Sealer over 10 yr-old epoxy primer

Rcavictor

Promoted Users
Thank you all for the excellent education here on the forum!! I have been reading the SPI forum for months in preparation for painting several cars. Paint has evolved SO much since I was last spraying in high school 40+years ago…

I acquired an in-progress restoration from an older gentleman. The bare metal car was sprayed with PPG epoxy primer 10 years ago and has been sitting unfinished. To the best of my knowledge it was stored indoors and out of sunlight. I have test scuffed it in a few areas to see the results of removing sheen and it seems to scuff nicely with a red pad.

QUESTION: Is it a good plan to scuff - or should I sand (wet or dry?) - and then spray sealer over the existing 10 yr-old epoxy primer? If so, would the normal plan be to then move on to base/clear within the next 24 hrs? I had planned to shoot white sealer since the base coat will be Chevy Aztec Bronze or Suntan Copper - still deciding.

Rob
 
Just for clarification, so you're saying the car was taken down to bare metal, then sprayed with PPG epoxy primer, and has stayed that way for the last 10 years? Was any body work / filler work done ? Are you not planning to check body panels for straightness and flatness before spraying sealer and finished bc/cc?
 
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Thanks for your reply and questions!

@MJM "Just for clarification, so you're saying the car was taken down to bare metal, then sprayed with PPG epoxy primer, and has stayed that way for the last 10 years? Was any body work / filler work done ? Are you not planning to check body panels for straightness and flatness before spraying sealer and finished bc/cc?"
The car is amazingly straight and finished. There was little if any bodywork to be done as I understand as it was a totally rust-free and unmolested car. It is really in great shape and in my estimation pretty close to being ready to paint.

@Barry " the first thing that needs to be done is 180 and two coats of epoxy unless you are stripping."
Are you saying that prior to applying sealer I should 180 and put two coats of SPI epoxy on top of the existing older PPG epoxy?

Thanks for helping 'the new guy'

Rob
 

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Thanks for your reply and questions!

@MJM "Just for clarification, so you're saying the car was taken down to bare metal, then sprayed with PPG epoxy primer, and has stayed that way for the last 10 years? Was any body work / filler work done ? Are you not planning to check body panels for straightness and flatness before spraying sealer and finished bc/cc?"
The car is amazingly straight and finished. There was little if any bodywork to be done as I understand as it was a totally rust-free and unmolested car. It is really in great shape and in my estimation pretty close to being ready to paint.

@Barry " the first thing that needs to be done is 180 and two coats of epoxy unless you are stripping."
Are you saying that prior to applying sealer I should 180 and put two coats of SPI epoxy on top of the existing older PPG epoxy?

Thanks for helping 'the new guy'

Rob

That's what Barry is saying. Sand the whole car with 180 grit, then spray two coats of epoxy. Then sand with 320/400 for a solid color, or 600 for base coat clear coat. Spray reduced epoxy sealer before final paint.

Personally, I don't think your car will be ready for finished paint doing it that way but, it's your car.
 
Interesting handle you have. Took me a minute.
TV or Radio ?

You have a good starting point now. Stick with Epoxy to Sealer. That way any thing missed is easily fixed and a decent work window if you need a break for a few days. I only use 2k for a color match undercoat anymore which is rare. With both Black and White I can cover most anything but a buff tone. Epoxy man I am.
 
Another reason for 180 is that any small low spots will hopefully show up. One painters opinion of ready to paint might be another's opinion of we still got lots to do. Not saying that's what's going on here but I've seen it happen before.
 
I really do want to do a good job, hence the months of reading SPIforum :)

I’ve watched so many YouTube videos and everyone seems to have their technique.

I very much appreciate all the direction from the forum.

Rob
 
I meant priming color undertone. Basically any Shade Gray but no Yellow or Brown epoxy and I have no idea if you could use a Base Toner in It. Meaning I got That Shade Covered as in "on hand".
Sorry if I confused you.
 
When the ruby red color came out on the Silverado's in 2015 or 16, I had to redo the mess that the other "painter" made on an almost new one. He used black sealer on a replacement fender (no idea why) shot the RR over it and couldn't get the paint to match.:rolleyes: Color of your sealer matters especially when you are trying to blend. Neutral grey for your sealer, will work for 95% of the stuff you encounter. I only used white on yellows and a few other light colors. VW made a yellow that you had to use white with.
In the 90's the paint reps were all saying to use toner to tint your urethane sealer to get a closer match and use less paint, but the amount of toner you needed to use cancelled out the paint savings. Now the thing is greyscale. Which works as well as using toner and is much cheaper. I found that neutral (mid) worked well enough that I didn't have to muck around trying to mix the correct scale grey.
 
In the 90's the paint reps were all saying to use toner to tint your urethane sealer to get a closer match and use less paint.

Imagine a paint rep trying to save You money. Riiiiiight.....

Most are just salespeople and very few actually know anything but what the Manager tells them.
There were a few who you could rely on,like Joe the 3m guy back in the Day,he was exceptional.
My counter guy Tim and I were great friends and really taught me a lot about paint. I would sit at the end of the counter on my slow work days and observe. Got to know a lot of the local body guys who always needed a/c work that showed me the collision side of it. Plus getting access to the seminars and classes.
 
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