Questions on Bodywork/Painting Cont.

[Mikel]

You *remember* those??

Originally posted by TexasJ10:
Perfect. This is kind of like the old Charles Dickens pickwick papers. I anxiously await the next installment.

[roadgrime]

hey 4x4 i switched to the same setup you used with the 8 inch disk and 2300 rpm sander/polisher. and it will flat rip the paint off with 40 grit paper. do you go back with 80 grit afterwards as in alot of spots i went through to the metal. no damage just can really see the difference in 40-80

using 80 grit on a 6 inch da sucks for stripping all the paint off.

[4x4n In A Cherokee In Colorado]

Yep RG, Just remove around 75% or so of the paint..So what I'm saying is 75% of the panel will be bare steel...Then finish it out with your DA with 80..I've tried everything, and this process is the fastest...Dont even worry about the bare steel showing...If you had a new rig, that just had a bad topcoat, The ecoat might be worth savin...But on some of these old rigs, just get everything off..I'm glad the polisher idea works for ya...I have used mine 15 or so years....The bearings are getting pretty noisy..By the way make sure you keep that tool oiled as the MFR says(once or so a day)Have Fun!!

[4x4n In A Cherokee In Colorado]

Ok, We're ready for the mudd..
On Bondo, brands really doesnt matter, I've tried everything made and they all work well, some has easier sanding...Maybe the brand USC out shines others..

Again please use your mask when sanding...I've never heard anything bad about bondo dust. Its really just plastic dust. I know it sure will clog up your sinuses..

The MFR's recommend mixing it on a bondo board. alot of guys(including myself) use cardboard. The MFR's dont recommend this, they say the cardboard leetches some of the resins...I've done lots of cars and never seen a problem..Maybe just use the plastic bondo board, they are cheap..In our shop, that is how we got rid of our cardboard...I feel either will work just fine...

Bondo got a bad rap in the 60's and 70's. It never stuck well and was very brittle..Bodymen were known to apply it to thick back then as they would over use the product, it was new and they thought you didnt need to work the metal as they thought this was a new magical product.

In these days bondo is a very well researched product, and we have all learned you still need to work the metal just like the older days, and dont try to do miracles with it.. Still in these days Good bodymen know the art of metal working..

I have seen guys that had to save a panel for a customer not being able to afford there deductable, apply bondo way thick on dents without much trouble...There are some tricks in this though...You applly it it many layers in different directions. It makes it much stronger...

Always be patient and be willing to apply the bondo at least twice...Dont try to fill what you need to all at once. Its just not near as strong this way, and could possibly fall out in one big chunk...although I've never seen that happen, except on cars that were repaired 25+ years ago.

If you go read any insurance or factory manual, they recommend bondo to be used to finish your body work...

Its still best to keep it as thin as possible..I have always tried to keep it at a 1/4 inch or less...Other guys have other tolerances...

Bondo is a two part product. You use a Hardner/catylist to cure it.

I like to use a paint stick to stir it before I use it. When first opened, youll see resins floating on top. I like to stir that back in..Then I use the same paint stick to get it out of the can, kinda as a spoon...

Get your bondo board and put about a 4 inch pile of bondo on it. Get the small tube of Hardner that came with the bondo and knead it some to remix it together...Apply about a 2 inch strip right on the 4 inch pile of bondo...Get your bondo spreader, I like to use 6 inch mostly. Start mixing it with the spreader. I like to fold it over itself with the spreader. Run the speader under the pile and fold the mudd over itself..Try not to whip it as you would be now forcing air into the product, and this will give you pinholes after it appllied and cures. Just quickly fold it...You now have 3-5 mins now before it hardens, so now you need to work quick!! You will learn how much hardner you need in the first couple tries...It is temperature sensitive, the warmer it is the less hardner you need and vice versa.

Scoop up a bit and spead it over the damaged area. Put it right where the low spot is and flow it out past the dent. Pay attention where the low spot is as you can move it it right past the dent easily..This will take some practice...You probably wont get it right the first time...Dont worry, just try it again...You'll get it!

Try to quickly smooth it with the spreader, going beyond the low spot by like 30% You are creating a patch basically and when sanded, it will flow into the steel level..Keep thinking as you apply it...The bondo may move some till it hardens..Keep an eye on it and reflow it if it starts to sag a bit..

