M
MORE IMPATIENT
Hello all, name is Rick. I'm new to the forum. Prepare for a small novel.
I have been using SPI products in the shop for the last 7 months. I have had great end results but with multiple issues with soak up/ring up on a variety of different vehicles. I had these issues terribly on the first car I did in the new shop, it was a 72 Porsche and involved a ton of bodywork with a wide body front and rear conversion. I was using the spi high build 2k primer. I blocked the car down, did all my bodywork and put 2 good coats of high build on with the proper recommended flash and wait times ( always waited 24 hrs to block). I then guide coated the car , fixed some issues and repeated with another 2 coats a couple days later. I blocked the car down again and put 2 more coats on to avoid any misgivings later on. Once the car sat for at least a week while I was on vacation I came back and blocked the car down and prepped for paint finishing off with 600 grit on a softpad d/a. Sprayed everything, it all came out great. Upon the recommendation I let everything sit out in the sun for a few days before doing any finish work. Once satisfied that 3 days in the sun was enough, I sanded the car down and buffed it to perfection. Fast forward a couple days and I get everything to the owner and its all mirror finished. Owner was quite happy and so was I, I go over to his house a week later to look at his other car that he wants painted and the entire car I had done has ring/soak up issues all over the place. I ended up having to sand the entire car down and buff it all over again. I'm glad I put 3 coats of clear on so I had that safety net to not burn through. I was mind boggled because over the last 8 years using Dupont chromasurfacer I have never had such large soak up issues.
In the very end everything turned out beautifully, but with a ton more effort that I'm used to having to do to achieve the finish I want. I love the U.V clear and I'm just under the assumption that since my bodywork is showing through and sand scratches from the 80 grit block when doing the initial bodywork, it has to be the primer shrinking/soaking up the longer it sits. I can see my 80 grit block scratches and from wherever my bodywork feathered out its ringed up. Can anyone provide any added tips if they've experienced this for ways to avoid this as it would be very nice to figure it out.
Fast forward a few months and I have the 2nd Porsche in for an all over paint job, its white, there was minimal bodywork on the car after blocking it down, only a few spots on the car and a few dents on the rear trunk lid. After talking with my jobber over the major issues I had with the previous car I decided to take even further precautions. This time after I finished my bodywork on the trunk I primed the trunk lid and let it sit in the sun for 3 days, blocked it down, primed it twice with high build and brought it home where it sat inside for a week while I was working my other job and out of town for a few days. After guide coating and blocking it down it all felt great and blocked down perfectly, finish that off with 320/500 on a softpad. Get everything sealed, painted and cleared and let it sit for 4 days outside. This trunk lid couldn't have been any slicker. I put it under the fluorescents, brought in the booth to triple check, took it outside with my sunglasses on, turned on the hid lights to check under all kinds of conditions, it was perfect.
I get the owners car back to him a few days later and we get the trunk lid on. It looks great still.
I brought him the rest of the pieces for his bumper this morning, I check the trunk lid just to be sure, and the entire thing has soaked up everywhere I did bodywork, just ringed up everywhere. I am going back over there tomorrow to sand it back down and repolish it.
Im using the 3m premium filler, I usually finish off with a skim coat of dolphin glaze if needed, just fyi.
What am I doing wrong here ? Ive been in the industry for nearly 12 years now and have not ran across the issues that I'm having here with this. I do not want to stop using SPI products, its so user friendly and affordable that I would like to use it forever. The clear is fantastic and I like the sealers as well. But if I cant get this figured out Im going to have to revert to using DuPont primer which is at minimum 2x times the cost of SPI 2k, and being that Im only 7 months in to having my own small shop that would be a bad financial decision for me. I use all SPI products minus color obviously.
Any feedback would be incredibly helpful and appreciated since my local jobber cant really give me any other info that I already didn't put into place myself. Looking forward to any info as I would certainly love to get this figured out so I can continue to use this product.
Thanks a lot...Rick
I have been using SPI products in the shop for the last 7 months. I have had great end results but with multiple issues with soak up/ring up on a variety of different vehicles. I had these issues terribly on the first car I did in the new shop, it was a 72 Porsche and involved a ton of bodywork with a wide body front and rear conversion. I was using the spi high build 2k primer. I blocked the car down, did all my bodywork and put 2 good coats of high build on with the proper recommended flash and wait times ( always waited 24 hrs to block). I then guide coated the car , fixed some issues and repeated with another 2 coats a couple days later. I blocked the car down again and put 2 more coats on to avoid any misgivings later on. Once the car sat for at least a week while I was on vacation I came back and blocked the car down and prepped for paint finishing off with 600 grit on a softpad d/a. Sprayed everything, it all came out great. Upon the recommendation I let everything sit out in the sun for a few days before doing any finish work. Once satisfied that 3 days in the sun was enough, I sanded the car down and buffed it to perfection. Fast forward a couple days and I get everything to the owner and its all mirror finished. Owner was quite happy and so was I, I go over to his house a week later to look at his other car that he wants painted and the entire car I had done has ring/soak up issues all over the place. I ended up having to sand the entire car down and buff it all over again. I'm glad I put 3 coats of clear on so I had that safety net to not burn through. I was mind boggled because over the last 8 years using Dupont chromasurfacer I have never had such large soak up issues.
In the very end everything turned out beautifully, but with a ton more effort that I'm used to having to do to achieve the finish I want. I love the U.V clear and I'm just under the assumption that since my bodywork is showing through and sand scratches from the 80 grit block when doing the initial bodywork, it has to be the primer shrinking/soaking up the longer it sits. I can see my 80 grit block scratches and from wherever my bodywork feathered out its ringed up. Can anyone provide any added tips if they've experienced this for ways to avoid this as it would be very nice to figure it out.
Fast forward a few months and I have the 2nd Porsche in for an all over paint job, its white, there was minimal bodywork on the car after blocking it down, only a few spots on the car and a few dents on the rear trunk lid. After talking with my jobber over the major issues I had with the previous car I decided to take even further precautions. This time after I finished my bodywork on the trunk I primed the trunk lid and let it sit in the sun for 3 days, blocked it down, primed it twice with high build and brought it home where it sat inside for a week while I was working my other job and out of town for a few days. After guide coating and blocking it down it all felt great and blocked down perfectly, finish that off with 320/500 on a softpad. Get everything sealed, painted and cleared and let it sit for 4 days outside. This trunk lid couldn't have been any slicker. I put it under the fluorescents, brought in the booth to triple check, took it outside with my sunglasses on, turned on the hid lights to check under all kinds of conditions, it was perfect.
I get the owners car back to him a few days later and we get the trunk lid on. It looks great still.
I brought him the rest of the pieces for his bumper this morning, I check the trunk lid just to be sure, and the entire thing has soaked up everywhere I did bodywork, just ringed up everywhere. I am going back over there tomorrow to sand it back down and repolish it.
Im using the 3m premium filler, I usually finish off with a skim coat of dolphin glaze if needed, just fyi.
What am I doing wrong here ? Ive been in the industry for nearly 12 years now and have not ran across the issues that I'm having here with this. I do not want to stop using SPI products, its so user friendly and affordable that I would like to use it forever. The clear is fantastic and I like the sealers as well. But if I cant get this figured out Im going to have to revert to using DuPont primer which is at minimum 2x times the cost of SPI 2k, and being that Im only 7 months in to having my own small shop that would be a bad financial decision for me. I use all SPI products minus color obviously.
Any feedback would be incredibly helpful and appreciated since my local jobber cant really give me any other info that I already didn't put into place myself. Looking forward to any info as I would certainly love to get this figured out so I can continue to use this product.
Thanks a lot...Rick