reduced epoxy over bare metal?

B

bmxpegan411

Hi Guys,

Soon I'll be sealing my car with reduced epoxy and I'm curious if it's OK to hit some bare metal spots with the epoxy reduced. The main spots are where the trunk sits and some edges that I have broken through. Is there any benefit to doing so, or disadvantages?

any suggestions are appreciated!
 
Hey, you are the only SPI member to my knowledge that is less than an hour from me.

To answer your question, epoxy reduced as a sealer is very thin. It will not cover bare metal spots in a single coat. The best way would be to spray some epoxy on those areas and then sand out the texture with about 600 before you start sealer.

Depending on how big those areas are, another option would be to spray a coat of epoxy sealer on those spots, wait a half hour or more, then spray sealer as normal. Two coats on those areas should give you coverage. I avoid this method on large rub throughs and rust prone areas.
 
strum456;29281 said:
Hey, you are the only SPI member to my knowledge that is less than an hour from me.

To answer your question, epoxy reduced as a sealer is very thin. It will not cover bare metal spots in a single coat. The best way would be to spray some epoxy on those areas and then sand out the texture with about 600 before you start sealer.

Depending on how big those areas are, another option would be to spray a coat of epoxy sealer on those spots, wait a half hour or more, then spray sealer as normal. Two coats on those areas should give you coverage. I avoid this method on large rub throughs and rust prone areas.
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thanks! I'll have to get a pic of the few areas. I'm just trying to avoid sanding them more than once because of the weird nooks and crannies, but maybe some unreduced epoxy is the way to go to be on the safe side.
 
I've used reduced epoxy as a kind of "etch primer replacement" on production work because it is the fastest way to incorporate epoxy, and it is much better than many alternatives, but a coat of unreduced epoxy on bare metal is always best. It's up to you and how picky you want to be about the vehicle.
 
You can shoot the spots first then shoot another coat over the whole car-this way you get double coverage over the bare metal spots.
 
Bob Hollinshead;29294 said:
You can shoot the spots first then shoot another coat over the whole car-this way you get double coverage over the bare metal spots.
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That sounds like a good way to go. What kind of flash time between the two coats of reduced epoxy?
 
If it's on a complete repaint and if there are a lot of spots just let it flash an hour so you can tack rag any overspray off before spraying the complete coat. If it's just a few spots here and there and it doesn't generate much overspray I'll wait 20 minutes and just shoot the complete coat. Hope that makes sense
 
If you give the bare spots a shot, wouldn't you have to feather it in? Or will the next full coat hide it?
 
It can possibly be a problem if the edges of your spots have dry spray, if it looks like they do, you might wait long enough to give the spots a scuff around the edges, anywhere from 2 hours to overnight all depending on conditions and application thickness.
 
I haven't noticed a problem with edges if the epoxy is mixed 1-1-1, the edge is so thin the next coat goes right over it. Dial the gun down when spotting the areas so you're not blowing overspray everywhere or if you can't do or the gun isn't capable of being adjusted down then just use a touchup gun to spot in the areas. Tack rag off any overspray between applications.
 
Bob Hollinshead;29330 said:
I haven't noticed a problem with edges if the epoxy is mixed 1-1-1, the edge is so thin the next coat goes right over it. Dial the gun down when spotting the areas so you're not blowing overspray everywhere or if you can't do or the gun isn't capable of being adjusted down then just use a touchup gun to spot in the areas. Tack rag off any overspray between applications.
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Hi Bob, thanks for the suggestions. Have you had any issues tacking the epoxy? I'm curious what kind of time I should let it flash before tacking so I don't run into any issues. My garage will be around 75 degrees.
 
30-60 minutes usually depending on temps, when you spot in the areas just shoot something else so you'll have a spot to test the cure with a touch of your finger. Once it doesn't feel tacky just run over the car with a tack rag lightly to pickup any overspray then spray the next coat.
 
Bob Hollinshead;29338 said:
30-60 minutes usually depending on temps, when you spot in the areas just shoot something else so you'll have a spot to test the cure with a touch of your finger. Once it doesn't feel tacky just run over the car with a tack rag lightly to pickup any overspray then spray the next coat.
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Great. One more question, if overspray were painted over what would the results be? bad adhesion in those areas?
 
You'll be able to feel excessive dry spray because the tack rag will have excessive drag in that area, it will feel like there is something rough on the surface that the rag is unable to pick up. If this occurs, it is very easy to fix. A quick scuff is really all it should take.
 
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