Newb advice on primer complex piece and two different color basecoats

J

Jonnieblaze

Hey everyone,

I've got some tube fenders for a jeep that I need to paint. They will look like this when I'm finished building them. Obviously they have a lot of nooks and crannies so I have to get primer into all these places without putting it on so thick it runs. Seems a little more difficult than just a flat body panel?
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In the end, I want it to be epoxy primer'ed, flat black basecoat for the outside tubes along the perimeter and the underside(like from a spray can so I can do really fast touch ups....they'll probably be rubbing branches and such a lot), and a silver paint on the sheet metal panels (to match the jeep)

I'm getting some paint guns,a regulator, and air filter from harbor freight and I'm looking for an air compressor that will put at the 12 CFM's @ 40 psi the gun requires. I'm having a hard time finding one of those on a budget.

I want to make sure I have my process correct and I have some questions too. If you don't mind, could you give me some input on where I'm going wrong with my plan?

I dont have a DA sander so I was just going to sand the whole fender by hand with 180 grit.
  • I do have a sandblaster that I could use with whatever air compressor I get. Would that be a better option?


I will then clean the metal with SPI wax and grease remover or some over the counter stuff at the local paint supply shop....not sure yet. But I know to use gloves, dont use lacquer thinner, and don't use any rust prevention stuff.

After that I'll wait 60 minutes then primer it with black SPI Epoxy following their directions and setting up my gun according to the directions.
  • Can I hit all the nooks and crannies first then go over the whole fender and call that "1 coat" or will it run if I do that. Or maybe I should do nooks and crannies first, then wait for it to 'flash dry' or whatnot, then give the whole thing a coat, then repeat?
  • If I am putting a silver basecoat on afterwards, is black epoxy the wrong choice?

After the epoxy is on I think my options are to put high build primer on or go straight for base coat. Keep in mind its a jeep so it doesn't have to be perfect like a show car.
  • Sealing before the basecoat is optional right? I probably won't do this...
  • Can I skip the high build primer, do some light sanding on the epoxy, then go straight for basecoat? I dont want it to look like crap...but again, doesn't need perfection
  • I'll need to tape off parts of it when I do that basecoat because some parts will be flat black and others silver. How long should I wait so the tape doesn't mess up the primer?

After all that I need to clear it but I think I only need to clear the silver part right? The flat black is going to get beat up anyway so I think clearing that would 1) make it glossy instead of flat and 2) make it harder to touch up.

Thanks for the input and sorry for the long post.
 
Jonnie,
If your not concerned with smoothing out the welds or the flat parts of the panels just do the following: clean with waterborne w&g remover, sand with 80 grit and red scotch brite in hard to reach places (sand blasting would work too) clean again with waterborne. After an hour spray 2 coats of epoxy with 30 mins between. Wait a few hours then spray base then clear coat. Then after clear is dry (I'd wait overnite), mask off for the flat black and spray (note: the black epoxy can be reduced with fast reducer then used as your flat black; far more durable than spray can paint and easy to touch up)
 
i would use barry's bed liner instead of rattle can flat black. tuff stuff and could still be touched up with a rattle can.

the epoxy can be brushed into tight spots before you spray.
 
Sometimes I use two guns to paint stuff like that. I will cut in the tight areas with a touch up gun, then go over the whole thing with the full size gun.

I might put urethane primer on the upper portions that will be painted silver. Silver will readily show poor prepping, so while it doesn't have to be straight, it should at least be smooth.

Agreed on the bedliner, or, on a budget some spray can undercoating might work out OK. Either will repel rock chips better than spray can flat black. If you want to use undercoating, I can suggest a couple types that work good. Some are just nasty.
 
Thanks for the help guys.

I've read that the epoxy will only last 5 years or something if it is used as the top coat and sees a lot of UV...would that make it bad choice for the flat black portion?

I'm working on a budget so I'm not sure I can afford bed liner spray. Plus I don't want any texture in the flat black, just smooth. I dont know of any bed liners that do not have any texture.

Two more questions:
1) If there are some rough spots on the metal that I didnt get smooth before epoxy, can I sand the epoxy smooth and still not do high build primer? Or would I need high build primer in that case?
2) I have these two front fenders, two rear fenders, a roof rack, and two tube bumpers that will need epoxy primer. How far will a quart of epoxy and a quart of activator go? I'm guessing I need the gallon sizes but just curious.
 
you can use epoxy for your fill primer and finish coat. i use only epoxy to fill with. shoot and sand until you are happy then do a nice smooth reduced coat or two. then tape off and shoot your silver.
 
So I can use the reduced epoxy as the flat black and it won't degrade in the sun after a couple years? I had just read somewhere that it would. Can't find it now.

I'm trying to do this on a budget so I'm looking at the cheap harbor freight purple guns that seem to be good enough (but obviously not great). The problem with them is the high CFM requirement (12 CFM @ 43 psi). I'm having a hard time finding an air compressor that will keep up with it. The ones that can keep up are very expensive and outside of my 'hobbyist' budget. Are their any other options? Could I spend 30 or 40 more for a gun that will not require so much air? I just read about a LVLP Grizzly gun for about $50 but I can't find it in stock anywhere. That would let me use my current compressor and would reduce the overspray I'll be getting in the garage. Any other things I should look into besides increasing my budget...lol?
 
Jon, the black epoxy will hold up better to uv than any rattle can or activated basecoat. If the pieces your spraying are no bigger than the fenders you can buy a knock-off minijet detail gun. They don't use much air and will lay down the paint just fine on smaller jobs.
 
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