Proposed Amendment to "The Perfect Paint Job"

crashtech

crashtech

Combo Man & Mod
Bare metal is always best cleaned with 700-1 Waterborne Wax and Grease Remover and then let it sit 60 minutes before applying the epoxy! After first reading our Epoxy Tech Sheet mix enough SPI Epoxy Primer to spray 2-3 wet coats over the entire car. Spray one wet coat and let flash about 30 minutes then apply a second wet coat (3rd coat is optional). Let the epoxy sit overnight then apply body filler or glazing putty over the epoxy. Let the epoxy sit 48 hours before applying polyester primer. It is not necessary to sand the epoxy before applying the fillers (within the first 7 days
of spraying epoxy) as they will bite into the epoxy and feather great. When you have finished sanding all the bodywork you are likely to have some bare metal spots from sanding. Spray one wet coat of epoxy over all filler spots and over any bare metal spots.
Now let the vehicle set overnight.

Before spraying 2K primer, all bodywork should be checked to be sure there are no pinholes or low spots that need filling with body filler or polyester putty. If additional filling is necessary, it should be done at this stage, and another coat of epoxy should be applied.
Now let the vehicle set overnight

The next day you can start spraying the 2K primer over the epoxy. Once again, it is not necessary to scuff or sand the epoxy before applying primer. The most important thing to remember at this point is spray one wet coat of 2K primer and let it sit for 5 minutes before applying the second coat. Follow this procedure between all coats of 2K Primer. This step when abused messes up more paint finishes than anything else! When all the primer blocking, and any necessary primer repairs are finished it is always best to use the epoxy as a sealer. Mix up enough epoxy to go around the car with one wet coat and adding a double shot glass of SPI 885 Urethane Reducer per quart. Let the epoxy sit for 30 minutes. Stir one more time and strain. Spray one full wet coat of epoxy over the entire car. The epoxy should sit for 6 hours before spraying basecoat, the best option is let it sit overnight.
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In bold is my proposed addition to the "Spraying Primers" section. I don't know if such a change would even be wanted, but I do think it is worth discussing. If it is found to be desirable, I'll edit the post as we go when changes are recommended. Perhaps then the amended procedure could make it into a future version of the Tech Manual.

The reason I am proposing this change is it is becoming apparent that people following the perfect pant job procedure are often moving to 2K urethane before the bodywork is actually done, then filling on top of the 2K. This is not best practice, and should be discouraged, in my opinion.

I wanted to keep the addition as short as possible, but some things are left out, like how the checking gets accomplished. Typically I would say it gets checked by blocking with 150/180/220, but that might require going to 2 coats of epoxy beforehand, which could create a problem for people at lower temps.

I'd really like everyone's feedback on this.
 
crashtech said:
I wanted to keep the addition as short as possible, but some things are left out, like how the checking gets accomplished. Typically I would say it gets checked by blocking with 150/180/220, but that might require going to 2 coats of epoxy beforehand, which could create a problem for people at lower temps.
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I like your addition, as someone that has only painted one vehicle this step you have highlighted is an important one that gets you out of cutting corners after the 2k is down.

I know you wanted to keep it short as it turns into a deal of where do you stop, but I personally like the addition that I quoted and feel it should probably be added. Someone new isn't really going to know how to check their work adequately. I didn't know and I didn't do enough of it when I did mine.
 
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Dean Jenkins said:
Don't know if it should be in the manual, but my biggest learning has been "Do better metal work before filler, do better filler work before 2K primer." Those two things will save a lot of sand, spray, sand through, spray more epoxy, sand, spray, sand, spray . . .
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If someone hasn't done it a lot, I think where they learn that it needed to be better is in the proposed extra step. Block, add more filler, epoxy prime, rinse, repeat.

Thanks for the replies, I hope some of our resident pros will add to the discussion as well.
 
Before spraying 2K primer, all bodywork should be checked to be sure there are no pinholes or low spots that need filling with body filler or polyester putty. If additional filling is necessary, it should be done at this stage, and another coat of epoxy should be applied.
Now let the vehicle set overnight
Click to expand...
It's worth mentioning, I don't like the idea of putting filler or 2K putty over 2K primer. And the darker shades of epoxy (SPI) do show what's going on especially if you run a block over it.
 
Dean Jenkins said:
Don't know if it should be in the manual, but my biggest learning has been "Do better metal work before filler, do better filler work before 2K primer." Those two things will save a lot of sand, spray, sand through, spray more epoxy, sand, spray, sand, spray . . .
Click to expand...

I think its human nature to want to finish something and give it the finishing touches, such as working hard on metal work and late one evening wanting to put it in epoxy for a feeling of accomplishment. I like to come back the next day to check again to see if I'm really ready for it, and I always find that I was just tired and wanted it over with. Its like looking twice before pulling out in traffic.

I've said it before---rolling a long straight edge across a panel will tell a lot about how straight it is, but like everything else, there is a learning curve to it.
 
Dean Jenkins said:
Don't know if it should be in the manual, but my biggest learning has been "Do better metal work before filler, do better filler work before 2K primer." Those two things will save a lot of sand, spray, sand through, spray more epoxy, sand, spray, sand, spray . . .
Click to expand...
Before better metal work stage should be , buy a nicer car to start with lol
 
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