I would choose a different color for the epoxy, that way while blocking you can see where you break through into the epoxy (high spots usually) and can either add primer or a 2 part putty depending how bad it is. In my opinion you should try not to sand back through the epoxy to metal or any old paint. The epoxy acts as a barrier to keep bad things from happening

 

Thanks Mike, that makes sense. You see any problems with black epoxy for my first coat then gray 2k? I'm planing on a base coast of Meridian Blue, so not sure how the primer will affect that. I really wont have to many bad spots. I replaced about 75% of the metal with new panels, and the other 25% was in real decent shape, which is also why I was thinking a reg build 2k primer over a high build

This is still somewhat new to me. I spent about 4 hours yesterday reading different autobody/paint forums (which is why I decided on the gun I bought). I'll probably call SPI in a bit and also see what they suggest I do

 

I tint my sealer if it's tintable or use a valueshade system. Especially for coverage when using a lower line basecoat. You mentioned not using a sealer. Is that SPI primer a primer/sealer? I don't use combo products unless its an epoxy or on a production job. Not using DTMs (Direct to Metal) for example. Not that your choice is wrong. Top end jobs get dedicated products for each step.

 

I like grey under most colors, I also always use a grey sealer. In my opinion the basecoat sticks better to a quality 2 part sealer. As raven said some colors don't cover very well so a tintable sealer might be an option. I'm not familiar with SPI but I've heard many guys on this forum say it's good stuff. Black under the grey will be fine, the reason I use a sealer is if I have any small breakthroughs into the epoxy, the sealer will give me a nice even consistant color to put my basecoat over.

 

The best sealer to use is just add reducer to the epoxy to thin it out and spray one coat prior to basecoating. The difference between an epoxy based sealer and urethane based sealer Ive found is you NEED to wait longer before appling the basecoat to epoxy sealer.

Most urethane sealers are 15-30 mins, I wait anywhere from an hour on epoxy sealers, just a slower drying/curing product.

Most SPI guys get the black epoxy then aslo a quart of white to tint for sealing. You can ONLY add epoxy to epoxy for tinting, meaning you can ONLY add white epoxy to black epoxy.

Another fan of spraying sealer. I like it because of the mentioned benefits but I also hate wet sanding. By spraying a sealer I can dry block a car with 400 grit versus wet blocking with 600 grit.

Personally, Ive gotten better jobs with 400 dry and sealing then I have by wet sanding with 600 then going straight to base.

Regardless of sanding method, I prefer sealing prior to paint...Eric

By the way, I suggest the Turbo prime from SPI its a great urethane primer. Thier regular primer is ok but not as good as the Turbo

 

The best sealer to use is just add reducer to the epoxy to thin it out and spray one coat prior to basecoating. The difference between an epoxy based sealer and urethane based sealer Ive found is you NEED to wait longer before appling the basecoat to epoxy sealer.

Most urethane sealers are 15-30 mins, I wait anywhere from an hour on epoxy sealers, just a slower drying/curing product.

Most SPI guys get the black epoxy then aslo a quart of white to tint for sealing. You can ONLY add epoxy to epoxy for tinting, meaning you can ONLY add white epoxy to black epoxy.

Another fan of spraying sealer. I like it because of the mentioned benefits but I also hate wet sanding. By spraying a sealer I can dry block a car with 400 grit versus wet blocking with 600 grit.

Personally, Ive gotten better jobs with 400 dry and sealing then I have by wet sanding with 600 then going straight to base.

Regardless of sanding method, I prefer sealing prior to paint...Eric

By the way, I suggest the Turbo prime from SPI its a great urethane primer. Thier regular primer is ok but not as good as the Turbo

Eric hit it on the button. He's sprayed the SPI and I'de go with his method. Don't overthink it, it's only paint. 50 painters 50 opinions.

 

Depending on the color the car will finally come out as. I'm going off the assumption that your talking about the final layer of primer? If so, then a primer that matches the cars color coat will bring a deeper color and better overall look.

 

FWIW when I emailed Barry K about what color sealer he recommended for meridian turquoise he said gray.

 

That's great if one is shooting a good paint like DBC but try it with Omni when the coverge is not that good. I prefer to grab a tint off the shelf and tint my sealer. I blended a Royal Plum hood today and tinted the sealer even though it's DBC. Shot a green Mustang this month with Omni and you can bet I tinted that sealer.

 

Why switch build primers? Strip to bare, two coats epoxy, then build primer, block. Repeat build primer until straight. Bodywork should be virtually straight prior to packing with primer. It should not be used as a crutch. Ask your jobber for some base to throw in the sealer. I see the SPI you are using has a true tintable sealer. You can use the epoxy as a sealer too. The choice is yours. What are you using for basecoat?

 

I just ordered my primers, and should have them by Thursday. They were very helpful with the questions I had.

I ended up with a gal of black epoxy, a gal of gray 2k, a gal of slow reducer and 2 qts of gray epoxy for my sealer, and all activators needed. Oh, and a gal of wax/grease remover. Now hopefully I'll be ready to have the entire car in epoxy by Saturday