Help Newbie Get Out of Trouble

D

dkr

Hi All,

I am restoring a 1981 Mercedes 300D. Originally, my plan was to sand down to OEM primer and then take the car to a pro painter. The car has numerous curved surfaces and I have since went down to bare metal numerous times so this plan is out. I have covered the bare metal temporarily with rattlecan primer and have since bought an air compressor and HVLP gun for this project. My plan right now is to put Epoxy Primer followed by turbo 2K Primer and then take it to the painter for paint.

I've already received my products from SPI and am almost ready to get started. I am looking to do one panel at a time. I have a few questions before starting:

(1) This is the mask I bought. Is this ok for just spraying primer?

mask.jpg


(2) I've heard that some paints can enter the bloodstream through clothes. Am I ok with just wearing the mask, glasses, plastic gloves, and long-sleeved shirt/pants or do I need something more?

(3) I bought this wax and grease remover and am planning to use this with shop towels. I didn't realize SPI had a product for this. Am I ok with this AutoZone wax/grease remover or do I need something more heavy duty? Also, after sanding down to bare metal should I apply wax and grease remover to bare metal or just blow any remaining dust out with the air compressor?

degrease.jpg


(4) The sales guy I talked to recommended I buy reducer. I'm not completely clear on how to use the reducer. How do I know how much to put in or if the primer is too thick? The outside temps here are 75 - 85 over the next week.

(5) I do have the luxury of time on this project. I've heard it's best to wait a few days between epoxy and turbo 2k primer. Is there an optimal number or days is it just between 2-7?

(6) The spec sheets shows the pot life of 48-92 hours for epoxy. My understanding is this is only applies to the original product after I have mixed with the activator and reducer. What is the best way to store these primers long-term? Should they be kept in a colder or warmer temp?

Thanks in advance for the response. I'm looking forward to starting this project.

Dkr.
 
The respirator you have is for pesticides and spraying house paint, you only can use this is you are sanding paint.
Go to a local Auto paint store and buy an 3m, SAS or gerson dual cartage charcoal respirator, either one of the three are good and buy the one on sale this month.
Buy a disposable paint suit, cheap as you can buy, prices will be from $5-up.
A face sock for a couple of bucks is also a great item.

The cleaner you have will work but after you wipe dry, let it set an hour before applying anything over it.

Sand all spray can primer off.

To coat one panel mix 1:1 epoxy so you have about a pint, when done if you have some left pour back into plastic painters pail and cover the top, will be good 48 hours to 7-9 days depending how air tight, DO NOT put in fridge.
 
Barryk;10359 said:
The respirator you have is for pesticides and spraying house paint, you only can use this is you are sanding paint.
Go to a local Auto paint store and buy an 3m, SAS or gerson dual cartage charcoal respirator, either one of the three are good and buy the one on sale this month.
Click to expand...
Is it safe to assume that cartridges marked "for organic compounds" as being the charcoal ones?
 
Thanks for the response, Barry. I went out this morning and bought the 3M respirator you recommended, as well as paint suit and face sock.

Before I get started, do I need reducer for the epoxy, or is that only for the 2K Turbo primer?

Also, is the wax & grease remover meant to be applied to bare metal?

Thanks,

Dkr.
 
Senile Old Fart;10377 said:
Is it safe to assume that cartridges marked "for organic compounds" as being the charcoal ones?
Click to expand...

I don't have a clue about the different filters, that is why I tell everyone that asks, Do NOT buy a filter at Home depot, harbor freight or on line, go to local automotive paint store.
 
You only need the reducer for the epoxy if you are shooting it as a seal coat.
 
Hi Barry,

Sorry to keep bugging you. I talked to you yesterday about the solvent pop issue I am having. I took your advice and turned up the pressure to the gun. I'm now running at 45 psi while the gun is idle and 40psi while I have the trigger pulled. I am also spraying 5" from the surface. Here's some additional details on the situation:

- The solvent pop shows up immediately after spraying. On the first layer of epoxy, there was a bit of it evenly spread out over the panel. On the second layer, there's a bunch of it all over the place.
- I had a bit of primer left in the gun, so I sprayed some other junk panels that I have. I tested a bunch of different spray patterns and settings on the gun and pressure regulator and had the same problem with all of them. Originally, I thought it might be my wax & grease cleaner or shop towels I was using, but since I didn't do any prep on these spare panels, that seems to not be the case.
- My pressure regulator and water/oil separator are on a 100' 1/4" line and I am spraying about 40 feet away from the air compressor. The air compressor is upstairs on my deck, so I don't think I'm getting any gas fumes in the finish as I would assume they would rise rather than fall.