Go ahead and quickly do any other damage..when it starts to get stiff, its now starting to harden itself, let it set for a sec or two and scrape the board clean with the spreader, tossing left over in the trash...get some junk thinner(cheap lacquer thinner) and clean the board and speader with the lacquer thinner before it hardens fully.. Or let it fully harden, and break it off the sprader and board, this doesnt work as well as junk thinner does..There is always some hardened bondo that wont come off...

You can use a DA with 36 grit, a Mudd Hog with 40 grit, an Air file with 40 grit, or a long or short hand board with 40 grit..to start sanding it with.

Dont let the bondo harden fully before you start sanding with the 40 grit..If your to early it will just roll up on the sandpaper. If your late it is very hard to get it sanding..

When it starts to not still be sticky, as you tap a finger on it, its the prime time to start sanding it...Bondo gets a resin like film on it after it hardens and once you break thru that it sands pretty easy when fresh..I never like to leave freshly applied bondo long...It gets very hard and is hard to sand and feather...

If you sand off too much, its ok just put more on. You will be able to feel it as it is getting level/flush. It will take a few tries..Go ahead and finish it out it 40 grit. It will blend very easy and feather nicely with 40 grit... If you need another coat, apply it in a different direction if you can, this will make it a bit stronger...

If you see any steel(bare metal) spots coming thru the bondo, these are probably high spots. You may be able to feel the high spot...Get your Pick body hammer and gently knock any highs down. It doesnt take much.. Dont make a big dent with the hammer. You can seperate the bondo from the steel..If your High spot is severe, grind out the bondo and work your metal some more..

The bondo MFR's make a product called final glaze. USC glaze is called Icing. Its somewhat new, about 6-8 years old. You will be using this to final out the bondo.

It is also a two part product. The hardner reacts much quicker and you will use Much Less hardner to harden it. Also mix up much less, as this is just put on very thin, basically just to fill the 40 grit scratches...It can be used up to 1/8th inch thick..Mix and apply it simaliar to mudd. Youll quickly notice how nice it flows and levels itself. It will also have a stcky film after hardening..I like to DA it with 80 grit till the film is gone...Which is just a few secs.

This is were the work comes in....! Youll need to get a 4 inch rubber sanding block, a rubber 8 inch block. Use 80 grit on either.

I also use a 6 inch hand board and a hand file board, they are about 14 inches long. Both these use Air file sandpaper...Also use 80 grit on these.

You will be finishing the final glaze by hand..If you'd like get some spray can guide coat and spray a light coat before sanding...This will show you any highs or lows as you do your hand sanding...

We will be finishing your job in 80 grit the glaze will feather very nice with 80 grit...In the older days we had to finish in 180 because of the low quality primers..The finer the sandpaper the harder it is to feather/flow your work.

Well till next time!! Carey

[Simple Kind of Man]

4x4, could you, at the appropreate(?) time include tips on the process of geting fiberglas panels ready for paint? I assume after they are ready to paint the rest of the process is the same. You are doing a great service here and I for one am very glad you are doing it. I am planning a frame off for my '81 sportside this summer and with info like this and this site to back me up it'll be a stroll in the park.

Thanks, Tim

[ctjeepman]

Wow-This is great info-thank you

[4x4n In A Cherokee In Colorado]

Sorry Gembox this is all out of my head..A DA works great on bondo if its just a small dent. I only use the bondo to fill the major low. Then use two part glaze to do the final trueing/blending. The glaze is finished by hand, with a long board with 80 grit..This is a great new way of finishing your mudd cause the glaze sands very easy and blends better/easier. Maybe you should try it!!

Maybe it sounds like a book cause thats kinda how I'm tryin to write it..I'll take that as a compliment!!

Gembox, look who has the 4000+ posts! I'm doing this cause I had a bunch of guys wanting more detailed info..If they have any questions on anything, I've ask them to post it..I work 12 hrs a day myself, so its hard for me to get the time also.

By the way, If all you have is a stick welder you can pretty easily weld sheetmatal..Just got to use the right settings and only use DC current with 1/16 rod. Maybe you should try it sometime..Only plug welds and overlap welds work, and either of those can get you by..If you only have a few spots and you are just doing your rig and all you have is a stick welder, it will get you by! Carey

[4x4n In A Cherokee In Colorado]

Ok Onward! We have our hood smoothed out, stripped and both the steel and mudd work is finished in 80 grit. Its time to get some ubdercoats on it..

