Frame painting

[DanW]

I am working on my 1972 C-10. I just had the frame, radiator support, and lots of miscellaneous piece's sand blasted. I have SPI black epoxy and SPI black single stage paint. I read that you can leave frame and under the hood pieces in epoxy, but I prefer a shiny finish. If I spray 2 coats of epoxy and 2 coats of paint is it likely that it will have a smooth finish without sanding the epoxy before painting? Also, how long do I need to wait between the last coat of epoxy and the paint?

 

[metalman]

Depends on how smooth and shiny of a finish you want, and how rough the surface of the metal is. My guess is you won't get a nice smooth shiny finish with just spraying 2 epoxy and 2 topcoat without sanding (and some filling if there a deep pits). Can't tell from here what your metal looks like.

 

[chevman]

If you are picky enough to want it shiny, then you will be picky enough to want it at least somewhat smooth.

 

[DanW]

Thank you.

 

[Kawickrice]

Can you put clear over black epoxy for a shine? Just curious

 

[DanMcG]

I read that you can leave frame and under the hood pieces in epoxy, but I prefer a shiny finish.

Hey Dan, I'm a new guy at this paint stuff, but I've found with a good amount of practice and adjusting of your gun you can achieve a smooth glossy finish with 2 or 3 coats of epoxy. I did a pair of aftermarket inner fenders recently with black epoxy induced for 4-5 hours. These are almost to glossy, but I'll live with it.

When you say smooth, are you talking orange peel?

 

[Treeslayer]

Hey Dan, I'm a new guy at this paint stuff, but I've found with a good amount of practice and adjusting of your gun you can achieve a smooth glossy finish with 2 or 3 coats of epoxy. I did a pair of aftermarket inner fenders recently with black epoxy induced for 4-5 hours. These are almost to glossy, but I'll live with it.
View attachment 27372

When you say smooth, are you talking orange peel?

holy cow! are those still wet? if it stayed that glossy there almost would be no need for top coat.

 

[DanMcG]

holy cow! are those still wet?

No, they were dry enough to move inside the garage at this point, I have them in the basement now and they still look the same.

 

[dhutton01]

The gloss will fade a little over the course of several months in my experience.

 

[Lizer]

What Don said. I’ve never liked how glossy the black was, only a year later to love it as it’s a nice satin black. It seems to lose gloss as it cures out. Which takes 90 days.

 

[nickwisconsin]

What Don said. I’ve never liked how glossy the black was, only a year later to love it as it’s a nice satin black. It seems to lose gloss as it cures out. Which takes 90 days.

I second that. I wanted satin but got gloss and was not 100% happy. A few weeks later they are perfect. The more or heavier coats you do, the shinier it is, at least for a while.