Epoxy prior to basecoat

MDPotter

MDPotter

Promoted Users
Here is my current plan, but from reading recent threads I'm not sure it's right so I thought I'd ask. After I am happy with my 2K, I plan to finish with 220 and then shoot one coat of full strength epoxy on a Tuesday. Thursday I would wetsand with 600 (only to fix any nibs or texture, not the whole panel), Saturday I would base/clear. I know about the 7 day window, but read in another thread that maybe that window reduces to 3 days for basecoat.

I'm trying to avoid a reduced coat of epoxy because it just adds another step and I'm not confident enough in my sanding skills that I can work my way up through the grits to 600 without leaving scratches prior to a reduced coat of epoxy. I also like to be able to sand between products when I can.
 
in all the bases i have used, i will not put base on epoxy more than 24 hrs old. now spi base that is not a polyester type seems to be a different story. that seems to stick better. typically i will block my 2k primer with 320 then buzz a orbital with a soft pad and a 400 or 600 disc on it over the primer just to remove the 320 scratches. at that point i shoot a reduced coat of epoxy then 15 min later i put my base on. there is nothing wrong with your procedure except the cure time between your epoxy and base application. you can sand your epoxy with 600 but i would still shoot a highly reduced coat of epoxy again just before base. think of it more like shooting an adhesion promoter before you base. just 1 light coat is needed.
 
You'll be surprised how thin the reduced epoxy sprays. Think of it like it's your first coat, not like another step. Don't use your primer gun for it, use your base/clear gun. Takes less than 30 minutes, and wound up being no big deal for me. Jim C won't steer you wrong...
 
I was under the impression that 320 was not aggressive enough to level 2K. But if I can start with 2K then I have more confidence to not end up with scratches in the final finish. Can you go from 320 straight to 600?
 
I like your idea of 1 unreduced coat of epoxy after 2K because it gives you 1 final look at your surface in shiny epoxy, and 1 final chance to repair something before sealer, base and clear. However, waiting from Tuesday until Saturday between epoxy and base would worry me without a reduced coat of epoxy. Cheap insurance. FINAL coats of 2K can be blocked with 320, then 600, but starting with 220, then 320 to 600 will get it flatter. Just did a VW bug, and I blocked the first coats of 2K with 120, guide coat, then 180. I went through a few spots, so I sprayed 2 coats of unreduced epoxy thinking I was going to spray 2 more coats of 2K the next morning. It came out so nice I skipped the 2K and just blocked the epoxy with 320, wet sanded with 600, sprayed 1 coat of epoxy reduced 25% with 895, waited a little over an hour and shot base. If I would of shot 2K again, I would have started with 180 or 220 to get any wave out, then refined with 320, then to 600. If you use guide coat between grits, it will show you when the deeper scratches are gone, and will give you the confidence to know they are gone. I have found that one coat of reduced epoxy doesn't add any more texture than a coat of base, but will cover scratches better.
 
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