Paint Prep / Body Work Tips

[Matthew Jeschke]

FML x a million. I started painting and need help from a person with body work experience, specifically paints.

I started with doors and am in middle of process. The doors were prepped by sanding them down. Then sealing the doors with self etching primer where metal was showing through.

I went to spray sealer. Am using OMNI Epoxy with 2:1:1 (reducer) as a sealer. I couldn't figure out why the sealer wasn't laying up nice. I kept mixing little by little and testing the interior side of the doors.

It turns out paint wasn't adhering to the etching primer. I'm super confused, can epoxy primer mix with etching primer? Am I doing this wrong?

I have parts that are drying and need to move on in process but I have other parts that are not ready and like I said FML

I tried to clean it all off (starting with one door) and lacquer thinner. It made a HUGE mess. I'm not sure what to do at all. The doors I didn't mess with layed up nice with etching primer after they had a chance to dry better.

 

[Matthew Jeschke]

omg this is complicated. I called another friend, bodyman, I had his phone in my cell. He picked up at late hour. He said don't worry about the etching primer. That I just don't need to apply sealer over etch because etch is a sealer. That the poor adheasion with my etching primer had been due to something else... He said an impurity. However, I think it was due to not enough time to dry. I sprayed the etch right before I went to spray sealer and I think that was the issue all along. I probably didn't need to strip the etching primer off with lacquer thinner at all and just messed that door up for nothing with lacquer thinner. Time will tell. I have a spot of etching primer on my hood and am spraying that right now.

 

[Matthew Jeschke]

Okay so I find this is a HIGHLY debated subject. I think what happened is the dude I asked originally and told me to strip the sealer and etch off with lacquer thinner was adverse to Etch primer.

I called another buddy who paints hot rods. He said, Etch primer is also a sealer but doesn't hide as well (doesn't hide scratches like a epoxy primer / sealer might). Etching primer may also have to be scuffed up prior to painting over it, and doesn't really need sealer over it as it seals. He said it should take paint just fine. That my issue with adhesion wasn't the etch it was something else. (likely because I'd not let the etching primer dry long enough).

I'm still having many questions in my mind about this. However, one thing is clear there are body guys who think etching sealer is fine and there are those who appear to be animatedly apposed to it. My original process of sealing over the etch was fine, although a bit tricky as it honestly sealer doesn't adhear as well to it, I probably needed to scuff it up a bit.

I seem to have created another problem for myself unrelated to the etching primer though. I got excited to paint and temperature dropped to 60F in my garage. The sealer set up with LOTS of orange peal on my hood. I need to sand it off in a couple days and re-shoot sealer on the hood now

 

[Sam Harris]

Damn man. Crazy amount of work and learning. I hope things smooth out shortly for you. Once you figure out your routine on one part, the rest should come easy.

 

[Matthew Jeschke]

I maybe screwed. temp is not agreeable here to spray a truck and inhave tonhave paint done before christmas. its barely making 70f here and i need 70f for entire painting process

Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk

 

[wjburken]

I maybe screwed. temp is not agreeable here to spray a truck and inhave tonhave paint done before christmas. its barely making 70f here and i need 70f for entire painting process

Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk

Can you get a heater for your garage?

 

[Sam Harris]

Good idea. I bought a 200,000 BTU propane heater for my garage a couple years ago. It sucks that you have to open the garage door to ventilate, but that sucker keeps all 3 bays toasty warm on about half power. It’s ridiculous. And the garage ceiling is about 16’. I paid around $150 for it. In Az., I’m sure you could get away with a much smaller one.

 

[Matthew Jeschke]

I think the short lesson of this is, body guys are paid well to do this work because it's exceedingly complicated. What I've learned is you may get lucky trying to spray the paint on your own but a bunch of things have to align perfectly to do that. Stayed up till 2 AM researching my current issues and it's just the tip of the iceberg. Long story short (will elaborate below), I'm going to have to hire a professional to either (1) visit my house and spray the car in my garage or (2) tow the truck to a paint shop.

Let me elaborate, on my ONE issue I know of at this point, the temperature. The paints are all speced to spray a certain temperatures. It's 70 F at the PEAK of the day, 50F towards end and 30's at night. Not all the paints have specs for the lower temperatures. The color paint can be reduced such that you can spray at 55F, however, the sealer doesn't say anything about that. And the clear doesn't have any spec on temp either (only that if you want a fast cure to do at 140F). When talking with friends who have more experience in this, they say they won't paint below 70F. But I know it can be done (perhaps with diminished results), however, no specs explain how.

Then the spray gun has three settings: input regulator, feed, and spray tip. I watched HOURS of Youtube on how to setup the spray gun. I practiced with every mix, and scrap paint prior to all this as well. However, when I go to spray and it sprays like crap I'm not sure if it's poor atomization due to temperature or due to spray gun settings... or something even stuck in the gun, or bad dryer / filter on line. I just don't have experience to tell those issues apart when looking at how paint lays.

Every time I take another step I have 50 more questions. I think the short of this. If you EVER plan to do this, hire a paint professional do help you at your house or in their shop. And that is, somebody who ACTIVELY paints cars. You want to see some of their work IN PERSON. You can MORE than do body work, that part is time consuming but pretty simple. However, the spraying which only takes a couple hours is EXCEEDINGLY complicated. It's advanced chemistry coupled with art and fineness.

Additionally, the shops have paint booths. Most of which are climate controlled, and have filters to pull junk out of air as well as overspray. They have control over SO many more variables in the shops so they can do a much better paint job. In my opinion that's worth $500, maybe even $1000 to lay down your paint in one. They even rent them out to hobbyist sometimes which is another option. I just cannot drive my truck because it's disassembled They have one for $30/hr at the paint store.

Somebody up there is looking out for me.... I'm super lucky as the guy who sold me the paint called to ask how my job was coming along. He's offered to come to my house when he has time and help me out. I'll just continue prepping truck until he can make it out to spray.

 

[Matthew Jeschke]

I live in arizona. tried all the stores can only get a decent heater by special order... and spoke with body shop guys, cannot use any heater must run dry and without a flame. otherwise you can blow up the garage as paint will flash off or you will spoil the pait with exhaust from heater.

Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk

 

[wjburken]

cannot use any heater must run dry and without a flame. otherwise you can blow up the garage as paint will flash off

Well, that is a thing I guess.