Paint and Body Fox Body Painting 101

[RaggedGT]

Today I stripped the bumper with my more aggressive DA and 180 grit.

After that I sanded into all of the gouged areas with 80grit by hand and started to apply the polyflex (a flexible bondo made for bumpers).

I took sections of about one foot long to repair at a time. Any larger of an area and it begins to feel overwhelming.

I also smoothed out the tear repair area and filled what was left in that repair.

After that I applied a coat of plastic adhesion promoter and then four coats of primer.

After the primer has had a chance to harden, I'll block it with 220 grit and check for any missed damage. I'll repair that and reprimer with two more coats and do a final blocking.

Better'n New Dave

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Better'n New Dave

Gooder'n New Chris

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Got the bumper blocked and repaired the little gouges and one wave that just needed filler and reprimered it. You may not see much as in polyflex wise other than the wave I took out. The gouges were pretty small.

BTW, if you have to do the same on your repair, be sure to sand down into the chip to make sure the bondo has something to grab on to.

I'll let it set for a couple days to do it's shrinking up.

So, hopefully it'll be Kona blue by Friday.

I'm picking up the hood today and will get after it. I'll need to finish stripping it first and then get it in etch and regular primer. I'm real curious to see how much bondo is under that cracked out paint.

 

[Dart68]

Dave,

I have the same problem that jrichter has with the clear coat peeling and fading paint underneath. Is it always necessary to completely strip the paint down to bare metal or can it be sanded smooth and repainted?

Thank for all your info in this thread!

 

[Dart68]

I don't know why you guys are still jerking around with internal combustion when one of you could clearly have a put a jet turbine in by now.

I tried to make an external combustion engine once. Didn't work. But the worst part was trying to explain to people why I didn't have any eyebrows!

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Dave,

I have the same problem that jrichter has with the clear coat peeling and fading paint underneath. Is it always necessary to completely strip the paint down to bare metal or can it be sanded smooth and repainted?

Thank for all your info in this thread!

Kind of yes and no, depends how long the paint has been delaminating.

If it's been awhile, the base coat underneath the clear will absorb various chemicals from the air and gives you an unstable base for your topcoat.

Generally, you can feather out the peeling clearcoat and primer the area similar to what you would do with a repaired area. Allow it a few days to harden and shrink back, then block it out and continue with the rest of the refinishing process.

The only problem you'll have is the shrinking back off the materials you spray on the car. After a week or two you might see sanding lines or a ragged circle imprint if you refinish it too quick. The trick is letting the primer shrink back as much as you can. If you can let the primer sit for a week before sanding it, or more, the better the end result will be in the long term.

Post a picture of your problem, i'll tell you what i would advise for your situation.

 

[Dart68]

Kind of yes and no, depends how long the paint has been delaminating.

If it's been awhile, the base coat underneath the clear will absorb various chemicals from the air and gives you an unstable base for your topcoat.

Generally, you can feather out the peeling clearcoat and primer the area similar to what you would do with a repaired area. Allow it a few days to harden and shrink back, then block it out and continue with the rest of the refinishing process.

The only problem you'll have is the shrinking back off the materials you spray on the car. After a week or two you might see sanding lines or a ragged circle imprint if you refinish it too quick. The trick is letting the primer shrink back as much as you can. If you can let the primer sit for a week before sanding it, or more, the better the end result will be in the long term.

Post a picture of your problem, i'll tell you what i would advise for your situation.

Thanks for the reply! I'll get some pics uploaded ASAIC.

Got another question for you...for priming, do you prefer gravity fed sprayers or is the siphon style still acceptable? I have a siphon cup and I sprayed primer before and seems to have done a good job. I was surprised at how well it shot the primer.. as well as my newb skill at shooting it (it was a trunk lid and quarter panel I shot).

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Thanks for the reply! I'll get some pics uploaded ASAIC.

Got another question for you...for priming, do you prefer gravity fed sprayers or is the siphon style still acceptable? I have a siphon cup and I sprayed primer before and seems to have done a good job. I was surprised at how well it shot the primer.. as well as my newb skill at shooting it (it was a trunk lid and quarter panel I shot).

Doesn't really matter, I fell in love with the gravity guns when they first came out. But they'll shoot the same when compared apples to apples.

 

[billison]

Here's a question for you Dave, when doing body work. Let's says filling a dent or covering a weld. How smooth does the body work have to be before you prime over it? And what can primer cover?

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Here's a question for you Dave, when doing body work. Let's says filling a dent or covering a weld. How smooth does the body work have to be before you prime over it? And what can primer cover?

Make the bondo feel seamless. Use a rag or paper towel on your hand to run your hand over the surface to check the straightness of the repair.

You'll want to use the dry clean rag because the skin on your hand will have the tendencies to feel each surface differently when run directly over it. You'll feel issues in the repair when there may be none at all when using your bare hand.

It's best to finish out the filler repair with 150-180 grit before priming. The deeper the scratches you have, the more primer required to fill it. The more primer you use will have more solvents that escape allowing for more shrinkage of it.

 

[billison]

For a part that is stripped to metal.

I could epoxy first

Then bodyfiller and 2k priming last?

 

[Davedacarpainter]

For a part that is stripped to metal.

I could epoxy first

Then bodyfiller and 2k priming last?

The reason I etch and primer my parts after sand blasting is to stop any chance of rust. I still go back and remove the primer in the area prior to spreading the filler. It's always best to spread filler directly to metal or plastic depending on what you're repairing, of course.

 

[billison]

Epoxy prevents rust as well correct?

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Epoxy prevents rust as well correct?

It seals the surface, so, in that way, yes.

 

[billison]

B

It seals the surface, so, in that way, yes.

But you recommend etch?

 

[Davedacarpainter]

B

But you recommend etch?

Not really, they're both good. Etch is just a little easier.

 

[Black1987]

@Davedacarpainter I'm planning on POR15 my engine bay, door jams, and trunk (eventually the entire floor but that will be a much later date). My engine bay has flash rust from a fire years ago, it patina'd and is just never gotten worse.

Should I sand down to bare, Por15 kit (digresser,prep, PO15)
Or
Etch it then the kit

or Just no sanding and use the kit

 

[Davedacarpainter]

@Davedacarpainter I'm planning on POR15 my engine bay, door jams, and trunk (eventually the entire floor but that will be a much later date). My engine bay has flash rust from a fire years ago, it patina'd and is just never gotten worse.

Should I sand down to bare, Por15 kit (digresser,prep, PO15)
Or
Etch it then the kit

or Just no sanding and use the kit

Use the kit, sand it down so you don't have any flaky rust first though. Always sand, it gives all topcoats something to hold on to.

 

[billison]

If you have clear access, - drill with a wire wheel will knock down flake easy

 

[Black1987]

Use the kit, sand it down so you don't have any flaky rust first though. Always sand, it gives all topcoats something to hold on to.

Sounds good to me, I just want it to be smooth and not as noticeable. I was literally showing my wife the pictures of your POR15 and some videos on their site; and gave me the idea to just go ahead and do the jambs since when I get it painted I can just do the outside.

Debating on the gray or black now.

Have you repair/prepped metal were the pain got hot before or just replaced the panel?