poxy as sealer - nib sanding and minor repairs

R

Rickster

I have just shot a wet coat of reduced epoxy as a sealer for my black base / clear. I am using all SPI products (2k / epoxy sealer / black base / universal clear) on a fiberglass Cobra replica body and panels. The sealer turned out nice except for a few small bugs and small defects. I plan to sand out the bugs with 800, apply some more glazing putty to small areas (pinholes found afterward) and then re-shoot with epoxy as a sealer.

My question is, after those small areas are repaired can I just spot shoot those areas with reduced epoxy as the sealer? Assuming the epoxy will be sitting in the un-repaired areas past the recommended time frame for the base, can I just scuff up the over all body / panels (3M Scotch-bright maroon - 800 grit) before applying my base coat?

I ask because if I follow the "perfect paint job" article to the letter it sounds like I would need to re-shoot the entire body. This would likely lead to more trash, repair & re-shoot cycles until perfect? The likelihood of me getting it perfect with no nib sanding, etc is unlikely.

Thanks!
Rick
 
It's probably OK to do that on a solid (non-metallic) color, but on a metallic, rings can show around the edges of the spots because the metallic particles can get caught up in the dry edge. It's possible you could see a bit of a texture problem in the final product even with a solid color, but I am assuming you are going to sand and buff, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Spotting sealer should really be avoided, imo, and I think most pro painters would go over the whole thing again, but given your circumstances it's easy to see why you wouldn't.
 
Like Crash said be careful, when spotting in sealer always try to fade it out as you get to the end of a pass. If not you can have problems seeing it through the base whether it's solid or metallic It happens to me occasionally when I'm spot sealing part of a panel that I have to also blend on. If you are not experienced at this I would recommend re-sealing it. Could possibly save you a lot of time.If I was in your shoes I'd reseal it and nib out any dust etc that happens to get in it.
 
Thanks for the answers! I think I will just re-shoot the entire body after repairs and be super careful of debris.

I was still curious though, if epoxy sits longer than the recommended time frame to apply the base coat (2 hours per the epoxy tech sheet) could I just scuff and then shoot base? Or do I really need to apply another coat of sealer and then hit the time window for applying the base coat per the perfect paint job article?

Thanks again, I really appreciate the advise,

Rick
 
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