[nespr0]

I have a 71 nova that I am seriously considering repainting myself. I have a big enough air compressor, and want to learn a new craft as well.
My first question is, can I rough up the paint that is on it (it was redone sometime ago and the paint job was terrible, however, it is very well bonded to the metal) Then go over that with a filler primer, then shoot color and clear?
Or do I have to strip it to bare metal?
Also, I have been looking at the soda blaster from eastwood, not bad for 300$. But how long does it really take to strip a car with one of those?
And what is flash time between coats? Because I will be making a pvc and tarp paint booth, so I dont have the luxury of using heat lamps to go through.
Anyway, glad to be a part of here. Looks like a great place to be.

[OneMoreTime]

One the rough up part just sand the car down throughly with a 80/100 grit paper to get rid of the scratches and get a good bonding surface for the new paint..yes you can use a good quality primer surfacer for the first (blocking coat) use a good quality wax and grease remover as those will remove silicone's and someone may have used some kind of silicone wax stuff in the past and that does interfere with paint adhesion. Once the primer is on then start the blocking which is the process of making all the panels straight and level..having some 3m guide coat on hand for that is very nice. Once you are satisfied with the body and all the dents are out shoot a final of the primer surfacer so you have a uniform color to paint over...

I am sure you will have some more specific questions..

Sam

When you get to shooting the base the biggest mistake I see is to hammer the base coat on you only need enough base to give full coverage as all base coat does is give the color..Then shoot the clear..

It is not necessary to strip to bare metal as we usually only do that on a full resto that is pretty bad to begin with..

I use my sanders to strip with and only need a spot blaster to get into the jambs and tight spots so I do not need the soda blaster any way so I would not get one.

Once the weather warms up flash times is not an issue as heat is what cures the paint and most all I know about does cure just fine if the metal is above 60 degrees..

Flash time is the amount of time needed to allow the solvents to come out of the fresh paint..If you do not allow sufficient time between coats of paint you can get what we call solvent pop where little bubbles appear in the paint..

Sam

[nespr0]

Well I have been looking at getting a DA sander and some good 100 grit to go over the body with, then I wanted to shoot it with Clausen Z Chrome Rust Defender.
After that I have no idea which primer to shoot it with after I have it blocked and sanded.
I also have no idea which paint type to use after (urethane, acrylic, etc...)
This isnt going to be a show car, but I do want it to look line, and I am wanting to shoot it in a burnt orange color, then take it to a professional body shop to have some flat black stripes layed on it.

Any advice on good (but not insanely expensive) paints?