Hot Rod Forum banner

first time resto

6K views 15 replies 5 participants last post by  deadbodyman 
#1 ·
ok guys its been a loooong time since iv been on the forum.

So iv finally decided to bite the bullet and attempt to restore my 81 trans am. i stripped the interior didnt find anything to scary. iv been sanding the car down to the original paint and even the primer in some places, my first question is this.

I bought 1 gal of self etching high build primer in grey, as i finish sanding a section of the care like the door for example i removed it from the car totally sripped everything off and out of it did repairs and sprayed it with rustoleum green self etching primer , it turned out really well, now i wanna spray the 1 gal grey high build self etching over it. is this an ok way to do it and what kind of paint should i use over the primers to get a proper result? its only a weekend project when i get home as im on the road alot so once i have the whole car in primer i want to hang the doors hood trunk lid etc and paint all the bolt on body parts at once before i spray the body. i hope this is making sense
 
#3 ·
It sounds to me like your willing to do all the hard work thats involved in doing an exellent job ...After a doing a couple hundred hours of hard work it doesnt make sense to use anything but quality materials...The way your doing it is like building a beautiful house on a wood foundation ,it just wont last.....Use epoxy primer over bare metal if you dont have a compressor and a spray gun ,get them ...before going any further.....get that stuff off there and back to bare metal then call SPI and get the epoxy primer ,its the best primer you can get and the price is right....
As for the build primer...wait.... your a long way from that but get SPI 2k when your ready,for all the ame reasons....
starting with the bare metal, epoxy then bodywork then epoxy over that (an epoxy sandwich) THEN you can use a 2K ...
 
#4 ·
i have a compressor and a 300$ hvlp gun set just haven't gotten to the stage where i can spray, i was advised by the place in my local that mixes the paint to use the self etching if and only if there is more paint on the car than bare metal which there is, i WAS going to just sand blast the car completely but bc this is project that i can only work on when i have free time at home iv been sanding as far as i can. so educated me bc im no body guy by any means haha what kind of problems will i run into if i continue on this course of action? where do i find a step by step guide on how to do a successful job start to finish?
 
#11 · (Edited)
Theres so much to know it'll just confuse you...Break it down into small sections or jobs.
job #1 how do I get it to the metal??? This alone is confussing enough...
The only true answear is every car is different ,we'll need to know more about the car, year ,how much paint is on it,etc,,,
basicly theres three ways to remove paint...
media blasting
chemical stripping
sanding
It would be well advised to read up on some of our old threads on these methods to find which one best suits you and the draw backs of each one..
Once the paint is off then theres the metal prep,and you thought paint removal was confusing...:drunk:
Theres a lot of opinions on whats best. but you'll find the general consensess is start with bare metal then epoxy not etch primer first off you cant put filler over etch primer it wont stick well ,you need to sand it off the spots where you need filler and there goes any sealing properties it has for the steal...
Making any sense so far ??????
 
#7 ·
I agree with Mike (Deadbodyman)...what you have put on your car needs to come off...It's apparent that you really like this car otherwise you wouldn't have put the hours into it that you have. If you want your work to last you need to get your foundation built....take the car down to bare metal (even the etch primer that you put on it)...I'm surprised... was it the place that mixes paint that recommended "rustoleum" etch? If it was, you may need to find a new paint supplier...swvalcon is also correct, if you can return the grey etch primer...return it.

You asked for directions on the proper way to rebuild your car.

#1) Take the car down to bare metal. Either chemically (stripper...this may not be an option for you because it does give off nasty fumes), or mechanically (sandpaper). Use 80 grit on a DA (Dual Action) orbital. Set the orbital to rotate only, not rotate and vibrate. Keep your paper sharp (change it regularly) and don't spend to much time in one spot. If you do, you'll create heat and could warp a panel.
#2) If you feel that blasting it isn't an option then strip it one piece at a time and put it in Epoxy primer. I have recently tried SPI (test panels only...a local shop was using it and donated some product for me to try) and so far I'm impressed. After years of using PPG's Epoxy, I'm quickly becoming a convert. From what I've seen of the SPI product so far, it is easy to apply, lays down flat and has more than respectable sanding qualities.

After you have the entire car in Epoxy, the body work can begin and that's a whole thread or several threads on it's own.

You mentioned that you had a compressor...what size of tank and how many CFM does your compressor put out. Very often, too small a compressor is used and this brings a whole new gamut of problems.

I hope this helps you get to your next stage.

Ray
 
#8 ·
That's good stuff lol I have a 20 gal compressor, for the time being - being I can't return the primer ill put it on the shelf for another project or use Otto protect the metal from rusting until the summer when I can blast the car, last time I blasted anything I rented a tow behind diesel compressor and a 200lb pot, I'm thinking ill soda blast it so not to distort the metal. The rust oleum was my doing iv used it before in other applications with great results and in a pinch I decided to use it to cover my bare spots to prevent rusting, wasn't sure of how it would react with automotive paints if at all, when it comes to cars it's in my blood but yeah I'm a beginner when it comes to the body for sure
 
#10 ·
Just my .02 here but I would personally not use soda blasting. It is virtually impossible to get all the residue off of the car after blasting and if you don't get it all off you are headed for major problems. Again jsu my two cents worth, but you may want to do a search on here and mybe SPI site for soda blasting just to get an idea of what I am talking about. Best of luck with which ever way you choose to go.:thumbup:

Here a link to one thread about soda.. http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/soda-blasting-83749.html

Kelly
 
#12 ·
If your using Otto (do you mean Ospho) Thats a sure way to get things screwed up....I use it on every car I do and theres a whole proceedure to follow...if its not followed to the letter you will almost certainly have trouble down the line...Dont get me wrong ,its great stuff and it'll most certainly prevent the metal from surface rust for yrs to come,but you really need to know how to use it properly....Its not very hard to use but theres a few things to watch out for...
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top