Paint & Body advice

jjschm · Apr 7, 2016

I am looking for a little advice before I get started on the bodywork and paint on my Belvedere. There is a lot of advice and instruction out there on how to do the work if you are in a shop or can essentially go from start to finish continually, but my reality is I'll be able to do a panel at a time and it might be days or even weeks between evenings/weekends before moving on to the next panel. How would you proceed? I want to do this myself both for the learning experience and hopefully cheap.

So as I strip, sand, fill, sand, prime, etc...How would you go about it so I'm not dealing with a lot of flash rust or other issues as a result of down times?

Thanks,

Jon

barbee6043 · Apr 7, 2016

are you replacing panels? taking to bare metal and repainting ,,,, fixing what rust you find ( you will find some on any car)? do you have welder, compressor, all the equip. needed? a place to work? driver or show poodle???

my method: take to bare metal, repair rust, epoxy prime, body filler, epoxy primer over filler, get her straight, high build primer, get her staright, epoxy with reducer for sealer, top coat.

hint: your finish coat will be only as good , as all the work beforehand.

Lets Roll · Apr 7, 2016

All I can think of is the countless hours of holding light at different angles , filling , skimming, priming, sanding, sanding, sanding, sanding ..etc. Its easiest to have a pro do the final finish on a car they earn their money.

2quick · Apr 7, 2016

X2 on what barbee6043 said and I would highly recommend for the novice painter to give southern polyurethanes a call 404.307.9740 or check out their website http://www.southernpolyurethanes.com Gary operates a Tech Line 7 days a week or you could text him almost any time of day with questions about what to apply, when, and in what order, How long to wait between coats, How many coats, Or even what temperature needs to be maintained and for how long after spraying. He is the only reason I am able to do my own body work and paint like a pro.....You could also check out my build as I am working on my 66 panel by panel. Click here

jjschm · Apr 7, 2016

Thanks!

To answer your questions...

I don't think I'll have to replace panels on this project (other than the floor which I've already done). Eventually, I'll get to the convertible and it will likely need panels, but that is down the road.

I would like to sand down to bare metal or maybe chemical strip down. There is some rust, but it is mostly surface rust.

Yes, I have a large compressor, spray equipment, etc.

In the end, I want to learn the process, enjoy the journey, and hopefully get something out that I'm proud of and looks nice.

-Jon

mr.belvedere · Apr 7, 2016

post car and a vert' ? I'm jealous....

jjschm · Apr 7, 2016

mr.belvedere said:
post car and a vert' ? I'm jealous....

Thanks! so is my wife. :laughing7: I'd be happy if either one had the paintjob on your GTX.

When you complete the bodywork on a panel do you spray it each time or can you use rattle can primer to protect it from flashing. It takes a bunch of time setting up and cleaning the spray gun each time I use it.

-Jon

727 · Apr 7, 2016

Don't settle for good enough

I just painted my wife's '66 Belvedere. It was my first auto body project. I got a lot of help from the local O'Reilys auto parts paint desk.
I could only get the filler so straight. I used a building primer (Euro- Fill, by Evercoat) to build and block the shallow low spots. I tried another primer by Master pro and didn't care for it. The Euro fill can be sanded in less than three hours after spraying. The master pro need a day and a half to cure up before it could be worked.
I used 3M quick grip body filler and it sanded O.K.
I used a two part 3M platinum glaze and loved how easy it was to work with.
I used Nason Full-Thane paint with Nason reducer and Master pro wet look hardener.
If you're spraying pain with a siphon cup sprayer run the pressure about 40psi. If you are using a HVLP gravity feed gun run the pressure Low about 10-15 PSI or you'll get orange peel. I think i used a 1.4 tip in a my HVLP gun
Spraying primer is different. You'll have to practice on a piece of cardboard or sheet metal
Look on Youtube for sanding and building primer suggestions.
When everyone else tells you it looks good block it some more. you'll be your own biggest critic

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I built a paint booth out of plastic sheeting and duct tape in my shop.

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more pics

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On more thing. Get some joint pain medicine! You're going to ache when you start block sanding.

mr.belvedere · Apr 7, 2016

jjschm said:
Thanks! so is my wife. :laughing7: I'd be happy if either one had the paintjob on your GTX.

When you complete the bodywork on a panel do you spray it each time or can you use rattle can primer to protect it from flashing. It takes a bunch of time setting up and cleaning the spray gun each time I use it.

-Jon

thanks for the compliment. any metal work required was performed using a weld through primer where needed, as well as any hammer and dolly work. after a primary massage, the whole body was stripped and blasted to bare metal, then immediately received a good wet coat of ppg dp epoxy primer/sealer. this was a base for any filler work that needed to be done, as the filler actually adheres to the epoxy better than bare metal. and yes, anywhere I broke through got a recoat to prevent any surface rust flash. after that, lots of priming and blocking with k38 till flat, then sealed with some tinted k93, base, clear, done. the results are in all the prep under the sealer, the base and clear is the easy part.

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and btw, half the **** I used i'm sure probably isn't state of the art anymore, or even legal. the current body guys i'm sure will chime in on what the best stuff is now.:headbang:

barbee6043 · Apr 7, 2016

prep is the secret. if any problems, they will definitely show up after top coat. me, i'm 68, I can't afford to pay someone, and I only has so much strength to block. and I don't want to spent months on it. the idea is to drive it, not work on it forever!!???

and repair panels for 66-7 Plymouth b bodies are crap!!!!! sorry.....

1967coronet · Apr 7, 2016

Only thing I will add to the good advice above is if your going to panel paint the car in the end go with a solid color.
metallic colors will flop direction on you from panel to panel if you paint in stages and end up looking miss matched.

Paint & Body advice

jjschm

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barbee6043

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Lets Roll

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2quick

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jjschm

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mr.belvedere

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jjschm

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727

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