After 7yrs I'm finally redoing the body on my 69 chevelle and I'm seeking guidance.

1st...I stripped the roof and quarters with a paint stripper today (Followed all directions carefully) because the paint was that bad...she's sitting in her factory primer now and it still looks real good...I'd rather not take that primer off,I'm amazed that the stripper didn't take it off !!.

2nd...I bought some Dupont self etch Variprime...now even though the car (in spots) is down to medal because I had to DA some tough spots,can I put the variprime over the entire area I stripped (Over the factory primer)?

3rd...The parts place that sold me the variprime also sold me some EP4 epoxy primer to put over the variprime...the EP4 can also be used as a sealer...the epoxy has the auto parts (Where I got the material) name on it ( KLINE'S auto inc.)...is this a good choice?...when I get the car painted,I would like a good shine,of course.

4th...I do have some body work to do...my quarters were a nightmare...I bought some full quarters many yrs ago and the a$$hole who put them on cut them in half (Long ways) and tacked them on,I sued him and won (I'm over it)...It's easy to lose interest when ya pay someone to do something and to put it lightly,they mess it up!...Anyway,I have a very long weld to fill...I'll be using rage extreme...the tack welds are spaced about 3/4 of a inch apart...I put some por-15 along the weld only (Is this ok?) and I also put some on the backside of the weld.

5th...I'll be using a craftsman spray gun with the canister below,not above...it's not the best but,will this get the job done right?...the materials I bought were pretty expensive and I want to apply them correctly.

Thanks,
Jack

1. I wouldn't leave the factory primer, that stuff is veeeery old technology and is kinda setting you up to fail. It would definitly be the weakest link, and for a foundation, you want something good to start with.

2. I'm not familiar with the etch you are using, but most of the ones I have seen don't reccommend laquer as a suitable substrate. OEM enamaels, fiberglass, galvanized and bare steel, aluminum and cured body filler.

3. No first hand experience here, but the resident experts say that epoxy should never be used as a sealer, I think dye back problems or loss of gloss were the result. I hope your shop also set you up with, or let you know you will need some primer/surfacer, a primer used to "build" up the surface a bit and fill minor imperfections. This is what you will be blocking once the dings and dents are taken care of.

4. Sorry to here about your troubles with the quarters, unfortunatly I don't have good news. The por should be removed from the front side for sure, and the backside based upon what I'm about to say: you should find someone to finish welding that quarter up, or once again your asking for trouble. Tack welds are a good way to go, just continuing to fill inbetween each weld until the joint is solid.

5. I'm not familiar with that gun, but don't be discouraged just by where the paint is contained, maybe shoot a test panel and see if it will give the results your after.

Just tryin to help,
Best of luck!!!!

Thanks Brandon...I had a feeling about the por-15 over the weld,then applying filler.The biggest reason I didn't want to take the factory primer off is I'm doing all of this work in my back yard, always exposed to the elements...I understand what your saying about removing it but,if I did chose to leave it,whats a good apoxy to put over it?...the EP4 I have says it could be topcoated with lacquer so I'm quessing it should stick well applying it OVER lacquer?...then a primer/surfacer?...then sealer?.

When I took autobody in Vo-Tech (Back in 87')I only used one primer for everything...things have changed lol!

Sounds like a little bit of work, I would not use rage over the welded areas if they are spaced out. You may want to consider a water proof filler like duraglass. The reason is if the panels are not sealed you can get moisture in the seams, and the work could bubble out over time. When I bought my 70 it had a half quarter, I cannot understand why people do that it is so much more work and less quality. Good luck, hope everything works out.

Good advice 70454...I'll have to pick up some duraglass before I get started...

Tomorrow morning I'm going to get started on the car...I have enough etching primer for the whole car so just to be safe,I'm going to DA down to metal.