[58Apache]

Ok guys, I am a beginner, and I am working with a body guy, but he's seldom there when I spray. I am paying him to teach me to do body work and prep for paint, as well as help out on a variety of things.

So anyway, I ran out of PPG Omni epoxy, and while I had some high build primer left, I wanted to try the SPI high build I had heard so much good about.

The body guy had me block with 80 first (Omni expoxy and high build) and we took off most of the Omni products on the top and he put glaze on it, and we sanded that down blocking with 80 grit. I applied 2 coats of SPI black expoy over the bare filler on the top of the car.

The roof had a vinyl top, so the rust was pretty bad and my repair job was far from flat when finished.

The quarters, trunk and rest of the back half were all covered in black SPI epoxy as well. Then a couple days later sprayed with SPI 2K high build, using a cheap Harbor Frieght paint gun. I used a 1.4 tip for the expoxy and 1.7 for the 2k high Build. I hope that was right? I didn't have any troubles with the 1.4, but that 1.7 tip always gives me a variety of problems, including leaks.

My wife said to me tonight "I don't see why you pay all that money for primer when you sand it all off after spraying!"

The first picture you see will be the black epoxy primer over raw metal and bare filler in most spots.

The second should be the 2K High Build on the quarter.

The final one is after block sanding the 2k with 120 grit using mostly long boards.

Steve

[mitmaks]

looks good

[BondoKing]

Lookin good bro.. glad to see you using spi too...I assume you are going to re prime and sand with 320-600 for base???

[baddbob]

Glad to see you're using a guidecoat and learning the blocking process, it looks like you're getting good advice from your helper. The SPI products Rock IMO.

[58Apache]

Thanks guys,

There's some low spots in there and my body guy said we'll likely put glaze on it and sand. He didn't seemed too concerned about the high spots for some reason. I am concerned about them. I am considering going with a black base coat on this car ....if I get brave.

I was advised by a friend to put the 2K on thick so I have plenty to sand and block with. Yeah I sprayed a light mist of black over the gray 2k and then blocked with 120 grit mostly on a long board, until I got all of the black off I could, but obviously went down to epoxy, and in some places, bare metal.

If it looks like I screwed up, please point it out. My body guy is only around part of the time, and I sometimes question his devotion to the job, but overall he's been pretty good. Still, I don't want to get to a finished product and realize I made a mistake.

As for the SPI products, the body guy liked it a lot better than the Omni I had originally used. I am not sure I would know good paint from bad, but it seemed to sand nice and didn't clog my 120 grit Norton Champaign paper hardly at all.

I put about 4/5 of the gallon on the top, quarters and entire rear section of the car. It's a 69 Chevelle. I guess I'm going to need some more 2k? I need to order some black base and some white as well for stripes anyway.

I'm trying to follow Barry's "the perfect paint job" as close as I can. So with the 6 coats of clear recommended, I guess I'm going to need another gallon of clear as well. Good thing the prices are decent compared to the big boys. A friend of mine is trying to go with the high end PPG paints.... and may have to wait to finish his car because of the cost of paint.

Steve

[BondoKing]

When the panels are flat and wave free you wont have metal showing here and epoxy showing there or bodyfiller showing.. it will all be even and flat... then you will be ready to seal up your work and move on to the next section...

You may also want to do one section at a time until it is perfect, then move to another.. it makes the task seem allot less overwhelming... stay focused and take a break if you need it... if something keeps going wrong.. walk away, come back in 15 minutes and things usually go much better.

[kenseth17]

Wrong? Things never go wrong, lol. How are them arms and muscles feeling after all the blocking 58 apache. Hang in there and get nice wave free panels for your paint. Looks like its going pretty well. You can also look down the panels after wiping with w&g remover and kinda get somewhat of a guage of how its going to look and I always check as I spray the primer on. I believe from what I've read that barry's epoxy dry's to a bit of a gloss, so guess that makes it easier to check before if put down right before paint is sprayed.

[58Apache]

My arms are tired, no doubt!

I have an air file long board, but my body guy hasn't let me use it for some reason. I am not sure of the logic as he hasn't explained it, but I'm trying to be a good student.

