cdrod

I'm ready to prime the undercarriage of my car and some other parts, like the core support, firewall, etc. I've read that it is important to match the brand of primer to the finish-coat paint, but haven't decided on the exact brand and color, just yet. My original color is #26 Viking Blue and I want to stay very close to the OEM color but it's not a deal-breaker if the shade is slightly different as my project is not a concours restoration. I also wouldn't mind if there was a little metallic sparkle in the paint either.

Eastwood Co. has 2 colors that I am considering; Cruise Night Metallic Blue #50381ZP, or GM LeMans Blue Metallic #51711ZP. I know Eastwood simply repackages another brand of paint and puts their label on it, but is it good paint? Should I look elsewhere? I've already talked with a local PPG shop but they were unable to help me with the #26 Viking Blue code number or the Dupont #927-AF017. The counter guy tossed my a couple of late-model books and told me to choose something that was close from a more modern car.

This will be my first paint job, so I'm doing my homework and want to do things correctly. I want to spray an epoxy primer to seal the bare metal before doing any body filler or block sanding. I plan to spray a bed-liner product on the bottom of the floorboard and trunk area, and a satin black on the firewall and core support. I don't want to have any compatibility issues between the primer and the finish color so I'm looking for a good system. This doesn't have to be super expensive, top-of-the-line paint but it does need to be durable as this will be a daily driver. I would also prefer a paint system that is easy to work with and more forgiving of mixing errors (remember, I'm a novice at painting) Any help from CO members would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Rodney

coppercutlass

It's important to match brands for warranty. I'm using eastwood primer top coating with nexa aqua base code 63 then doing transtar motor city clear. I have zero qualms about that. My previous paint job on my olds I used ppg primer,dupont primer , transtar sealer and ppg base and dupont clear. No issues for 8 years and I'm only painting it because I beat my car up and it had dents and I went back to steel front end parts. Check out TCP global. They offer oem colors in their "own" brand but many think it's ppg dbc. Then you can clear with transtar or spi clear. Don't get hung up on matching all the brands. Good work will go a long way.

chopolds

Unless you are painting "wet on wet", it's not so important to match brands of primer to final paint. I use a certain primer exclusively, and only half the time paint over it with the same brand paint. When the primer is dry, it should be able to accept any type or brand of paint (with some exceptions, of course).
But if you're shooting primer and going over it immediately with sealer, or paint, then stick with one brand, as long as the tech sheets tell you, that you can do this.

cdrod

What is a good brand of epoxy primer to spray on bare metal as a first coat? Are the Eastwood products good quality? They seem a little pricey but I don't know what good paint products should cost. Thanks.

coppercutlass

For Epoxy primers i have heard very good things about SPI southern polyurethane . I would personally not buy stuff from eastwood becasue its almost priced the same as well known generics. There is a store here in alsip il. Its the eastwood store. i went to check it out and bought my filler , Bought their brand high build primer and a bunch of other stuff. It came out to be more than my usual place i order from which is TP tools. Great prices BTW and name brands. Transtar is a " generic " material company I have used their primers for the last 8 years with no issues. I like their classic euro primer because it can be mixed as a high build primer or a sealer. They also make an epoxy primer. The classic Euro high build primer is offered in a DTM which is ok to apply to bare metal as it has corrosion protection agents in it.

The transtar primer for 1 gallon and 1 qt. of activator runs 120 then add 25 bucks for a 1qt of reducer. I like to reduce my primer. Its great quality and the price is fair.

Also FWIW at TCP global 1 gallon of my paint code 63 cost about 350 ish plus reducer. Thats a great price and the also offer economy paints like eastwood. I used eastwood single stage black on an old k5 blazer i fixed for an EX of mine it held up great for an off road rig.

coppercutlass

SPI southern polyurethanes ., supposedly the guy who started it was a chemist for PPG fwiw.