Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[whiteshadow]

Hi,

I'm in a similar position, and this is what I found.........

After worrying myself into a whirl about primers and moisture absorbsion vs the time it takes for filling etc....
Eventually I'm doing bit by bit and roughly filling and flatting the body, before brush applying rustbuster epoxy primer to protect it while I move onto the next bit......in the summer i'll do the full flatting and primer & top coats.

I went for Cellulose primer & topcoat...doing a test panel to check the colours and my ability!
......the good bit about cellulose is that you can cut it back to get a level surface, or rework.

While I love buying stuff from the internet, I eventually bit the bullet pushed past the hairy arsed guys and went to the local auto paint shop (to get a colour match).......the blokes in there honestly couldn't be more helpful, and give you down to earth advice without the confusing opinions of the internet forums!!

I found that it was a great idea to get an old panel (mind was off a washing machine), put in a few dents, then try to make it a nicely painted finished panel.........this is where you find all the issues, such as how the cellulose primer can sink into the filler!

Mark

Ps> while I wanted to avoid trapping moisture, I found wet sanding the cellulose primer was the only way to go. Dry sanding just clogs everything, wet sanding has a good feel, and the chap in the paintshop told me that the water really wasnt a problem. ( don't use soap)

[Desert Fox]

Just to put the paint issues into perspective.

Painting a chassis use a 1k or 2k Epoxy Primer especially on bare metal. This can over painted with a 2k PU or commercial vehicle 1k paints

Epoxy primer is what protects against the ingress of moisture / rust. Cellulose primer will not protect against rust. Celly top coat will not protect against oil, diesel, petrol, hydraulic fluid and will mark on contact.

Non of the commercial vehicle manufacturers use cellulose anymore.

Forget the likes of marine paints, although they will work they are expensive because they are designed for high corrosion areas. ie the sea.

Most epoxy primers can be over coated with a finish coat with little or no flatting. Just make sure the primer is cured properly before flatting either wet or dry - usually between 3 and 7 days depending on temperature. Or oven cure.

Epoxy and PU coatings will not be affected by chemicals including solvents after they are fully cured.

[petermeachem]

Another first time painter.
I'm stripping to bare metal. That's a lot of work but I have so much surface rust I think it is the only way.
I then cover that with phosphoric acid, sold as milkstone remover to dairies, a cheap way to buy it The acid will stop everything going rusty until you have enough stuff to spray sensibly.
Then grind it all off and use rustbuster epoxy primer. I'm at that stage with the body (this is on an Austin Ruby) and am working through paint / rust removing on the wings, bonnet and doors. I shall epoxy these in two stages as I don't have enough room to hang everything up and also it would take too long to de-acid all those panels.
I'm half way through that, but next I have some filling to do, and then cellulose primer and then topcoat. I think the primer and topcoat will take a lot less time and hopefully the finish will be ok.

I know what you mean about conflicting advise on the Internet. It's full o huge arguments between people saying you must do this, that is wrong etc.
I was worried about huge clouds of paint floating out of the garage and setting on the neighbour's cars and getting into trouble but there was none. I'm using a LVLP gun partly for that reason, partly because it needs less air and my compressor is weedy and partly because it wastes less paint, expensive stuff.
So far it is easier than I thought it would be but is taking far longer.

I certainly wouldn't use 2k. You need an airfed mask, meaning you need a compressor that outputs a lot of breathable air and you should have proper extractor fans / exhaust treatment. If you don't it is pretty much like inhaling superglue vapour which sets in your lungs. I'm quite old and wonky but that doesn't sound a good thing to do.

As I say, this is all from a first time painter. I'm doing what seems to me to be sensible and also what colwyn500 is doing!

[petermeachem]

I was watching some programmes on Quest yesterday as I wasn't feeling well about a couple of guys rebuilding a VW Beetle. It was really interesting.
One of them decided to spray the chassis to save some time and money. He did this in the garden and used the old suction type gun. The amount of overspray he got was impressive, he was standing in a big cloud of spray. I don't know if that was him, the paint or his gun, but with the lvlp gun I basically got none