72notchback

I had a question regarding the prep work and how to go about getting fenders, hood, doors, and trunk lid ready to prime. The rest of the body is getting worked on at a snails pace, so I made a deal with a friend to help me get the above mentioned parts cleaned up and epoxy primed.

My questions are many, but here are some of the details. I plan to get these parts somehow stripped down to bare metal and have all the metal work done and sprayed in epoxy primer. Hopefully these parts will be done then assembled back on car to align and await more precise body work.

Trunk lid. I picked up the lid a few years ago and it is off another cutlass not a 442. The lid needs nothing more than striped and the existing holes welded up and the new ones drilled out. The only rust is very light surface rust on the underside where there was never any paint or primer. Kinda between the panels. The seam sealer in cracked and missing in a few spots where there was the ever slight amount of rust.

Question#1 what would be the best way to strip the trunk lid down to bare metal? Sandblaster? The top was already taken to bare metal and sprayed with a cheap primer so it will be easy to get bare again. I am just worried about the difficulty of the bends and curves of the underneath.

Question #2 welding the existing trim holes. The lid has the larger drilled out holes crossed the bottom. I am guessing that this would be the time to weld these up and using a brass/copper welding spoon should be simple enough. Would you drill out the new emblem holes prior to epoxy primer?

Question #3 how much time between stripping and getting them in primer is normal? My buddy has a spray booth and wanted to do all the primer at one time, two coats. He said get them stripped and mostly ready and then he would run a DA with some 180/200over and wipe them down and spray them up. My worry is the length of time it will take to get them stripped without starting to rust again.

Thoughts??? I am thinking sandblaster for all the hard to get areas and aircraft stripper for all the flat areas. I am going to talk to my friend that is going to spray them and see if maybe he can do them in groups so I don't have a whole garage of bare metal parts.

More to come on the other parts, but the hood is also very nice and rust free. The only real question mark is the fenders. Solid but might need some patch work.

Thanks Dave

coppercutlass

Ok here is my take on it. For the underside media blast it. You know there is roll on primers you apply with rollers. My 72 I media blasted the whole under side and doors and fenders and deck lid. The roof I sanded with a da sander and the door jambs I did by hand. I would use an etch primer vs. the epoxy. Epoxy primers are good for floors engine bays and areas that might see solvents. Or you can use a high build primer surface with anti corrosion in it and kill 2 birds with one stone. I would do more that 2 coats. I do 3 big heavy coats then block it all out Im mainly looking for big dips but the extra coats will ensure that any little ripples will be filled as they should with primer. Another little tip I would encourage is to let the very last coat of primer sit for a few months before you sand it let it see varying temperatures . Fillers , metal , primer all expand and contract and you want it to do that before you paint it other wise it will show up down the road . It took me about 4 months to square away my body work on weekends and a few week nights.

coppercutlass

here is a link to my thread on my current updates on my 72. I did some patch work on the fenders and filled in the trim holes.


https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...-old-girl.html

RonFX

Hello:
Here are my 2 cents worth, I am doing a body off resto on my 66 Cutlass, I found a media blaster that does very nice work and does no damage to sheetmetal in the process. It is great to get your parts back nice and clean and ready for Etch Primer, no chemical burns on your skin or a face full of sanding dust. I hit the panels w/ a quick hand sanding to smooth out the surface, spray w/ acetone or something to help wash off any bad stuff and clean it. I like Copper's idea of letting the primers "cure" for awhile before finishing also. The main thing is, however you do it, take your time and do it right.
Thanks Ron

oldstata

I metal worked most of my build media blasting is nice but if funds is a issue you can do it the old fashion way like I did sanded with 40 grit just before metal started to show then 80 then hit metal with the 120

Check out my build thread sorry using my phone and don't know how to link cut and paste should work

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50016

coppercutlass

You could also use those huge strip wheels you out on a buffer and they remove material pretty fast but don't gouge the metal or create too much heat. sand paper can get expensive.


http://www.eastwood.com/cleaning-disc-7.html

72notchback

I like the responses so far and will check out a couple of those links.

Not being a body man or a painter I really don't have an opinion or the correct way to go about the primer. What is the "normal" way to go about it. Or better yet is what my friend wants to do the wrong way? He wants to apply the epoxy primer first, then once assembled use multiple coats of some build primer.
My goal is to get all the panels, which are mostly rust and dent free, ready for block sanding stage.

oldstata

I have no body work history besides just giving it a try on my build I have a great friend teaching me and guiding me I did all the metal work except for my quarters and the lead work. I believe I wrote up a pretty good write up, this is what I did stripped, worked out all dents and rust issues. I used eching primer and a high build poly primer like 4 good coats. The plan is once I. assemble it I will be block sanding it now if I did a great job all I will need to do is block and paint, but if needed apply some glaze in my low spots and work them out and either patch prime or reprime and start again.

