Dash primer

[Max lobato]

Good morning
Does anyone have a suggestion for a primer for my dash? I bought a cheap harbor freight gun and regulator and trying to gather the courage to paint my dash. Any tips and precautions are more then welcome.
Thanks
Max

 

[gkent]

What's wrong with epoxy primer ?

 

[Max lobato]

What's wrong with epoxy primer ?

Nothing that i know of. I am not familiar with the world of painting. I know there are alot of diffrent types of primer i just want to make sure im using the correct one for what i am doing. Does epoxy primer need to be on bare metal or can it be painted over existing paint?

 

[gkent]

Epoxy primer can be sprayed over paint or bare metal. When I did my dash I used a quality rattle can primer. Some may scoff at this but its hard to justify buying a quart of epoxy, hardener, reducer, etc just to do a dash.

 

[44070dart]

Rattle canned a few over the years, pretty happy with results.. Sanded using several grades of paper, cleaned it in between different grades, used filler primer, lightly sanded with 2000. Vacuumed seats, and rugs before I painted, then wiped down dash and painted. DO your prep work well and results will show it. My advise: Keep it CLEAN !

 

[moparsaver]

I recommend the use of adhesion promoter from herbs parts. https://www.herbsparts.com/products.asp?cat=832

 

[Max lobato]

Nice thank you for the help. What brand of rattle can you you suggest?

 

[44070dart]

I used Duplicolor for mine. If there is bare metal use an etching primer first. Let your primer dry a day or two before top coat. To me it seems to need a longer drying time then even they recommend. Also let the top coat dry for a couple days at least before you begin to put it back together. Don't ask how I know.

 

[gkent]

If there is bare metal use an etching primer first.

An etch primer is only efficient on bare metal (because the acid in the primer reacts with the bare metal - not paint). So if you only have a few bare spots, etch primer is NOT the product to use. Can you use it on painted surfaces ... sure, but it won't be doing the job its developed for.

As for the "adhesion promoter", that product is for use on the soft vinyl surfaces - not metal. And since you've bought a gun and asking about primers I'm assuming you're painting the metal dash frame.

I used a rattle can primer from a paint supplier - many Napa stores carry a good line of paint products. If the dash is black, go with black primer. Any other color and grey is likely the best bet.

 

[44070dart]

Agreed. When I did mine I didn't have bare metal. I didn't know how far Max needed to go to clean his dash. I've found the filler primer works well for me even with good sanding procedures, I like to use it.

 

[66383]

Epoxy primer can be sprayed over paint or bare metal. When I did my dash I used a quality rattle can primer. Some may scoff at this but its hard to justify buying a quart of epoxy, hardener, reducer, etc just to do a dash.

I used Herbs interior rattle can paint.

 

[69L48Z27]

It would help if you had pics of the part you want to paint. Old finish, bare metal, etc. I assume your not talking about soft parts?

This is Shop Line base coat engineered with the texture and right color for the 67. Used my cheap Titan spray gun. No primers or anything, 400 over original finish. No rust or bare sports either. Since it's an interior finish it won't get the elements like the exterior.

Before

After

 

[gkent]

"base coat" usually implies a base/clear combo. So are you shooting a clear over it ? For texture I'd go with a single stage. Shops will mix it but their minimum is a quart !!

 

[69L48Z27]

No clear coat. The local PPG jobber here works with one of the big Mopar resto shops and they came up with a textured base coat formula to replace the old lacquer. Shop Line base coat can be left open (no clear) on interior applications. I did use it on my steering wheel, smoothed the texture with 800 and shot semi clear on that.

 

[Max lobato]

Thank you for all the responses. Heres a pic of my dash. It has a few spots where its down to metal due to rust. im not finished prepping it. I hit it all with 220 first

 

[CoronetDarter]

When restoring the Coronet, the dash had so much surface rust I had it media blasted. Down to bare metal I used SEM rattle can etch primer and top coated with John Deere Blitz Black rattle can. The JD paint has a slightly rough texture that comes close to the factory suede finish.


Another tip I picked up from a FBBO member was to paint the underside a contrasting light silver to make it easier to see the wiring harnesses.