i was using ppg epoxy and tried new matrix. what a deal! Cost was under $100 a kit and just as good as ppg imho. i heard eric mention that he was going to use epoxy start to finish so i am trying it on the trans am. great so far. adhesion is unreal! build property is ok as is sanding. i mixed some on a plastic cup and piece of small metal and let it dry. bent the metal to hell and it never lifted or cracked! same for plastic cup.

Just so you know NOT all epoxies are created equal there. PPG epoxy is one epoxy I would not try going the all epoxy route, it sands like crap and has little film build. Dont know if anyone is using the matrix epoxy for this purpose, althou Ive heard good things about it.

Also pretty much all the guys that are using epoxy all the way are spraying 1 heavy coat at a time. Allowing that to dry for around 1 day then blocking sanding and allowing another day before applying additional epoxy.

Dont use epoxy like you would an urethane primer two different products with two different characteristics.

Well i am mostly getting better at my metal working skills and epoxy should do it for me. I have used ppg dp for epoxy and poly prime over it with great results but never had a chance to test the product that good. This stuff has some great adhesion properties! It does not sand that good. sort of real slick and hard!

Once you try SPI epoxy you'll never look at the DPLF again-that's the reaction most user's have. It's a different animal. Adhesion, solvent resistance, and sandability are many steps ahead of PPG's stuff IMO. I've used over 20 gallons of the product now with complete satisfaction in every drop.

I think he was referring to now using matrix than the ppg.

I've used the matrix epoxy for a year or so and found it to be very good. It
sprays nice and lays out good with excellent adhesion. Also sands very good
for an epoxy. Have a local paint store here that stocks all of it and is very
good to work with so I'm sold on it and the price is hard to beat:thumbsup:

Chuck

Eric, please give me your rationale for using Epoxy all the way. I personally don't see the point, but may have missed something.

Larry

Eric, please give me your rationale for using Epoxy all the way. I personally don't see the point, but may have missed something.

Larry

Larry, I havent done a "complete" epoxy job so am not speaking from a great deal of personal experience. Other then my own personal truck, I havent done the all epoxy paint work.
A few months ago I fixed my 06 Dodge truck, new bedside and dent repair on the other side. New got 2 coats of SPI epoxy blocked and painted. The repair side got metalfinished and smoothed with SPI epoxy.
Granted its only been since July but the results IMO look better then anything Ive seen when urethane primer was invovled.


I have read enough info about the process from several different people with resto/paint shops that I value their opinions highly.
The all epoxy process for one darn near removes shrinkback caused by urethane primers. The epoxy is also more durable and flexible then urethane primers. That means less rock chips and cracks on flexible parts rubber bumpers. Also the bond of epoxy is superior to itself vs if you just sprayed epoxy over the metal then used urethane for the blocking.
Because epoxy is a better product as a solvent barrier die back or loss of gloss caused from solvent escape is reduced.

You can not push the epoxy and spray it like an urethane and apply 2-3 coats at a time. You need to spray 1 coat at a time allowing time to cure before and after sanding, then apply 1 additional coat.
Slow boring process.

Thanks for the response.

You make some good points, but I think I will stick with the uretahne for surfacing.

I am a great fan of Epoxy for the intial coat on a over all and use it extensively.I am in the middle of my first Corvette job and put epoxy over the Gelcoat.

Good Luck!

Larry

SPI is great. I would highly recommend for a novice to use their paint. Sands easy in case you screw up. You only have to reduce it a tiny bit to get it to spray nice and smooth. I will never use anything else.

I here you guys talking about reducing SPI epoxy. When I spray it sometimes I get it on a bit too dry for my liking. What should I be thinning it with ?

Thanks, Tony

For reduction use urethane reducer, SPI's 870 or PPG's DT870 or any quality grade mid or high temp urethane reducer will work. The primer can be reduced up to 20% but you should allow the product to induce after mixing for 20minutes minimum before spraying. Mix and reduce the primer, allow it to set for 20minutes, stir again and poor in your gun. The reduction works extremely well for when you use the epoxy as a sealer before paint, allows me to shoot a perfect super thin slick coat before paint.

Thanks for the response.

You make some good points, but I think I will stick with the uretahne for surfacing.

I am a great fan of Epoxy for the intial coat on a over all and use it extensively.I am in the middle of my first Corvette job and put epoxy over the Gelcoat.

Good Luck!

Larry

Larry, There's SPI followers using SPI epoxy start to finish on fiberglass and steel with awesome results. Read some of Shine's posts on the SPI user's forum, he's been doing vette restoration for many years. I've done jobs with epoxy start to finish and the gloss retention and durability has always been better than using urethane surfacers, but like Eric says the process is slow.