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Paint / Body work questions. Pictures included

6

68angrypony

Member
I have been collecting parts and products to start putting my stang together. I could use some advice thoughts on what I have. What I currently have is:

1. Dupli color Bed Armor quantity 1 box

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2. 3M undercoating quantity 6 cans

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3. Dupli color prep spray/cleaner quantity 2 cans

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4. Dupli color rust fixer quantity 1 can

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5. Dupli color self etching primer quantity 6 cans

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6. dupli color paint shop clear quantity 4 qts

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7. Dupli color paint shop primer quantity 4 qts

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8. Dupli color paint shop primer sealer, black, and blue paint Quantity 1 qt sealer, 1 qt black, 4 qts blue

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9. Rust-oleum semi gloss black enamel quanity 4 cans

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10. VHT Header coater and clear coat quantity 1 can

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11. Rust oleum Flat protect black enamel quantity 4 cans

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Goal right now is to get it road worthy and looking decent. I have all new parts for the suspension, brakes, wheels/tires, etc. The body is the main area for concern. Since I know nothing about doing body work I just want to get the car driveable at this point after having it for 5+ years. After I get it road worthy I can either take a auto body class at a community college or I can take it around for quotes/estimates. Either way, I would like to do the best I can to make it look decent, be protected from any further rust, and try to coat it in a way that it won't mess up future body work/ paint.


So now to the questions/advice:

Interior:

From what I have seen, the bed liner is good to use on the floors of the trunk and cabin. So my plan is to use the bed liner for the interior floors.

For the Dash/ Roof / Door/ Window / All other cabin / trunk metal I am thinking of using the etching primer than a layer of the flat or gloss rustoleum followed by vht clear on top.

For the trunk sides/top, I am thinking of using the etching primer to seal the metal thean the 3m under coating or do the same as the interior with the flat/gloss rustoleum


Exterior:

body work will need to be done further, but for now I want to get it protected. Eventually I want to use the Paint shop primer, blue, and clear to paint the exterior. For now, I am thinking of taking it to bare metal again, using the prep spray, then the etching primer. At this point I'm not sure if its best to leave it like that, put a coat of clear on it, or put some enamel and clear on it to protect it and when I take a body shop class or have someone do the body work I can just sand it back down at that time.


Under carriage: For the wheel wells I am thinking of using the etching primer followed by the under coating. The whole underside of the car I am thinking of using the etching primer and then either the under coating or the enamel/ clear combo.

Rear end: Etching primer then either under coating or coat it in enamel and clear

Engine bay: Etching primer, flat black enamel, Clear coat


Lets hear your thoughts, input, advice, direction. I am just bumping my head as I go along hear and so now I want to start putting this project together and start seeing some results. But am I doing this wrong? please let me know.
 
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Not sure you are going to like me reply.

Most of what you have so far is not stuff I would put on your car. Laying down bedliner and undercoating can be very bad. It will trap any rust and corrosion underneath and allow it to continue it's damaging ways. You need to get down to bare metal first. From there you should use a good two part epoxy on anything that is bare metal. Etching primer is not ideal. For spot work etc. it functions ok but has nowhere near the protection of an epoxy.

To do it right, strip it down (or media blast) clean it well with a quality pre-paint degreasing product and shoot the whole thing with an epoxy. Do that and you don't need to use anything else other than maybe filler and sanding primer then color/clear topcoats. Epoxy is very durable. Buy one that has UV protection and it will last virtually forever wherever you spray it..

I also wouldn't touch that Duplicolor stuff. You can get a real paint product for not much more money that will spray on so much better, look tons better and last so much longer.

Here's a good rule of thumb for you. If it comes in a spray can or from Autozone, you probably don't want it on your car.
 
In your shoes, I would strip the car. Do the necessary body work. It's not really hard just takes time to do it well. And then shoot the whole thing in a black epoxy. It will look good (kind of current trend to drive around in a satin black look now anyway) but more importantly you won't need to go back and re-do anything when you are ready for color. You can even skip the bodywork and just shoot the bare metal in epoxy for now and call it a day. You can do the filler/body work on top later.
 
Once bedliner is applied, you will find it incredibly hard to remove. If there is any rust on the floor pans that needs to be addressed, you'll never be able to get to it after the bedliner has been applied.
 
I wouldn't go so far as saying the duplicor paint is crap as an acquaintence had painted a street rod with thier orange paint and it looks fantastic. One of the shows on spike TV painted a '69/70 mustang with duplicor and they did a terrible job. Tons or orange peel. I don't think I'd spray a car with it myself since I already know what to expect from Nason / dupont products that I use. Long term durability would be my concern for using it on a car you plan to have a while. A car with nicer body work left unpainted looks way better than shiny crappy bodywork. Focus on learning good body work repair, and once you've realized how much time it takes to do good bodywork, you will convince yourself that using better materials is worth it because doing it a second time stinks.

The epoxy primer for your first coat on the base metal is definitely where you want to start. It will be the best way to seal whatever you decide to topcoat with even if you continue with the duplicolor materials. The lacquer based primers do not seal out moisture so the don't prevent further rusting if you just spray them for coverup / protection.