Any brand your partial to is fine. Every brand has a some cheaper versions of there products..These cheaper poducts are generally used in the Fleet field..

If you are using your rig off road and maybe its just a daily driver the cheaper fleet systems would be just fine.. If you are refinishing a new car or are building a show rig then you'll want to use the more premium products. The premium products are more refined and allow you to put on a little better finish, and can be color sanded and buffed much easier. So that is something to contemplate. The cheaper systems are about half the price of the premium syatems.

If you are just going to do your rig, you may look into the cheaper spray guns. The more $ ones are nice to work with and will put down a little better finish, but there again on a daily driver you really wont see that much difference. I havent used many of the cheaper guns so I cant mention much there...I do know the newer DeVillbis, and Sata guns are really nice, thats what I use..I use the gravity feed models(cup over) If you buy a gun with a 1.5mm fluid tip you can use that gun to spray any product, with some modification here and there. Although Primers need 1.7/1.8 tips and topcoats need 1.4 tips..Like I said we can modify the mix a little to make a 1.5 work, I'll get to that later..

I'd like to mention some safety stuff before we go onward..

I have always used the 3M throw away respirators. You can use the kind where you just buy the mask and then buy replaceable filters also. Its a little work keeping the longer term masks clean, because of all the moisture that buidls up inside them from our breath condenstation. So I like to buy the throw aways so I dont have to clean it as much..The filters are good for about 25 hours or if you are tasting or smelling paint, get a new one. youll get a better seal around the mask if your clean shavin also.

You really should have a paint suit with a hood also. Paint products can be absorbed thru the skin so make sure you protect yourself. You may also look into some disposable gloves too..

I'm going to include some effects or overexposure symtoms so youll know. Paint is pretty nasty to work with. If you feel any of these symptoms coming on get yourself to clean air..I want you all to be able to recognize the symptoms..

The solvents in paint are Organic Solvents. Health hazards with short term overexposure include eye irritation, such as burning or watery eyes, also could be irritation of the nose and throat. Dizziness, headaches, and nausea. Skin problems can be dry, craked irratated skin. Some solvents can enter thru the skin or lungs into the blood and can affect organs such as the kidneys, liver, and central nervous system..

There are also some heavy metals incuded in paint such as lead or cadmium. There are others also..

The aftermarket paint MFR's use Isocyanates to cure most two part products..The iso's make the paint harden..The factory uses mostly heat at up to 350 degrees to cure the paint, so the iso problem only comes in when refinishing..We cant heat our vehicles to 350, it would melt the interiors.

These are the short term effects of iso's. You may have bad coughing spell, dryness of the throat or a burning feeling in the nose, throat or lungs. You may also have an acute asthma attack. If you are exposed to very high levels of iso's you may get chemical bronchitis, fluid in the lungs, flu like symptoms including fever and chills.

If you are feeling ANY of these problems get yourself to clean air quickly. You are not protected enough and before continuing get the problem takin care of. You should be able to use any paint product without any problems if you protect yourself.. Carey

[roadgrime]

I have done some foot work on some of the products he mentioned above
levineAuto has the SAS tyvek hooded paint suits for 10.99 I'm 5'10" and wear a large.
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/levineau...tyvhoodco.html and hands on tools has kimberly clark suits for 7.95 the standard ups ground got here in 4 days.

http://www.handsontools.com/store/show_product/?product_id=8365

additionally i found the develbiss finishline 3 for 113 at bradys tools

http://bradystools.com/

the masks i also found at handsontools
http://www.handsontools.com/store/li...ategory_id=473 for 17.00 for both the 3m and gerson.

[4x4n In A Cherokee In Colorado]

Since we have so much bare steel showing on the hood we need to create a chemical bond to get the primer to stick..

Primer except for just a few versions have no way of etching itself to bare steel. Primer can only stick well to bondo or old paint..Primer is based on some of the same formulas as the topcoat is.

Even the factory uses an etch coat to get the under/topcaots to stick to the steel its called ecoat(electrostatic coat). In the refinish field we have to spray an etch coat. This can either be epoxy or etch..

