V
Vlad
I am a beginner hobby painter and have time for painting only during weekends (and not every weekend actually as I have a family). I also need to drive to the garage where I can paint and then drive back to another garage where I can keep my car protected from the rain (we have rain almost every second day this summer).
So in practice this means that on Saturday, I arrive to the garage where I can paint, take a panel or two from the car, prepare it for painting, then shoot some paint and leave for drying overnight. Next day, all I can do is just put the panels back on the car and drive back to another garage for storage. Then after a week or two, I can move to the next step (whatever it is).
It is obvious that the perfect paint job procedure is not practical for me as it will take me forever to finish painting the way I do it. It is actually acknowledged in description of the perfect job that the procedure is not practical for everyone.
But what deviations can one make from the perfect job in order to speed up the painting process without compromising the quality too much?
As I said I am only a beginner, but I have read a lot about painting (including almost everything on this forum). Based on how I understand the painting process, this is what I plan to do:
Step 1.
Srip the paint (DA 80), then bondo work directly to bare metal (using high quality 2K polyester putty). Then 1 wet coat of epoxy, then 1 hour later followed with 3 coats of 2K primer (with 30 min flash time). Let dry overnight. Next day, put the panel on the car and drive home for storage of the car in a garage. Let the car dry in the garage for a week.
In my view, the above can be done over one weekend for one panel (maybe two). The perfect job would require 3 weekends.
It seems a bit controversial whether bondo application directly to metal provides a good protection from corrosion. So I would really like to hear opinion of experienced people about this. Some say that epoxy first, then bondo is the way to go, but some actually claim that direct bondo to metal is superior for corrosion protection.
Another thing that I would like to find out is if it is a good idea to put 2 wet coats of epoxy and then after 1 hour – 3 coats of 2K primer with good flash times. This is normally not recommended, but maybe if you let the car sit for 1 week, then everything will be fine?
Step 2.
After letting the car sit for 1-2 weeks, block the 2K primer with 150 grit as required. Then 1 wet coat of epoxy to seal sand troughs and then (1 hour later) shoot 3 coats of 2 K primer. Next day, put the panel back on the car and drive back for storage. Then let the car sit for 1-2 weeks.
This step can also be done over one weekend versus at least 2 weekends according to the perfect job.
Step 3.
Block the panel with 320 dry, followed by 600 wet. Then shoot 2 coats of single stage acrylic urethane. Next day, put the panel back on the car, drive back to the garage for storage and after 1 week of drying, the panel should be ready for getting outside.
I would really like to hear the opinion of the experts here about the above procedure, because that is what I actually plan to do at the moment. As I said, I am only a beginner. So I am not sure if my plan is sound or not.
One thing is for sure: the perfect job is absolutely impractical for me and I need to make some shortcuts. I understand of course that shortcuts lead to poorer quality, but hopefully a reasonable compromise can be achieved.
So in practice this means that on Saturday, I arrive to the garage where I can paint, take a panel or two from the car, prepare it for painting, then shoot some paint and leave for drying overnight. Next day, all I can do is just put the panels back on the car and drive back to another garage for storage. Then after a week or two, I can move to the next step (whatever it is).
It is obvious that the perfect paint job procedure is not practical for me as it will take me forever to finish painting the way I do it. It is actually acknowledged in description of the perfect job that the procedure is not practical for everyone.
But what deviations can one make from the perfect job in order to speed up the painting process without compromising the quality too much?
As I said I am only a beginner, but I have read a lot about painting (including almost everything on this forum). Based on how I understand the painting process, this is what I plan to do:
Step 1.
Srip the paint (DA 80), then bondo work directly to bare metal (using high quality 2K polyester putty). Then 1 wet coat of epoxy, then 1 hour later followed with 3 coats of 2K primer (with 30 min flash time). Let dry overnight. Next day, put the panel on the car and drive home for storage of the car in a garage. Let the car dry in the garage for a week.
In my view, the above can be done over one weekend for one panel (maybe two). The perfect job would require 3 weekends.
It seems a bit controversial whether bondo application directly to metal provides a good protection from corrosion. So I would really like to hear opinion of experienced people about this. Some say that epoxy first, then bondo is the way to go, but some actually claim that direct bondo to metal is superior for corrosion protection.
Another thing that I would like to find out is if it is a good idea to put 2 wet coats of epoxy and then after 1 hour – 3 coats of 2K primer with good flash times. This is normally not recommended, but maybe if you let the car sit for 1 week, then everything will be fine?
Step 2.
After letting the car sit for 1-2 weeks, block the 2K primer with 150 grit as required. Then 1 wet coat of epoxy to seal sand troughs and then (1 hour later) shoot 3 coats of 2 K primer. Next day, put the panel back on the car and drive back for storage. Then let the car sit for 1-2 weeks.
This step can also be done over one weekend versus at least 2 weekends according to the perfect job.
Step 3.
Block the panel with 320 dry, followed by 600 wet. Then shoot 2 coats of single stage acrylic urethane. Next day, put the panel back on the car, drive back to the garage for storage and after 1 week of drying, the panel should be ready for getting outside.
I would really like to hear the opinion of the experts here about the above procedure, because that is what I actually plan to do at the moment. As I said, I am only a beginner. So I am not sure if my plan is sound or not.
One thing is for sure: the perfect job is absolutely impractical for me and I need to make some shortcuts. I understand of course that shortcuts lead to poorer quality, but hopefully a reasonable compromise can be achieved.