right over it and prime. If you sand through in theory you should epoxy that spot.

What I have learned as of late is that you put a nice coat of high build primer and block sand.

If you leave just the epoxy on in the sun it will deteriate fairly bad, not at all UV friendly, if you want to leave it until the following year make sure you coat with something that seals. Also make sure it is compatable with the top coat product.

You might not want all these steps as your truck will be more off road ready than show ready.

 

[Steve C]

By the time you get to the epoxy primer, you are literally 95 percent there. Do yourself a favor and spray the color.

 

[Ponce]

Buckroseau- great post I like the pics. If all goes well for me I'm going to paint my 40 for my winter project.

 

[desertdude]

Small tip: It is also better to use the same product line all the way through the project.

 

[Chase77]

Thanks for all the info on this. Those are some great pics of how it should be done. Unfortunately I am between stuck between starting school next week and my bride of 3 weeks telling me that I'd better get it on the road before she finds other ways to spend my wad Im talking to a paint dealer that has personally ran DP epoxy on his heep for a year with no problems. His situation was the same as mine (i.e. the tub and front clip were ready to go but the doors and top and rear door/s wont be ready for a while and he needed it on the road without having to spray his final top coat on peices 12 months apart) Im goin to check it out this week and see cause it would be a serious solution for the time being. Plus I'd get really bored if I didnt rip my cruiser apart at least once a year

Thanks again,

Chase

 

[TexomaFJ40]

Epoxy primer is not the greatest for metals. The real benefit, believe it or not, of epoxy is that it has a hard shell surface yet still remains flexible on thin metals and plastics. It also bond better to plastics than conventenal paints. If you want to seal in metal right, you need a primary base coat with etching primer (the reason aircraft being built are always green). This will completely seal the metal from oxygen, a primary rust agent. Next, use a sanding primer in multiple coats to get a smooth finish on the vehicle. Your paint and clear coat is the primary moisture barrier, so save the money on the epoxy and spend it here for a higher quality paint. I would suggest the DuPont ChromaClear series of paints or ChromaOne for a combined clear coat and color coat application.

Epoxy sounds great, but do you really need it? Not really.

 

[Sparky_Mark]

Like Radd Cruiser said...
If you wait too long, you have to scuff up the surface and reapply the primer before you topcoat.
Look at the primer data sheet. It will give you the "time to recoat" window. Idealy, you should put the top coat on within that window to ensure CHEMICAL ADHESION. If you decide to put the primer on and wait, you will only be relying on mechanical adhesion of the paint.
Use top coats that are listed on the primer data sheet - paints are designed as a system, and the good manufacturers test what they advertize.
I would ask your paint system manufacturer about painting over Rust Bullet. Ask if you have to scuff it before putting down primer? Then ask Rust Bullet about the system you will put on top of theirs. If Rust Bullet doesn't know, I'd be worried.

 

[Rust Bullet]

Like Radd Cruiser said...
I would ask your paint system manufacturer about painting over Rust Bullet. Ask if you have to scuff it before putting down primer? Then ask Rust Bullet about the system you will put on top of theirs. If Rust Bullet doesn't know, I'd be worried.

We have had only one issue with painting over Rust Bullet. This involved using an asitone base Rust-oleum paint. Any paints containing acids, oils base, will not stick to Rust Bullet. Any Laq. primer or etching primer should adhire just fine. After the 36-48 hours cure time of Rust Bullet you may need to scuff the surface with a red scotch brite pad to help adheshion.

Body fillers, Automotive primers and paint may be applied over cured Rust Bullet. Rust Bullet should be sanded, to insure adhesion, with #150 grit dry before topcoating with body fillers, fiberglass or primer. Just scuff chassis parts, floors, inside doors, etc. dull with a red scuff pad before painting and the paint will "bite" into the Rust Bullet well. As Rust Bullet is designed to kill rust and isn't an automotive primer filler, areas where you want perfect paint gloss, Rust bullet should be sanded and primed with an automotive primer before paint prep work.
I hope this helps you.