If you are just doing one panel at a time you will want to mask off that panel first, on a hood I like to tape around the bottom/inside of the hood. Youll need to tape up the fenders, grill, cowl panel too. Then close the hood carfully watching to make sure your mask isnt touching the hood where you want the paint to be.. Make sure and tape/mask up the jams so they dont become a different color.

Youll need your garage heated to 60 deg. or better and youll need to be able to replace the air in the garage with 60 deg. or better..So if your working in a garage youll need to wait till you have a nice day..The only way to get rid of any overspray is to let the garage vent, or get some sort of exhaust fan..Youll need some doors partially opened to vent out the fumes, and overspray..

You can use either etch or epoxy. I wouldnt say either is better. youll just need to pick one and go with it..They both have good and bad.

Epoxy is a two part product made up mostly of epoxy resins, so its pretty slow drying. It needs at min 60 degrees to cure..its generally mixed in a 2 to 1 ratio with the hardner being the lessor amount..After applying youll need to let it sit for at least an hour till you can coat it with primer..It has a 3 day window before it needs to be sanded. So you can epoxy one day and prime the next without worrying about needing to sand it to get the primer to stick.. It makes more of a glue bond or resin bond more than a chemical bond..It works VERY well as an etching product also..It also has some filling characteristics so you can minus a coat of primer you will be needing..Epoxy has the capability to make a hard barrier to any previous paint. It protects the new paint from counteracting/soak thru, with the old paint. After 2-3 hours you cannot rewet it. The primer reacts with the resins, and thats what make the primer stick to it. Epoxy works best with two medium coats but can be made to work with one heavy coat. I prefer two meduim coats..

The MFR's came out with etch to make things quicker in bodyshops..It makes a chemical bond to the metal. It is also a two part product, it is not a hardened product as it uses acids to bond it with the metal...It smells terrible and will really burn your eyes.. It needs to be recoated in less than 1 hour our youll need to sand it to continue. It can be sprayed in one over medium coat but has no fill characteristics, it drys very thin..It also has no barrier capabilities. Its best only used on big bare steel surfaces. The primer rewets it, thats how it bonds itself to the primer..

They both have there pluses and minuses, many people still use epoxy, the etch is somewhat new..

When we say one full coat, that would be the same as a final/last topcoat. It is more of a full shot with the gun. You go slower, with the fluid volume adjuster opened up more with a little more air pressure, also you will be holding the gun close to the surface. It is more like a flood coat, if that better explains it..Any double coats in a full coat setup will end up as runs, so when using your gun in full coat mode, youll need to really watch and pay attention, because if you double coat anything as your spraying youll end up with runs...This is another of those things that take some practice..

A medium coat is sprayed faster, further away, less pressure with the fluid volume choked down a bit..Most painting except for the final last coat is sprayed in this manner. When priming you will be spraying closer to the full coat mode, as the product is thicker and wont move as easilly..

Maybe I should talk about gun setup....
This will work with any gun..Any HVLP/LVLP gun needs to be held 4-6 inches from the surface, sometimes in full coat mode even closer. The other older type guns will be held 8-12 inches from the surface. On HVLP start around 30 psi at the gun, HVLP's need a guage at the gun, they are very pressure sensitive. Older guns need around 50 psi as a baseline..

On most guns on the handle there are two knobs/adjusters...The top is the fan control. On most HVLP most guys leave them in about 3/4 to 9/10ths mode, sometimes full fan, wide mode..They HVLP's have a tendacy to have a split fan in full fan so watch that. What I'm saying is the fan will not be uniform and you may have more paint being applied to the top and bottom of the fan more than toally even..

The older guns need to be test sprayed but many guys just use them in full fan mode..

The second knob below the fan control is fluid volume..

On any HVLP gun, Screw the fliud volume control knob all the way in to stop...Then back it off 3 and 1/2 turns, this is your baseline sitting. Many topcoats will spray very nice around this setting, give or take 1/2 turn... Primer may be best at 4 to 4 1/2 turns. Any time after using or before using the gun make sure your fluid baseline is 3 and 1/2 you will very quickly learn what products will spray best at each setting...You will learn how to spray VERY quickly...Many guys dont even know where there fluid settings are and get upset when every time they spray its either a dry finish or have runs(they cant find the happy medium).

