Base over epoxy sealer or straight over 2 full coats

S

Stros

I have some panels that i sprayed with three coats of epoxy about 3 weeks ago . I did some filler and blocking to 220. There is some sand throughs. My plan this week is to spray 2 more full coat of epoxy tomorrow, let it dry for 48 hrs then sand to 400. My question is after that I want to spray SPI med red base. Can I base right over the 400 surface ( still in the 7 day window) or should I spray a sealer coat on then base? If you spray a sealer coat in the evening Friday , is it okay to base 3 coats Saturday morning then wait to clear until Sunday morning?
Thanks for the help.
Mark
 
If you're going to block it with 400, personally YES id put sealer down. If you don't break through you don't have to( say for a work truck or something that you're not too concerned with), but 400 is a little coarse for my taste to put down basecoat on. If you're using reduced epoxy than yes you can spray base the day after as long as you're in the 18 hour window that the tech sheet states for epoxy as a sealer, if you're going to use urethane sealer than you'd have to rescuff the next day before putting base down. Yes again, after you spray base waiting until the following day to spray clear is the perfectly acceptable and helps a ton with solvent release.
 
This is a bed for a 1948 chevy pickup. All new metal panels. This is my first attempt at painting base and clear. It's going to be a daily driver not a show piece. I still want to do the best job I can. Should I take the blocking up to 600? Thanks for the info.
 
First thing you should decide. Are you going to seal it or not ? If so,400 should be fine as you are dealing with a solid base coat not a metallic. I prefer to stay within the 25-35 % range with that grit finish but if you bring it up to 600 you can reduce a higher percentage and base quicker. But Barry's saying that has stuck with me for years " slower is faster" comes to mind. If you're not in a rush to get it done and out the door and on the road than epoxy seal it, wait between 2-18 hours for basecoat, and then you can wait over night to clear. If you want to just base it, than yes bring your finish grit up to 600 and that should be good to go assuming you don't burn through. anywhere.
 
What happens if you have some very small breakthroughs? Is it best to spot prime with 1:1 mix or will the sealer coat take care of it? I have sanded most of my panels to 400 grit and some to 600 but did get some small sand throughs.
 
Epoxy sealer coat will take care of! A common call I get and thanks for bring up.
 
Thanks Barry, I took your advice and shot the epoxy sealer this morning. Worked great!!! I waited 2 hours then started with the SPI medium red. Beautiful color, exactly what I wanted. I did have 1 small run on the third coat. Is there any way to deal with this? I am letting it sit over night and was going to start with clear tomorrow. Can I wet sand the spot? Would I need to reapply base to this area? I remember reading somewhere that you can us a razor blade and scrape the high spot off. Not sure i want to do that I imagine the base would still be soft? Any suggestion would be appreciated .
 
Thanks Barry, I took your advice and shot the epoxy sealer this morning. Worked great!!! I waited 2 hours then started with the SPI medium red. Beautiful color, exactly what I wanted. I did have 1 small run on the third coat. Is there any way to deal with this? I am letting it sit over night and was going to start with clear tomorrow. Can I wet sand the spot? Would I need to reapply base to this area? I remember reading somewhere that you can us a razor blade and scrape the high spot off. Not sure i want to do that I imagine the base would still be soft? Any suggestion would be appreciated .

Just wet sand and rebase the spot. Razor blade stuff is more for clearcoat runs, and even then there are ‘safer’ ways to fix them.
 
I always spray sealer before paint. Doesn't matter what it is. Helps keep worry down also cause you know less chance of something coming back later.
 
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