If you are set on using everything that you have, then just follow the duplicor recommendations. I know some paints are not compatible with self etching primer, so be careful with that. If you decide to get some epoxy primer, then you won't need the self etch primer. Maybe use that for detailing smaller parts.

Save the undercoating for the wheel wells. Bedliner... I'm not a fan of, but like Terry said, not over bare metal. I would epoxy coat first, then maybe spray the bedliner... but even then it's not going to give you any extra protection that the the epoxy won't already give you from a corrosion perspective.

I use some of those rust converters, but never tried the spray versions. Don't expect them to stop rust dead. There are phosphoric etching solutions you can get at Home Depot to clean the rusty metal. Then topcoat with epoxy to seal.

I wouldn't discard everything you've got already, just be sure to start with a good foundation. Get the epoxy primer. You can also use that as your sealer prior to spaying your basecoat color.
 
My intention on any surface I apply any product to is to take it back down to bare metal before applying any product. That was including the floor pan and trunk. Is their some recommendations on epoxy primer brands/types? I would prefer to coat it and never had to take it down to bare metal again. Just would like to do what i can right from the get go, and if the consensus is using epoxy primer I will go that route. Figuring out body work is something I would rather take a class for than keep trying and different things and bumping my head. So if I can get it protected until I get to the body filler and sanding part that would be a plus. I wouldn't mind tackling body work but just like the primers, seems you need to know which body filler to use etc. Wasting money guessing is just becoming a big pain.
 
A little more info and opinion for you to consider.

The Duplicolor stuff is a lacquer. That stuff dropped out of the main stream use a long time ago. Issues with application, durability and touch-up all were corrected with new technology. The base-clear stuff today is really easy to use. Yo don't even need a big $ gun to spray. If you use it, you will find it needs fixed or likely stripped and the car repainted much sooner than you would like. Personally, I would view it as temporary and that means going back and re-doing work which would suck and cost more money.

There are a number of very good epoxies to choose from. For best results on any painting project it is always a good idea to try and stick to a single manufacturer as you then know about compatibilities, etc. Again, if you are going to epoxy now and paint color later, a UV protected product is mandatory. If you choose to go with a black epoxy you can use it all over, inside and under the car. It can even serve as your underhood color as well if you choose to not spray final color there.

I am not a pro. I suppose that should have been the first thing I typed! There are guys here who do this stuff for a living and they will chime in soon enough. One more thing I will add is I LOVED using Rage brand filler. Awesome material. I pretty much skimmed and sanded out my whole car with Rage Gold and it went great. Before I had used Bondo product and will never use it again. ONe good source for all things bodywork related including tools, sanding materials, filler, etc. is

http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/

There are plenty of others but these guys have great prices and unbelievable stock. Everything I ever wanted was in stock and shipped same day. Good luck with all the work ahead of you. Don't be intimidated by bodywork. Read a bunch. Watch some video and ask some questions. After that it's just a matter of applying what you learned and lots of patience. And a whole lot of sanding!
 
Do you need to put any kind of sealer or clear on top of the epoxy primer? Or once its applied it can be left to the elements without concern?
 
As long as the epoxy has UV protection you are good to go without anything on top. Unlike normal primer it doesn't absorb moisture. Those guys you see driving around in rattle can primer have no idea what is likely happening under that stuff.
 
I just did the whole underneath side of the car & the engine compartment in the black epoxy. it has a uv screen in it so will hold up as a topcoat. cant get much simpler than that.
 
"68angrypony" said:
looks good. So should I call around to paint places to figure out what epoxy works with what paint brand etc?
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SPI can supply you start to finish. Epoxy to clear coat and I have heard all good about them. And they are not expensive. All the big names can do the same as well. I suggest getting a budget figure in mind and searching from there.
 
I did the whole underneath of the car, did the rear axle & outside of the gas tank too. I use PPG for my color coats & never had any issues with that & the SPI foundation & clearcoat..
 
DuPont's epoxy primer, DPxxLF (where xx is a two digit number for colors) is excellent: easy to spray, great durability, and is compatible with almost everything, particularly when cured in 3-7 days. To paint over cured epoxy, you'll need to scuff the surface and provide a mechanical bond. DPxxLF has gotten more expensive, which is why some are going to other epoxy primers (e.g. SPI). I know of no one who has had problems with DPxxLF.
 
"Midlife" said:
DuPont's epoxy primer, DPxxLF (where xx is a two digit number for colors) is excellent: easy to spray, great durability, and is compatible with almost everything, particularly when cured in 3-7 days. To paint over cured epoxy, you'll need to scuff the surface and provide a mechanical bond. DPxxLF has gotten more expensive, which is why some are going to other epoxy primers (e.g. SPI). I know of no one who has had problems with DPxxLF.
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If memory serves me right, that's what I used on my 66 back in 2002. It was all PPG products.
 
"silverblueBP" said:
If memory serves me right, that's what I used on my 66 back in 2002. It was all PPG products.
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Your memory is indeed correct. DP primers are PPG's epoxy primer (the LF stands for lead free, and AFAIK it's the only version you can get anymore from them). The only real downsides I know of for PPG DP primers is cost (it can be pretty pricey!), and it can be difficult to sand because it cures hard as a rock. Count on going through some sandpaper!
 
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