So here are your baselines a a HVLP/LVLP type gun.
Air pressure 30 psi at the guage on the gun.
Fan control just a notch back from full.
Fluid control 3 1/2 turns.
I will be refering to these baselines many times as each product is just a little different..

On older guns, baselines will be.
50 psi at the gun.
Fan control wide open.
Fluid control 4 turns.

I haven't used the older guns in over ten years, so Ill have to go back in memeory on that and I probably wont be as accurate as I am on HVLP's. They are all I've used since '92..

Most all of our products are designed to be used with HVLP so if you dont have one look into getting one..They are marvelous!!

Well my fingers have about had it for now, so next time we will be applying the etch, We will save the epoxy till we do the hood that we are reusing the old paint..

Carey

[4x4n In A Cherokee In Colorado]

I think youd be very well off with that gun, RG, great price also!! Heres a few guns that I own just so you all know..I knew my devilbiss uses alot of CFM but didnt know it needed this much, look at the bottom of the page. 15.5 at 30 psi, you sure need big air for that, Uh? The gun you have in mind there would be perfect for you..I may buy one of those myself, just to try it.

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/levineauto/devmilhvgrav.html

I also have many SATA models. I own this one.

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/levineauto/satjet20hvgr.html

I also own a Sata 95 with 1.3 and 1.5 tips. I have a Sata 92 with 1.5 and 1.7 tips

I also own two LVLP Geo's 1.5 tips

I see the recommended pressure is 23 psi, Thats more like my Geo's, LVLP, they just keep getting lower and lower..Being that it comes with 1.8 and 1.5 you'd be all set Roadgrime!!

[4x4n In A Cherokee In Colorado]

Ok ready for the etch. It is generally mixed in a 1 to 1 ratio. It is sold as the etch in 1 quart, and the reactive reducer in the other quart. The reducer will make it able to be sprayed and also it will activate the etch.

Once mixed it generally has a pot life(the time it can sit without being used) of around 6 hrs. It goes along way so 2 qts would probably do the whole rig.

The etch is generally green and smells like acid. So youll need your respirater..

Be sure and stir the etch very well before using, the heavy stuff in it likes to settle to the bottom..

I like to use the plastic mixing cups that have a graduated mixing ratio printed on the side, makes mixing easy...

I would mix 8 onces of each, etch and reducer for just a hood...once mixed, get a paint strainer and pour the etch thru it into the paint cup.

Get a tack rag and go over the hood, tack rags are made of cheesecloth and then coated with a resin, they are very sticky and will remove any dust.

I would have gun setting on ar about:
Tip size doesnt matter for etch much, if your set up for priming with a 1.8 tip that will be fine.
20-25 psi at the gun
3 1/4 to 3 1/2 turns for fluid
Fan adjusted to 9/10ths or wide open.

I would do two medium coats if your new at painting..Have your gun about 6 inches from the surface and begin spraying in a 50% overlap method. On the next coat you may trying going the other direction. So if you went side to side on first coat, then maybe do front to back on the second coat. It will cover a bit better that way.

Etch needs little flash time, so you can do the first coat then go right to spraying the second coat..You can spray right over any bondo/muddwork or you can go around those parts as bondo does not really need to be etched, but you can if you want..
It will flash off very quickly(dry)

When your done put any unused in a spare can that you will be using for paint waste.

Get some junk thinner(lacquer thinner) and clean your gun and mixing cup...I like to put 4 ounces into the gun, swish it around and then put that into the mixing cup. It will probably take maybe two, three times to get the gun clean. Spray the thinner thru the gun. Get a parts cleaning brush and clean your paint gun , cup and mixing cup, and pour the waste into your waste can..

In the time it takes you to clean up, you will now be ready for the primer..Etch only has about 45min- 1 hour window before you would need to sand it. But youll need to let it sit for about 15 mins before priming it..So you will want to coat it after 15 mins and before 45 mins..

Next time we will be spraying primer..

[TexasJ10]

Will humidity effect these initial coats of etch and primer?

[4x4n In A Cherokee In Colorado]

You sure are showin us, your stuck in the old ways. This is a good example of how knowone gets along in this business. Everyone does things a bit different and everyone thinks there way is the only way..

Ok the on glaze your speaking of, your right it takes two days to dry and base coat doesnt stick well.That is lacquer putty.

