layzieb36

Hey I was wondering if you could answer a question for me which is probably a very simple one.

I'm looking to do some painting/minor body work on my box. The question is is there any special type of primer i need to use under the BOP (8P top coat? Will the color of the primer affect the end result blending with the rest of the car? How many coats of clear should be about right?

Thanks-

Chris

layzieb36

No one has an answer? I find this a bit odd At least give an opinion then

Chris

aweezee

What is the damage, scratch or deep scratch etc.

aweezee

OH and what color is the car, typically, when you have a lighter color or a candy in order for you to a) not have to use as much paint and b) promote the brighter/lighter color of the paint a white or grey primer should be used. Black and dark blue, you should use a darker grey or black primer. I prefer to use high fill primer, it seems to have less drip and dries more evenly as an added bonus it will fill any minor indentions in the surface.
Hope this helps!
Andrew

aweezee

So your box is on the darker blue side. I would suggest a black or grey primer.

vettereddie

On the darker colors, any color primer should work. The extra needed to mask a light color primer should be minimal. The delta is much greater if a dark primer is used for a light top coat. I'm using a medium dry time primer for my sub box, the fast seems to be too fast and makes cleanup a pain. Don't forget that metallics are two part paints so you'll need a clear over it to get the desired shinyness.

layzieb36

I figured on going with a med grey primer...

How many coats of clear you think it would take to match the exterior of the xb...?

-Chris

layzieb36

I purchased my box used...so I'm looking to fix some deep scratches on the front spoiler, just figured it'd be a lot cheaper for me to do it than to buy a whole new part

-Chris

aweezee

For a deep scratch in abs plastic you can use body filler (bondo). Spring for the good stuff, it makes a big difference. Remember that all it is is a 2 part epoxy so the amount of hardener you use is crucial. Too much and you won't be able to play with it long enough, if at all. Too little and congratulations you made a pencil eraser. Sand at least 4 inches out to ensure a decent blend, personally I sand out farther so you dont end up with a "stepped" look. Finish with a lite wet sanding of the area and allow to dry. Clean the work with an agent that will leave no residue behind. I use denatured alcohol. Once that drys give the area a day to set. Come back and shoot your paint. You will have to use more paint on curved surfaces then on a flat one. I have ended up going over an area with 5-10 light coats of color. Keep your coats thin, they will dry more evenly and you will not get the orange peel effect. When you spray practice first, and be sure to sweep in with a "U" motion, i.e. sweep in and lift out with each pass so that your color doesn't become heavy on the ends of the area you are painting. As far a matchi9ng the clear thickness, that is something you will have to eyeball. Like Vettereddie said metalics require quite a bit to match, my advice is go slow and inspect between coats
- Andrew

layzieb36

Sweet...thanks for the info. Learned some new stuff there. Got any advice on baking the paint, I was thinking of using a space heater in the plastic area i'm blocking off...what do you think?

-Chris

aweezee

Where are you going to be painting this(booth or outside or in your living room like me)

layzieb36

In the garage...self made plastic booth.

-Chris

aweezee

DO NOT USE A SPACE HEATER!!!!
The fumes in the are are very combustible! If you want to use anything get a hair dryer. Anything hotter then that will bubble the paint. Especially the metallics, due to the fact the paint contains metal. On ABS and fiberglass (I used to work on 100K vettes) can retain the heat in strange ways, splintering the paint that is in contact with the old paint, I know weird.

layzieb36

Can I just leave it to dry or should I bake it another way?

-Chris

aweezee

I would just leave it to dry. Better to do that then risk damaging the work you did.

jwaj2002

for the bumper you need to use flexible putty, you get it at any auto paint store, you will also need a flex additive for the paint and adhesion promoter, you can use light grey, or any color primer you want but you need to use the same brand primer as paint, also if you want to use less coats of color you could get a blue primer, that would allow you to use less color to cover the whole lip, then 2 - 3 good coats of clear, DO NOT hammer it on, remember to overlap 50% of your previous spray on the primer/color, and 75% overlap on your clear, also you want to make sure after spraying each coat of clear, before it flashes, to make sure there is no dull spots, and always let the primer/color flash before coats, in 70 degrees low humidity 10 - 15 minutes between coats, basicly you want it to not be tacky or wet

layzieb36

Got me with the "flash" how exactly do you know when is the right time other than trial and error? What happens if your too early or late?

jwaj2002

ok, are you doing this in a spray booth? if so, wait till its got a satin finish, if not pretty much the same, the less humidity the better though, your best bet, incase you forget anything, go to a place like sherwin williams, and talk to their paint guy there, and tell him what your doing, you want the auto paint store not house paint


flash means when the solvent has flashed and its semi dry, if your not spraying in a booth, you will want to wait 24 hours after doing your primer to prep that for paint, and then 48 atleast after you clear to clean up runs/trash

aweezee

Basically don't shoot over or try to mess with paint that has any surface tack to it.
BTW jwaj2002 thanks for hitting the points I missed.

layzieb36

Yea I'm ordering the paint on-line...doing an exact match on the 8P8. I'm thinking a pint will be plenty for the small area I'm working with. So lets see if I got this right...

1. Sand, Prep, etc.

2. Spray primer wait 24 hours

3. Prep that...Paint (including clear) wait 48 hours

4. Clean up possible wet sanding

that about right?