Resurrecting an Old Project

Raymond_B

Raymond_B

Hobbyist
So I am getting to the point (I won't say finished, 'cause are they ever?) with my current project that I am thinking about picking up where I left off on my 1966 Mustang coupe. Some of the car has 2 coats of epoxy put on about 7ish years ago. The rest I have replacements parts for or will take down to bare metal then it will all go in epoxy. So in my brain I am trying to work through a rough order of what I need to do to tackle it. This is definitely all DIY by me who's only experience is reading this forum, ya'll make it look so easy!

Here's what I am thinking, using the perfect paint job as a guide and everything will be SPI.

1. Obviously take the rest (non-epoxied) parts of the car down to bare metal and get that in to a couple of coats of epoxy
2. Then scuff the old epoxy
3. Put another coat over the entire car
4. Straighten what I can and use small amounts of filler where needed
5. I feel that as I am not an experienced body man it might be best to use something like Slicksand for this step to help cover any work that I've done. Can it be sprayed over filler? Or should I just stick to 2k and do my best blocking until I get it right?
6. After all that I know I need to seal with epoxy
7. Now the one item I am debating with myself. I absolutely love the black SS, but for a DIY person and DIY paint booth should I try it? Or just stick with BC/CC?

Thoughts?
 
As a person who's never painted much before, I'd agree with Dhutton and go for the single stage. I've just started shooting some and it's coming out nice with few issues.
 
I think your plan looks good, the only thing I might modify is the need for poly vs. regular build 2k. Poly is a real pain and you still get a lot of build from the 2k. Unless your panel is catastrophically bad I think you will like yourself better if you stick with 2k.
 
Lizer said:
I think your plan looks good, the only thing I might modify is the need for poly vs. regular build 2k. Poly is a real pain and you still get a lot of build from the 2k. Unless your panel is catastrophically bad I think you will like yourself better if you stick with 2k.
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Thanks! I think my fear is that I might have to replace or at least patch one of the quarters and my metal working is as noobish as my painting? Thought was the poly might cover that up so I do not get any mapping with black in the sun (that's my very un-professional thoughts, happy to be wrong!). But I've definitely read here about how hard the poly stuff is to sand.
 
Poly is not hard to sand if you start with 120. :) Sands like butter with 120. Sounds really coarse but in reality it isn't. Personally I would say poly primer simply because it is more stable when using it to build. 2K is good up to a certain amount of millage. 2K wants to shrink over time if you use it for build, poly won't. 2K needs a lot of time between applications to avoid shrinkage. Easier to use poly or even epoxy.
Ultimate way would be epoxy only. You can use epoxy for build. Just have to spray more coats. Epoxy is the most stable, and flexible which will help with chipping if you drive it
 
Chris_Hamilton said:
Poly is not hard to sand if you start with 120. :) Sands like butter with 120. Sounds really coarse but in reality it isn't. Personally I would say poly primer simply because it is more stable when using it to build. 2K is good up to a certain amount of millage. 2K wants to shrink over time if you use it for build, poly won't. 2K needs a lot of time between applications to avoid shrinkage. Easier to use poly or even epoxy.
Ultimate way would be epoxy only. You can use epoxy for build. Just have to spray more coats. Epoxy is the most stable, and flexible which will help with chipping if you drive it
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Thanks Chris, if I start with just epoxy any flaws in my metal work will be visible correct (sounds obvious I know)? So maybe just go that route initially and see how it looks as I add more coats? I like the idea of epoxy only!
 
I've done all my blocking with epoxy and I'm happy with it so far...some parts have 6 coats of epoxy but a lot of it has been sanded off between coats, but I also did a lot of dent removal before I started painting. All that being said, I have yet to finish paint any exterior panels so time will tell, but I think I'll be happy with them..
 
Raymond_B said:
Thanks Chris, if I start with just epoxy any flaws in my metal work will be visible correct (sounds obvious I know)? So maybe just go that route initially and see how it looks as I add more coats? I like the idea of epoxy only!
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The epoxy has a guide coat effect as you sand it. You can clearly see the lows. Treat it like any other primer when sanding. If you need to, use guide coat. Nice thing also about epoxy if you block and re-coat within the 7 days, you don't need to sand or scuff the low areas.
 
I think when recommending poly it is necessary to consider the skill level of the asker. I sand poly starting with 120 to break the skin and then after that it sands like butter with 220 (this was slick sand). But poly kicks very quickly too. Once the activator is added you start the time and better get your panel sprayed and some thinner through the gun in short time. I think this becomes more difficult for people just starting out because everything takes longer. I was there once and much more recently than the pros, and still remember it vividly.

If you have rough enough body work that you think you’re going to need poly then it is going to take you a long time getting there with epoxy. I just don’t think the epoxy only route is sage advice for noobs. Hell I couldn’t even do epoxy only.
 
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