That is something that hasnt been used in 20 years, but they still make it for the old schoolers who wont quit using it...

I'm not speakin of that!! This is two part glazing putty, and if your not usin the stuff your losing yourself money. It will cut your muddwork time in half..Two part glazing putty will holdout better than bondo.

I know youve seen bondo bleedthru(we all have) if you coat your bondo with glazing putty, you will never have bleedthru. Its now a thing of the past..

Another great + is you can feather your glazing putty right into the paint, creating a straighter job. You cant do that with bondo or lacquer putty! Its sounds like you have no idea what I'm talking about so do some homework there Gembox!! Heres a link::

http://www.autopaintersupply.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=TASI&Category_Code=UCP

Yes thats right, primer doesnt stick to bare metal..What I'm speaking of is chip resistance..Your not going to be able to blow your non ETCHED primer off with your airgun so your right on that accord. But you can do a side by side chip test with primer on bare steel and primer on etched steel. There is a HUGE difference. The primer on bare steel will chip at about a 3 to 1 ratio to the etched.. And the ETCHED version will have much smaller chipping with the same size grit/stone used in the test..

So get off it. Your making a total fool outa yourself...your just showin us you dont use it...I'm sure your work has shown it..

Yea I like to have my main regulator set at 90 psi. Any DA has its own regulator built into the side of it, I would think even you know you dont run a DA at 90 psi. You may have 90 psi available but I would think even you know you have your regulator on the DA set at a controlable speed. I would expect anyone that has the want to do this will figure that out when they start using any tool.. That is a pointless post..Your just pickin on me there!!

The thing is Gembox, there is many ways to skin this cat in your air cleaner..I have spent many years just as you have learning this...

What I'm posting here is what has worked well for me..I've explained this from the start..If you dont want to use glaze putty, or weld with an arc, or even ETCH steel thats great!! And all I said was you CAN weld sheetmetal with an Arc welder if thats all you got, I even said I bet I'll get flamed!! LOL... Well, DONE IT, it works pretty well too!!

But some of us out here dont like to get stuck in the rut..I'm always looking for more advantagous ways to do things with the highest quality, yea it may be cheaper to cut a corner, of skimp on appling a little more elbow grease, but your job will show it, maybe not as it rolls out of the booth, but it sure will 5 years later..

I bet you dont even know that you can install YOUR floors, fix rust outs, or even do whole panel replacements and never pick up a welder!

They now have a glue that has been factory and insurance approved that will glue the panels on. I was going to save this till later when I got into rust repair, but since your so worked up, I though I'd pull your cat tail a little harder..

I have been using this stuff since '98 and never seen a comeback.. Heres a link::

http://www.3m.com/us/auto_marine_aero/aad/prod_lines/duramix/duramix.jhtml

3M has been threatened so much by this product, they recently bought out the Duramix company. LOL....Its now a part of 3M...

We use this on many bed sides, quarter panels, roof/door skins, and installing rustout panels and never picked up a welder..I have used this on anything from a show winning 34 roadster to a super duty ford pick up.

We used this on maybe around a thousand vehicles and seen them comeback after they have been wrecked again..Works just like Duramix says it does..Awesome, the glue is actually stronger than steel..

I cant wait to see your old school opinion on that, Gembox!! I think your kinda comical, and its kinda a fun to row the boat with ya..So you go ahead and flame me!! Doesnt bother me!! I've had to spend many years working with closed minded induviduals such as yourself. And have seen more than one change there old ways after watching us younger guys do twice the work with new high tech products. Thats when us younger guys snicker at ya!!<wink>

If any one is interested I will do a detailed post on that explaining how great this product works, and replacing any kind of panel without a welder... Till Later Carey

[ February 25, 2004, 02:19 PM: Message edited by: 4x4n In A Cherokee In Colorado ]

[4x4n In A Cherokee In Colorado]

Well lets get to the primer!

Now I cant wait to explain how ANYONE can repalce ANY panel without a welder. Yea go ahead and toss your welder! You no longer need it to fix those rusty floors!! LOL
Sorry, but its hard to stop! I ENJOY challenges!!!

So as our ETCH is drying, get every thing cleaned up, I used to go smoke a cig, it was a wonderful between coat timer..

I'm only going to chat about Urethane Primer here. It is so technology superior to Lacquer Primer, its not worth mentioning old lacquer primer.

