Photos of the finish painted pieces are in Bench Racing under "Mr Malibu's New Paint". These are some taken along the way. I did all work including BC/CC paint myself in a makeshift "booth". The process was: Grind off paint and bondo to bare metal in all suspected rust and filled areas. Cut out rusty metal and mig weld in repro or fabbed patch panels. Grind down welds and cover all welds with resin jelly (to seal holes). Sand down resin to flush with metal/welds. Chemically strip remainder of car with aircraft stripper (what a PITA) and remove remaining residue with clean & strip pads on an angle grinder. Primer entire car with SPI epoxy primer (great stuff). Scuff primer and fill where required with Evercoat Rage. Sand filler with 36, 80, then 220 grit. Primer those area with epoxy primer. Block sand with 220 then 320 grit dry. Use Evercoat Metal Glaze for pinholes and small low spots. Apply more epoxy primer reduced 10% with urethane reducer (per SPI). Wetsand with 400 grit. On "paint days" (car painted in pieces), wipe down with w & g remover and apply sealer consisting of one wet coat of SPI epoxy primer reduced 25%. Let that sit 60 minutes, tack off and apply 3 base coats, flash, then tack off and apply 3 coats of clear coat (Dupont Chromabase and G2-7779S clear). Some lessons learned are: Clear (at least this stuff was) activator/reducer is very sensitive to temperature range. I used mid-temp (70-80) and spraying at 78 got bad orange peel. Best results were at 63-65. Even at 72 wasn't the greatest. The "at gun" pressure spec for paint guns is with the trigger pulled. It took 63 psi at my gun to the spec'd 18 psi with the trigger pulled. Too much pressure is way better than not enough. Set up your gun with each type of paint being sprayed and test on a piece of cardboard or paper before starting. Primer and base coat aren't too hard to get a nice job but clear is another story. Very sensitive to temp, gun setup and technique. Don't mask with plastic. Previous coats or layers of paint/primer will dry and flake off the plastic in big chunks into the coat or layer you're applying when the air from the gun hits it, especially if there is an edge or wrinkles in the plastic near the painted surface. If two-toning be very careful with the type of masking tape you use (adhesion/residue). I started with 3M blue painter's tape with too high of adhesion. It left a lot of glue residue that had to be cleaned off with w & g remover.

More photos.

man, you should have parted that car out! :D

Great Work! :thumbsup:

THANKS for all the tips. Car looks great.

NIce work Von :thumbsup: Are we gonna see it at Chevelle~a~bration next year?

NIce work Von :thumbsup: Are we gonna see it at Chevelle~a~bration next year?
Yes that's the plan. Not a show car though, just a fun driver.

Lookin good, Von! Next car maybe shoot it in a real booth?? :D

Yes that's the plan. Not a show car though, just a fun driver.


Nothing wrong with that my friend. That's what my 69 Malibu is :thumbsup: :cool: I drove mine up to Maine from New Jersey and back this August. It drew a ton of attention just being a little ol' Malibu. Maybe I'll drive mine down to CB09 too :D.

Pics of the makeshift booth. Yes if this were an SS or intended to be a top level show car I would've painted it (or more likely had it painted by a pro) in a real booth. This was done "on a budget" and to prove to myself I could do it by myself from beginning to end and still have it be very presentable.

Nice work Von, nicely done :thumbsup::beers:

Grind down welds and cover all welds with resin jelly (to seal holes). Sand down resin to flush with metal/welds.

Von, this is excellent! Thanks for posting this detailed sequence! I am in the same position (tight budget working on a clean driver) and this sort of information is priceless!
In your post, you said you apply resin jelly directly to the bare metal after grinding the welds. What "holes" are you referring to? Just pits/pinholes in the weld seams?

Also, it looks like your approach was to get solid metal as clean as you could, smooth any necessary areas with Rage, and only use SPI epoxy (no 2K primer, spot putties, etc.) before your base coat. Is that correct? That's exactly the approach I was hoping to take.

