I’m doing a lot of body work myself in the next few weeks, and it will be major crunch time during my spring break (march 21-28) to get the car painted for HIN.
This is my first time doing body work, and thankfully I have assistance from a professional. But before I totally go off of his opinion on paint, what primer and paint should I use?
I’m going with a Nissan Green, I want it to be drab, so ill be using a black primer coat. I noticed there were different types of primer, and it seems as though 3M is the most recommended.
The paint available to me by the shop is PPG I believe, should I use other brands? And which clear should I use. (note that these processes will be over a span of a week after prep IE, i do plan on wetblocking the primer, doing 4 or more coats of the paint, shooting clear, then wetblocking the clear)
Thanks in advance guys, I did a few searches, and ended up with great body work tips, but nothing to extensive on primer, except people wanting to paint their car primer black or some crap.
hey! Use a high build primer since you are doing alot of body work. Hides sand scratches, and very forgiving on body work. There are alot of primers out there. The best one is the one that is within your budget. You want to use one that is compatible with the paint brand you are using. Nothing worse than having your new paint peel off because the paint did not stick to the primer. Ouch! You want to seal it too. They do have highbuild primer/sealers out there so check them out. Don’t be like those other jackasses and drive around in a primered car. Primer does not protect underneath. Moisture will seep through it and rust underneath. Especially where filler was used. Moisture will then seep under that. Frickin disaster after all that work! You want to atleast throw a coat of base ontop of the primer if you are not planning on clearing the car anytime soon. Here’s a great tip: Get a primer that is close to the color of the base you are going to be spraying. This way you cut on paint costs, because you use less paint to cover the primer. Don’t go crazy on spraying paint. Use enough to completelly cover the vehicle. 2 or at the most 3 coats. You dont want to have a “thick” looking paint job, cause I can bet you will be spraying on top of the original paint. Clear now that’s another story.
Paint and clear should be of the same brand. Again, if not compatible expect the clear to peel off. Ouch again.You can also run the risk of nasty fish eye all over the finish, and clouding of the clear. You will never get that off! I don’t care how much you wet sand and buff. Money down the drain. You feeling lucky?
PPG is a great product. Many options to choose from. Prices vary, the better the paint, the more it will cost. Get one that has a catalyst. It is used primarily for OEM finishes.
I follow these steps when painting. Primer-sand-guide-sand-primer-sand-base-base-clear-sand-clear-let dry 24 hours-sand-clear-sand-let dry- buff. If not painting in a booth, you might need to scuff the base or tack.
i did some painting on my truck before i moved here to cali. from what i have noticed, a lighter primer will always make the paint a bit brighter, and on a darker primer of course it will be darker. i used 3M primer, house of kolors paint and clear. it took me a while to get it right because you wont see the true quality of the paint if the clear isnt shot well. but after numerous hours of buffing the clear the true color came out. i suggest you do use 3M primer, worth the cash. also PPG is a verryyy good brand also, expensive but good. show us pics of the finished product, hope i helped a bit. :hmm:
both of you guys helped a lot! I cant tell you TEGFREAK how much youve helped me with just one post! thanks for the great advice and guidelines, I will definitely get down to purchasing the materials this week. I’ll have my booth time setup for sometime next week. wish me luck guys!
Glad my advice was able to help. DaPNOY is right on the money with darks and lights. Keep a steady hand, do a 50% overlap, don’t stop between panels, and if using an HVLP gun, keep the psi low on the clear to save on material, and cut on overspray to avoid too much final wetsanding like DaPNOY had to do. You will be fine. Let us see pics of the process!!
I’m plannig to do all my own body work to. Have never done the work before. Are the any good links or books that i can read?
There is rust on the other side of my quater panel window. It’s looks like it’s running down on the inside. The car is Black and i want to keep it black just want to make it look brighter and cleaner.
Can’t wait to see pics.
This is a very helpful post. Bookmarked and Printed. Thanks Guys