It seems most brands have there own mixing ratios, some use the primer with just a hardner, others use reducer added to the mix also. If your using a gun with a 1.5mm tip or smaller, I would be sure and get a primer that uses a reducer, hence giving you some viscosity leway..You really need to use a gun with at least a 1.7mm tip if your doing a primer job on the whole rig. If your just doing one panel at a time, youll be fine with your 1.5 tipped gun..The reason you need a bigger tip on a bigger job is the bigger tip will apply more product thus keeping the finish wetter. On smaller pieces, you are able to keep the panel wet, becuase you will be making your next overlap pass quicker..(hope I expalined that plainly, if not post a question)

Go ahead and mix up your primer in your mixing cup to MFR's specs. If your doing a complete with small tip you can add 5% more reducer and add more if need be up to 10%.

If your panel has alot of body work, mix a quart. If your panel has minimal body work, mix 2/3 of a quart..Mix it well in the mixing cup, and get a strainer and pour it into the paint cup. Get your paint suit on, disposable gloves, and resperator on..

Primer with hardners are just as dangerous as the final topcoat of paint is. In fact many primers are more dangerous using iso's in a richer content, to make the molecules go faster to flash the primer quicker. So dont be fooled, primer can put you in the hospital just as easy as any iso product if you dont protect yourself!!

Heres your guns settings::
2.0-2.2mm tip:
30 psi at the gun
full fan
3 1/2 turns fluid

1.7-1.8mm tip:
25 psi at the gun
Full fan or just a little less
4 to 4 1/2 turns fluid

1.3 to 1.5mm tip:
25-30 psi at the gun
anywhere from 3/4 fan to full fan
4 1/2 to 5 turns fluid

Hang you a piece of 18" masking paper on the wall and give the paper a quick shoot of paint from your gun, in these settings.

If you notice a split fan or egg shaped fan, adjust the gun, pressure, fluid, and fan, till you get a nice even fan..Its always good to do a test shot with your gun when it comes to doing any kind of spraying..If youll do this, you will catch any problems before hand...This is something many wont/dont do and the problem ends up in runs or dry spots on the car..Just please do a test shot, and make sure these settings I posted are going to be ok..These setting will get you in the ballpark..

Ok ready to spray! Go ahead and give your mudd work areas a full wet coat, with a 50% overlap(your next spray pass will invade 50% of the last spray pass) This may need adjusting, more overlap, the wetter youll be,(possibly more runs) Less overlap(dryer and rougher finish) 50% is the happy medium to start with...

When spraying your bodywork, go past the area by 6-8 inches. Do all the bodywork youve done..Get back on a level plane and check your body work for straightness.Take a mental note of any thing you dont like..If you see a very slight low anywhere you can do just a few thousandsth of bodywork right here with the primer..

Primer is a tool and can be used that way..But remember, it cant do miracles, but can fill a very slight low. Just a very slight low though!!

Go ahead and let your primer flash off for a few. Come back and do a nice wet coat just where the low is, walk away and let it flash. If you feel the low will not be filled with that 1 coat=1 mill(cig cellophane remember) come back and give it another coat, just where the low spot is..Let it flash...

This time do the whole panel, with a nice wet coat. We wont count the two filler coats you have just applied to the lows, you have two on the body work, and one on the whole panel..Let it flash and give it another coat.. you now have 3 body 2 panel..

This will be your last coat, I like to spray this one a little wetter than the last one..So now you have 4 bodywork, 3 on the steel.. And you could even do a 5th coat if youre worried..

Its ok I will be explaining how to reduce mill thickness and make the primer be used as a tool in later posts.. Most will end up being removed again in the dry sanding process later.. The primer will just end up filling where the panel really needs to be filled.

Get back on the level plane and if you see a spot that will need further work, take your finger and touch the wet primer with a finger tip marking the bad spot so we dont lose it later..Anything that you dont like can be fixed no prob later. Theres a few tricks we can use here also..

Since we are done spraying the primer, go ahead and clean up very throughly. It is best to remove the fluid tip from the gun and get a small brush and clean out the internals. Primer likes to leave a film thats hard to get rid of later..Clean everything well!! Pour any unused in your waste container that you also poured your ETCH and waste thinner into.. Till next time! Carey