Thanks again...several times a day I think "TC is just awesome!" and it's because of info like this. :thumbsup:
Tom

Yes the resin jelly went on the welds to seal pinholes and yes a few gaps. I also applied POR 15 to the backside of welds and surrounding metal. I primered bare metal and scuffed with 80 grit before applying Rage Gold. I only used SPI epoxy primer. It can be used as a sealer by reducing 10-50% with slow urethane reducer. Reducing it makes it flow out better and smoother. You can email SPI tech with any questions about it and Barry (the owner I believe) will respond back within minutes with answers. I haven't used 2k urethane primer but it probably would've been easier sanding when blocking and final wet sanding. Epoxy primer can be somewhat hard to sand and the more it's reduced the harder it is per SPI. If I was going after "the perfect paint job" I would've waited 24 hr for the sealer to dry then wet sanded with 600-800 grit before applying base. Also would've applied 3 coats of clear, then wet sanded with 600 and applied 3 more (uses a lot of clear). I learned clear flows out much better (less orange peel) on wet sanded clear than base coat (you can't sand base unless you apply more). That became evident on the trunk lid on which I had to wet sand the clear with 600 and apply more because of severe orange peel. The orange peel was caused by applying the mid-temp clear at 85 deg, a no-no in this case. I'm not sure but I suspect I should've used a slower (temp range) reducer with the base to make the clear flow out better.

Thanks for sharing, Von!

Great info, great work to follow. Youre the man! :thumbsup::beers:

Great thread, I am in the same boat as you so this info is very useful. Only I am about 4-5 months behind you!

BTW I welcome any critique from pros and experienced painters. If I did something wrong or if there's a better way please let all of us know. I don't want to lead anyone astray. This was my first full paint job and I want to pass on my learning experiences and mistakes to possibly save others some problems. I did use these same body work methods on my SS up to the blocking stage (a pro took over from there) and it's holding up fine after 10 years. It had new quarter skins from previous work though.

I just remembered I left out one important step. After the filler work I used Evercoat Slicksand high build polyester primer (about 3 coats) to block with 220 then 320 dry. Then the 10% reduced epoxy primer went on that before wet sanding began.

Von,
It looks fantastic! In my opinion it was a nice driver before you started the paint and body, but I do understand where you are coming from. Give me a call before doing anymore heavy lifting (I'll send the wife or kids over...)
Tom

Von, did you use a special SPI urethane reducer, and if not, what kind did you use and where did you get it?

Von, did you use a special SPI urethane reducer, and if not, what kind did you use and where did you get it?
Yes it was SPI #885 reducer but any proper temp range urethane reducer would probably work. I'd verify with SPI though. They're prompt in answering emails.

Good work Von. Now come do mine next...

Yes it was SPI #885 reducer but any proper temp range urethane reducer would probably work. I'd verify with SPI though. They're prompt in answering emails.

I have used DT reducer without any issues, Barry said it's fine as well.

Hey Von, it looks like it came out great. Congrats.
Ron

Von,
If you don't mind a couple more "newbie" questions here...
I see that you use the term "sealer" to refer to a reduced layer of epoxy primer, correct? If so when does one need a "sealer" coat and what is its purpose?

I am unclear as to why and at what stage you knew you needed to apply a 10% reduced coat of epoxy and at another time a 25% reduced coat.

I have SPI epoxy right now and will be using it shortly as soon as I finish welding a patch in my door and have it all down to bare metal, but the sealer & reduced coat have got me a bit confused.

Thanks for your patience!
Tom

Tom, There are people that know much more and can answer that question better than I but I'll give it a shot. My understanding of where "sealer" is desired is to cover and seal off possible problem coatings, filler, bare metal, etc. under the new finish in order to provide a consistent rate of adhesion, color, etc. In my case, after wet sanding I had a few tiny spots of bare metal showing and spots where filler was just peeking through, and different shades of primer. The base coat reducers can attack and lift lacquer primers and may not be compatible with other substrates. The 10% reduced was per the SPI tech manual. I thought that would be my sealer and final coat before base but after wet sanding it I knew that wasn't going to be the case. The 25% reduced is what SPI tech people recommended as a sealer if not sanding before applying base coat. If i were going for a show paint job I would've lightly wet sanded that too with 600-800 grit. The more you reduce it, the thinner it is and more it flows out to provide a smooth surface. SPI says you can reduce it up to 50%. If you have a large area of bare metal or exposed filler I'd use epoxy primer unreduced on that.

Thanks for sharing the info and pics. It's great to see this type of work. It gives many people such as myself, inspiration.

Tom, There are people that know much more and can answer that question better than I but I'll give it a shot. My understanding of where "sealer" is desired is to cover and seal off possible problem coatings, filler, bare metal, etc. under the new finish in order to provide a consistent rate of adhesion, color, etc. In my case, after wet sanding I had a few tiny spots of bare metal showing and spots where filler was just peeking through, and different shades of primer. The base coat reducers can attack and lift lacquer primers and may not be compatible with other substrates. The 10% reduced was per the SPI tech manual. I thought that would be my sealer and final coat before base but after wet sanding it I knew that wasn't going to be the case. The 25% reduced is what SPI tech people recommended as a sealer if not sanding before applying base coat. If i were going for a show paint job I would've lightly wet sanded that too with 600-800 grit. The more you reduce it, the thinner it is and more it flows out to provide a smooth surface. SPI says you can reduce it up to 50%. If you have a large area of bare metal or exposed filler I'd use epoxy primer unreduced on that.