From the looks of my hands, I'd swear I was using the wrong side of the sand paper. You pros have my respect!

Any tips I can use to get those panels flat, I will be working on my own at night until Saturday. I do have a lot of block sanding to do though

...and clean the outside and paint the gas tank, get the straps ready, and I am sure a thousand other things. Oh well ...keeps be out of trouble ....and broke!

Steve

[Centerline]

Usually an air board sander is used to rough shape a flat panel. When you get to the stage your currently at hand blocking is the only way to go.

[kenseth17]

Many rounds of priming, guide coating, blocking with 180, with the longest board convient to use, filling any imperfections, minor low areas with spot putty if its something you think a filler primer won't take care of. You can step down to sanding after primer with 220 when the 180 was looking pretty good.I like to sand in an x pattern with the long board myself, different directions. straight on bodylines if they need work, been covered here before I believe. I use a viking air file often for everyday vehicles, but for what you are doing get keep using them long boards. Its your best bet to getting the panels straight. Depends on how absolutly perfect/ how its looking on how many rounds of primer. When you aren't breaking through in areas and the guidecoat is not being left in areas, break out the spray gun for a few more coats of primer. Guide coat that after its set at least overnight, and final sand for paint. I like to wetsand myself with a smaller block using a foam pad for areas the block wont get, not sure what others do. Don't get overwhelmed or in a hurry, and don't work yourself to being way too overtired. Take a break and get away from it awhile and do something else or just relax. When you are enthused to get back to work, go back to it. And like the polyester prince said, Do one panel at a time so you aren't trying to bite off a lot at one time and feel overwhelmed, can work at perfecting that and then move on. I am sure some of the professionals will have something to add, I am mostly a backyard bodymen now, at my present job things don't have to be as perfect, One shot of primer is all they get, and I don't paint at this one either.

[modas]

I have a question....

I'm assuming the high spots are the darker gray areas? Is this correct? How would you go about knocking those down? Would you use a shrinking disk? I'm assuming that you wouldn't have acess to some of those areas for a hammer/dolly.

Thanks for the help!

Joe

[baddbob]

If the high spot is really high you'll need to hammer and dolly it down. If the high spot is really slight with only a very small amount of metal showing I'll usually just skip over it a few times with a body file to remove just a little metal-this way I know it won't show the next time I block sand the panel.

[BondoKing]

Originally Posted by kenseth17

And like the polyester prince said,

Polyester prince...ROFLMAO... thats the funniest thing I read all day...

[kenseth17]

Polyester prince...ROFLMAO... thats the funniest thing I read all day...

I could of said polyester princess, but heard you were a big guy matt and look kinda like your avater, so I figured I better behave myself. LOL One things for sure, you got enough different names now. I figured you would like polyester prince, haven't seen that one used yet. Some of the posters have to pick up the slack for jc, it seems like he has been pretty quite around here lately.

If I have a high spot I will usually tap that spot down a little with a hammer or pick side if its real small and let more primer take care of it. If you are hitting primer underneath, but its not hitting metal, I would think you would be good with more primer/blocking. Working at the boat place I would grind away some of the metal and where a high spot of metal showed up, then sand out the grinding marks. This I did normally when I sanded the bodyfiller, and some high spots showed up but other then that it was good, and did it before it got primer. BUT those fabricated parts weren't thin like metal on a car, and wouldn't move with the tap from a hammer. Now on some of the newer crackerboxes that don't use real metal like back when they made the car your working on, you can literally take your thumb and some pressure to get minor high areas down.

[58Apache]

Originally Posted by modas

I have a question....

I'm assuming the high spots are the darker gray areas? Is this correct? How would you go about knocking those down? Would you use a shrinking disk? I'm assuming that you wouldn't have acess to some of those areas for a hammer/dolly.

Thanks for the help!

Joe

I took a pic tonight close up of the highs and lows. The grainy looking black is guide coat. The smoother black is the black epoxy base coat that I sanded through to on the high spots.

I also am including a pic of me sanding the trunk. Just look at the piles of dust I created with the sanding. My arms are feeling it for sure, but that's ok, I need the work out.