I'm about to get my car repainted and have found a shop. This will be the second repaint on this car and it's going to be stripped (sanded) and redone using BC/CC process.

I was not happy with the last paint job, he left dirt in the clear coat and a lot of sand marks when he tried to fix it (several trips back). There are also a couple of blisters in the 5 year old paint and spots where the car had had water on it when it was painted.

Can someone briefly outline what I should be watching for during the process? What type of primer should he be using, should it be sanded before the clear coat? What should be I expect from the final coat?


TIA



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Bob

My 69 Malibu (http://chevelles.com/showroom/bftrratutt5of01.jpg)

The use of an epoxy primer is by far the best....allowed to cure several days before sanding.

Base coat is not sanded prior to clearing.

What should you expect from the final finish? Depends on how much you are paying for the job, what brand and specific line of base/clear will be used and whether the finish is color sanded and buffed.

Keep in mind, unless you do the work yourself or have an EXTREMELY nice and talented friend, there ain't no cheap or quick quality paint jobs.

Thanks vettefella:

I appreciate your feedback. I don't want something for nothing but got taken the last time and he wore me down in the end. I want to avoid that this time and leave with both me and this shop owner happy. I know the guy is trying to make a living, it's hard to determine who is and who isn't less than honorable.

That said, I want to ask the right questions and know what to expect. It cuts down on grief afterwards. At the same time I want the best job I can get without spending more than it's worth.

So, sand after prime, quality paints, and perhaps wet sand after the clear. Good. Thanks again for the tips. Any others will be appreciated.




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Bob

My 69 Malibu (http://chevelles.com/showroom/bftrratutt5of01.jpg)

Hate to disagree with Vettefella but epoxy is seldom used in a restoration other than a base on the bare metal for urethane primer.

Epoxy doesn't fill well and sands like gum. BUT, it is great over bare metal and sticks like....well...GLUE.

They could also go etch primer over the bare metal then a urethane. The urethane is used for blocking and surfaceing to get that smooth finish you are after.

As Vettefella was asking, what brand paint? Not that one is that much better than another. You should look in the paint area of the shop. Is there lots of different brands? Is there off brands like Five Star or Mar-hyde? Most quality shops stick with ONE brand of paint for everything. Not to say that they could have many brands because they spray different paints for different customers, but this is rare.

Tell the shop that you want the better type of paint that their paint company sells. What I mean is that PPG and Dupont and Sherman Williams all sell a cheaper form of paint. PPG sells Omni Sherman sells Western, just make sure you get the better form. At my shop we use Sherman Williams paint and also use the Western paint. We use the cheaper paint on older cars or for people that dont what to spend the money.

Personally I dont like expoy primer over bare metal, I go with a wash primer or self etching primer first. Also look for a quality body filler, like rage or rage gold they will be made by evercoat.

Ask the shop owner what procedures he will go through on your car, and ask questions if you are not familiar with that he tells you. Take notes and ask someone that you trust in body repair business if what the shop owner is telling you the right way it should be done. Good luck...Eric

MARTINSR:

This shop uses R-M paints. I just found out that there were different grades so I'll be talking to the painter next week to get the best grade he has to offer.

The car has to be sanded bare because it's already pretty thick (14 something, I think certainly not a painter) in some places.

So it looks like I need to make sure I get a blocking step in the process too.

Thanks,

Edit:

Eric:

"Ask the shop owner what procedures he will go through on your car, and ask questions if you are not familiar with that he tells you. Take notes and ask someone that you trust in body repair business if what the shop owner is telling you the right way it should be done. Good luck...Eric"

I think you hit on the key here. Knowing what's going to happen is probably my best insurance.

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Bob

My 69 Malibu (http://chevelles.com/showroom/bftrratutt5of01.jpg)

[This message has been edited by BobFmTyler (edited 11-25-2001).]

Put everything that he is supposed to do and what it will cost on a contract and both sign it. That way each of you know what the other expects and you are both protected............Ward