Now I'm getting the picture! Epoxy the bare metal, fix your problem spots with whatever products/methods you choose, and finish with a reduced coat of epoxy to provide a smooth finish and to avoid "undoing" the blocking and prep work beneath it.
Thanks!

Tom, I used to do body work and it was years ago. Maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong because I don't have the "best" memory, but here is what I always did. I one always used PPG products in the shop, so applications of like products can be different, check with the product information. Primer is used of course for making the surface uniform as it is capable of filling in low areas, covering body work ect and gives you something to sand to get any little imperfections out. Epoxy primer doesn't really have a resistance to moisture and the elements as moisture can get into this material over time and eventually rust your panels. A sealer is used as a barrier between any elements and the primer. It's also used to give you a uniform color to spray on. I apologize if this makes no sense. It's still early for me.

As far as the SPI saying you can reduce it different amounts, up to 50%. If you reduce it that much (like watering down juice, or adding more coke to your jack) it loses it's high build qualities and will flow out more because it was thinned out (watered down) so much (sort of like it would take more cups of jack and coke to get you drunk, if you were adding more coke, same concept, it would take more coats of primer it to get the same fill if you reduced it 50%). Making it more like a sealer as mentioned. I don't know the chemical makeup of this product though, do you know if it's an epoxy?
I do know alot of things have changed as far as paint products go, but this is always how I had done it.
1) light coat of etch primer
2) 3 coats of epoxy primer and let dry or bake
3) wet sand
4) 2-3 coats of sealer let tack up
5) spray base coat on a semi wet sealer (hence letting the sealer tack up), coats dependent on color and cover abilities of base (lighter colors need more coats)
6) usually 3-4 good coats of clear (some people put up to 8 I've heard. I think even 6 is more than enough for show quality)
Hope this helps at least a little

My understanding from SPI is that their epoxy primer is waterproof and in their words to me "base reducer won't touch it", meaning it's highly resistant to reducers, etc., after it's applied and dry. It's epoxy, meaning like epoxy floor coatings, etc. it's resistant to almost anything.To see SPI's instructions on "The Perfect Paint Job", go to www.southernpolyurethanes.com and click on "Perfect Paint Job". You can also get details on their epoxy primer in the "Tech Sheets".

Don't mask with plastic. Previous coats or layers of paint/primer will dry and flake off the plastic in big chunks into the coat or layer you're applying when the air from the gun hits it, especially if there is an edge or wrinkles in the plastic near the painted surface.

Actually using plastic for masking off large areas is fine. You just have to use the correct plastic. There is special body shop plastic that is "paintable" on one side. Paint will stick to it, which is what you want. The paintable the paintable plastic says "paint this side" every couple feet, so there is no question about which side is out.

Thanks Bill, I didn't know that. I was using hdw store plastic. Next time I'll use the right stuff.

Looks good so far. Keep up the good work.

Great post! How did the makeshift booth work out? I thought of using those furnace filters, glad to see someone has done it. Any problems with paint getting on anything once it went out via the fan?

Thanks for posting all the tech too. Always nice to learn from others.

Great post! How did the makeshift booth work out? I thought of using those furnace filters, glad to see someone has done it. Any problems with paint getting on anything once it went out via the fan?

Thanks for posting all the tech too. Always nice to learn from others.
The makeshift booth worked fine except there was still a small amount of airborne dust/dirt, probably from surfaces inside the "booth", and a couple bugs. I suspect there would be a certain amount of that with anything short of a professional booth, especially one like this where the access door opens directly to outdoors. No problem with paint getting on anything outside the fan but there wasn't much near it except a tree. No evidence was on the leaves. I used a filter on the inside of the (exhaust) fan at first but the filter quickly got coated and I didn't have more so I removed it. I kept the fan on any time it was in place to keep bugs and dust from coming in through it. Obviously the key is attention to cleanliness.

I also might mention I did this with a 32 year old 12 gallon, 110V Sears compressor. 6.9 cfm at 40 psi. I used a LVLP (low volume, low pressure) gravity feed Astro Evo 4014 gun. Operating cfm 9.5 cfm but will work down to 6.0 cfm. Sprays a slightly smaller pattern than an HVLP. The key is that I sprayed only a few panels at a time. The largest amount was both front fenders and doors in one session.