Edited glaze not filler

Copper so once we block sand if needed use the glaze the use a uerathane primer ? Then wet block sand if I understood you correctly

coppercutlass

72notchback I don't do my work like your buddy does., but that does not mean he is wrong. Now here is how I do things. I get everything to bare metal. the I use an etch primer. The etch primer is still good to put filler over so you don't have to grind or sand off every little bit of the etch primer ., plus its really thin. Once you do all your body work and it you get it to a good state to prime it use your high build primer. urethanes are expensive so I like to use a good polyester primer ( not feather fill ) to really build it up then I block it down probably 80 percent gets blocked off. Then once you find your low and high spots you put finishing glaze on those block it out then you go ahead and use a good high build urethane primer you dry block then wet block then you go back over it with a medium soft block because the hardblocks will bite and leave marks from the edges.


As a side note the poly primer does not shrink nearly as much as the urethane will it will fill grind marks and pits., although I don't suggest it . This is how I did my car. all in all I primered it 3 times. Once with the polyester then the high buils urethane then once I blocked that I gave everything 2 nice thin coats to act as a sealer to wet sand before base coat. I don't consider etch priming the "priming" process . So if you count that then I primered it 4 times.

oldstata

Basically it's the same way as copper he explained it better then I could. I didn't use poly then urethane I just used the poly. Also I worked out all dents and rust issue before etching primer I can see the benifits to doing this as it was a few weeks getting done and oxidization can set in that's why I used the 120 grit on the whole thing right before we primed

coppercutlass

If you get it media blasted its important to primer it ASAP !!!!! I gre up at my dads work where they specialize in media blasting and electrolysis submersion for degreasing de rusting and any metal cleaning and plating removal. One thing I learned is to primer bare metal asap specially after media blasting. I usually cut out all the rusted areas then primer everything then I go in and weld stuff afterwards so thigns don't sit in bare metal too long.

oldstata

I used body files and a bulls eye punch to metal work out of curiosity how would primer affect the tools I don't think you can use metal files on the primer

I basically block sanded with a file

coppercutlass

The metal file is great but its preference. There is nothing wrong with metal finishing and as im teaching my self to do paintless dent repair I find my self doing more and more metal finishing at work. The primer has no effect really if you hammer it it will get a divet so you don't want to be hammering on primer . You want to block the primer with 180 the finish it with 320 .

72notchback

It seems etching primer is the choice if taken to bare metal.

Here is the plan. I am going to start on trunk lid and the hood. I know both are solid and require no metal work other than welding emblem holes. I plan on doing all the welding first and then think I can get them stripped down both in a weekend. So what would be the best , easiest, way for me to get these in etching primer? Do they make roll on etching primer? If I have my buddy spray them I have to take them about an hour and leave them at his shop. I don't mind doing that, but the sole reason is so he can prime them. If it is something I can do on my own I am up for trying. Plus learning would make it easier when doing the fenders and doors which are going to need more attention.

oldstata

They sale eching primer in a rattle can, I am not sure on price or quality. I know our body shop uses it on small sections when it's going to be a min before it gets to the painter

Jetstarjim

I'm not so sure I would try to roll on an etch primer, at least on a areas that will be visible after paint. You would have to try to sand the texture out of it, without going through it, or you'll kind of be back to square one. I would probably wash it with DX520, and put a DP epoxy on it. Just my thought, though.


Aside from the rust concern, sand scratch swelling and poor adhesion are issues many hobbyist have after the fact. One of the key things many forget is to blow off and pre-clean between every coat of filler and every coat of primer.


Good luck with your project!

Bernhard

The primer should be done in a spray booth.
Painter safety
Most body shops have a clean air supply

x2 media blast straight into primer

I like epoxy primer


I would weld the trunk lid holes first then media blast then epoxy

If I had rust issues I would media blast then epoxy.
Cut metal out then remove epoxy were I weld then re-apply the epoxy.
I don't like to leave any metal bare for any length of time.

Remember safety first, know what you are working with and how to handle it properly.

I like standard quality plastic filler or fiber glass strand filler over welds for the first coat.


Don't cheep out on the media blaster find someone with a good rep
Use good quality primer and filler this is the foundation for your paint.
Price does not always = quality do your research.

Bernhard

In body work and paint there is more than one way to get the job done.
Say my fenders are rusted at the bottom I could cut the back brace out so that they can blast in behind then. So that when I replace the rust with a patch there is no hidden rust.

Option two blast and prime all parts.
When I go to replace the lower fender. I find hidden surface rust behind the brace. I cut the brace out and spot blast the rust.


Option three spot blast the rust areas were there will be metal work remove all rust and dents and hidden rust during repair.
After all the metal work is done media blast the whole car and prime.