The HVLP gun I'm using for primer only has a 1.4mm tip, so I bought another traditional (non-HVLP I think) gun with a 1.7mm tip for spraying the Turbo 2K. If I don't get solvent pop on that gun, I suppose I can ignore this issue as the solvent pop would be covered and not a problem so long as it doesn't affect adhesion of the primer. If I'm still getting solvent pop, my next idea was to buy a high-end professional (~$100) filter. Any other ideas?

Dkr.
 
I dont know if we are dealing with solvent pop or fisheyes here.

A few things to think about:

Is the gun new? A lot of times the cheaper ones are drenched in machining oil. Make sure to clean out the air passages and regulator.

Could your compressor have blowby? Is it old and worn out?

Has your air hose ever been used with an inline oiler?
 
Those are not solvent pop but contamination, as spread out as it is, I would guess coming from hose or you, are you wearing a paint suit?

Very minor so may just be vapor build up in hose and then shoot every once in a while.

Very minor, what ever is causing it.
 
The gun is brand new. The compressor is about 5 years old from what I was told. I was told it was not used very heavily. Although, there does appear to be some gas leaking from it (perhaps it's oil, I will have to check). I keep thinking it's a fuel line or something, but I'm having a hard time catching it leak to know just where it is coming from. If it does have blowby, it doesn't seem to be dropping too much oil.

The air hose, HVLP gun, and other air tools are all brand new and have never been used with an inline oiler.

Do you think a pro filter would be the next step here?

Thanks,

Dkr.
 
Barryk;10497 said:
Those are not solvent pop but contamination, as spread out as it is, I would guess coming from hose or you, are you wearing a paint suit?

Very minor so may just be vapor build up in hose and then shoot every once in a while.

Very minor, what ever is causing it.
Click to expand...

I'm wearing a paint suit, hood, glasses, and 3M charcoal respirator. I look like I'm about to begin a space mission.

Dkr.
 
I'm spraying the primer outside, so there could be a number of things potentially in the air.

Another question: since I'm taking this to a pro painter for paint and if this has no effect on adhesion of the primer, should I even worry about it? Will it show up at all when it is painted?

Dkr.
 
Im sure a pro painter could get it under control and go from there. In my opinion though, you need to get that figured out.
 
I think I may have found the problem. My compressor does not have a built-in regulator, so I'm using just the line regulator. I have the air line connected to the regulator and then to the line filter. When I turn the compressor on, it's running up to 175psi and I'm dialing in the regulator to 45psi. I can feel there is air escaping from the regulator which means it is unfiltered.

I'm going to change the order so it is air line -> line filter -> regulator -> HVLP gun

If this doesn't work, I'll get another line regulator that I place right next to the compressor. That way, if it's letting off excess air it shouldn't affect my project.

Dkr.
 
I would suggest taking the gun completely apart and cleaning every single passage and part.
There was another thread not to long ago where the OP had the same problem and spent a lot of time figuring it out, it was the air passages in the gun contaminated with oil.
 
Senile Old Fart;10509 said:
I would suggest taking the gun completely apart and cleaning every single passage and part.
There was another thread not to long ago where the OP had the same problem and spent a lot of time figuring it out, it was the air passages in the gun contaminated with oil.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, it's a cheap gun and I take apart everything that comes off when I clean it. I have another gun I will be using for the turbo 2k primer. If that one doesn't spray contaminated, then I will know it's something with the HVLP gun.

Dkr.
 
I took it apart again and realized there is some oil from the factory on the air cap. It isn't from me as I remember getting my hands a bit greasy from it when I first took the gun apart before I used it. Should I get rid of the oil? It's hard to believe anyone would sell a gun new with grease in areas that could get in the paint job.

Dkr.
 
DKR, Never assume anything in this industry. As a rule, always thoroughly clean any new guns before using them. Also, if you use lacquer thinner to clean your guns, ALWAYS run some quality urethane reducer through them afterwards to eliminate possible contamination. Many so called "virgin" thinners are recycled. Another thing to look for: If your running a rubber hose from your compressor to the gun, especially outside, the compressed air may not be cooling down enough for the filter to catch the water. A quick way to cool the air on the cheap is to run a length of it (25-50 feet) coiled up in a water barrel, preferably in the shade, then your filter, then your gun. Hope this helps.
 
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