Seal or not to seal?

[DougS]

I'm still prepping my 67 Chevelle for paint but am wondering whether I should seal it or not. I have epoxied, slick sanded and SPI regular build urethane primer on it now. The slicksand and urethane have both sat in the sun for days and I'm to the point of 600 and shoot. I generally follow the perfect paint job but with less than perfect paint conditions (homemade PCV paint booth inside garage) I feel the epoxy sealer step is just one more chance to get dirt and texture into the paint. I hate dieback but with making sure the primer sits in the sun and using hardener in the base I'm wondering if the sealer is really necessary? I also plan to let the base dry overnight before Universal. Paint booth pics attached and yes that's my 70 not the 67. Thoughts?

 

[shine]

seal or not seal ???? you want the paint to stick ????

 

[DougS]

I do want the base to stick, I know lots of people sand urethane primer and shoot base on it. In fact SPI primer specifically says it does not require sealer.

 

[dhutton01]

I let my epoxy sealer dry overnight and the do a quick denib etc in the morning before base. Then base sets overnight before clear.

Don

 

[DougS]

I like that method Don, plus the car will be yellow and I can use white epoxy vs gray primer as an undercoat although I don't know if that really makes a difference when using DBC or MOTOBASE. What percent do you reduce your epoxy for a sealer?

 

[dhutton01]

I reduce my epoxy sealer 25%.

Don

 

[texasking]

Especially with yellow, getting the car solid white before base is almost a necessity. Yellow tends to look green over gray primer, so more coats will be necessary to get coverage. DBC yellow covers like crap, if I remember correctly.

 

[DougS]

Thanks T, I will keep that in mind. Any one have experience with how Motobase yellow covers? Specifically 76 Corvette Bright Yellow

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

No experience with Motobase in that color but I have sprayed it in a couple of other lines. General rule of thumb is that most yellows cover poorly no matter the paint line. The lighter the yellow the poorer the coverage. That is a fairly light yellow so expect it to be harder to cover. White sealer should be considered mandatory for that color. Grey would double the number of coats to get coverage. My guess would be 4 to 6 coats with the way I spray base.

 

[DougS]

Thanks Chris