Auto Car Priming Tips - Car Craft Magazine

Paradis made it sound easy: "I think you could completely strip that car in 8 to 10 hours," he said. That sounded good, so we went for it. We borrowed staffer John McGann's Makita variable-speed buffer/grinder, bought $75 worth of sandpaper, and went to town. The first weekend went well, but after the second weekend, we were still not completely done. To be fair to Paradis, we went much further than just sanding, since we also removed the bumpers, grille, all the emblems, door handles, weatherstripping, and window trim. Then we had to sand all the doorjambs, the inside of the trunk lid, and then decided to remove the front fenders to access the inside of the doorjambs. We now have about 30 hours into the job and all we've done is remove the old paint.

Reconstruction Phase
Now that all the paint was gone, it was time to repair the major dents and waves with a little bit of plastic body filler and get intimate with hammers, dollies, and sanding blocks. Since the required bodywork was minimal, McGann was able to knock down the majority of high spots with a set of basic bodyworking tools from Eastwood. These included a variety of differently shaped dollies and three hammers. Each dolly has a different contour that can be used to move the sheetmetal that is being reshaped. The hammers are also different configurations with flat and convex faces as well as pick shapes for addressing small dings. We learned the trick to moving metal is to hammer around the perimeter of a dent while firmly pushing the dolly into the backside of the dent, then slowly work the hammer around the dent as you move toward the center. There is an art to this technique, which might be best tried on a junk fender if you've never attempted this work before.

We lured CC's resident bodyman, John McGann, with the promise of free pizza in exchange for help with the small amount of bodywork, and he brought his hammers, dollies, and expertise to reconstruct the wavy quarter-panels. He removed most of the original body filler, replacing it with far less material. We used Evercoat Rage Gold for the body filler. That dust on the floor is all the old filler.
We lured CC's resident bodyman, John McGann, with the promise of free pizza in exchange fo
There were several low spots in the quarter-panel that needed attention, as well as in the area where the top transitions into the sail panels. McGann applied filler, knocked down the rough spots with 80-grit paper on a dual-action sander, and then sanded them with a long board using 150-grit paper. Finally, he sanded the entire surface again with 220-grit to remove the heavy 150-grit scratches. Moving your hand over the work area is the best way to find the high and low spots before applying primer. McGann used a long sanding block, moving in opposite 45-degree sanding patterns to help shape the work area.
There were several low spots in the quarter-panel that needed attention, as well as in the
Mixing the hardener is what activates the plastic filler. Basically, McGann applied a line of hardener that spans the length of a 4-inch-diameter mound of filler.
Mixing the hardener is what activates the plastic filler. Basically, McGann applied a line

Because the Chevelle was getting a drastic color change, we scuffed the inside of the trunk as well as the doorjambs. Rather than remove the white, we used 3M Scotch-Brite pads and roughed up the surface for better adhesion. If the paint on the rest of the car had been in better shape, we could have scuffed the entire car, but because the original paint was lacquer and it was badly checked, we elected to take the easy route only for the doorjambs.
Because the Chevelle was getting a drastic color change, we scuffed the inside of the trun

Masking For Prime Time
A new color also demands we paint the doorjambs, which means we had to mask the entire door opening to keep that nasty orange overspray away from the black interior. This required a couple of hours worth of work but is mandatory if you want a professional result.

One of the best timesavers is a masking machine. Eastwood makes an affordable unit that made masking the windows and doorjambs much simpler. This, along with the Eastwood masking paper, was well worth the small investment.
One of the best timesavers is a masking machine. Eastwood makes an affordable unit that ma
Paint-mixing ratios can be cryptic, but Eastwood makes it easy with the ratios specified directly on the can. For example, the epoxy primer catalyst can is marked 1:1, which means you mix equal amounts of primer and catalyst.
Paint-mixing ratios can be cryptic, but Eastwood makes it easy with the ratios specified d
While there are perhaps dozens of paint and primer product companies, we went with Eastwood because the price was attractive and McGann has had very good luck with several of its products in the past. We ordered a gallon of epoxy primer, a gallon of fill primer, and two gallons of Eastwood's Huggin' Orange. The orange topcoat is a single-stage paint, which also kept the cost low. Single-stage paint dries to a glossy finish that does not need a clearcoat. As you can see from our parts list, the primer, paint, and activators totaled just less than $500.00. That's a good deal.
While there are perhaps dozens of paint and primer product companies, we went with Eastwoo

Bare metal needs to be coated in either an etching primer or a direct-to-metal epoxy primer. We opted for Eastwood's epoxy primer, spraying two coats with our DeVillbis Starting Line HVLP gun and a 1.8 fluid tip. This primer can be coated over after one hour's drying time. If more than 24 hours pass,it must be scuffed lightly before topcoating.

The epoxy primer was so good at adhesion that even with a wet driveway, we had to buff out primer spots on the asphalt after everything dried.
Bare metal needs to be coated in either an etching primer or a direct-to-metal epoxy prime
To block-sand the primer, Paradis recommends using a new, good-quality spray bottle to place a mist of water on the panel and work that area until the panel is smooth. The water will reflect the imperfections and show you where the dings and dents are hiding. This is similar to using paint and a guidecoat, where a light fog of black paint is applied to the primer and then sanded until all the black has disappeared. This may involve multiple attempts of primer, guidecoat, and sanding. Either technique will work. We used 400-grit wet-dry paper for this portion of the effort.
To block-sand the primer, Paradis recommends using a new, good-quality spray bottle to pla
We also had a chance to use Eastwood's latest Concourse spray gun, but we saved it for the color, using one of Eastwood's older guns for the primer. For shooting primer, a larger tip like a 1.8 or 2.0 will flow more material and generate a thicker base from which to work. Then for the color, a smaller 1.4 tip will reduce the material flow. Since we knew we would be sanding the primer coat, we just used an inline filter to pull out moisture from the compressed air and used the standard 25 to 30 psi for all HVLP guns, regulated at the gun.
We also had a chance to use Eastwood's latest Concourse spray gun, but we saved it for the

Once the car was in primer, we could see all the all the little things we missed--dents, waves, ripples, and grinder marks. Most of that stuff would be fixed with block-sanding, so we applied three coats of Eastwood's filler primer, again using a 1.8 fluid tip. We also sprayed the doorjambs after about 15 minutes of drying time.
Once the car was in primer, we could see all the all the little things we missed--dents, w

Shooting Range
While painting a car in a home garage has been done many times, frankly, we're lazy and cheap. We didn't want to spend the money or time to build a temporary spray booth and deal with the inevitable orange overspray that would have invaded the rest of the shop.

Ready or not, we loaded the fully masked Chevelle onto the trailer and delivered it to the West Valley Occupational Center. We rolled the car into the school's paint booth, and Paradis suggested covering the windshield and back and side glass with new masking paper. He said this prevents dirt and primer from lifting off the original paper and landing in the new paint.
Ready or not, we loaded the fully masked Chevelle onto the trailer and delivered it to the
With the new masking complete, we cleaned the car once with wax and grease remover, followed 10 minutes later by a dry cleaning with paper shop towels and several shots from an air hose. The last go-around was with a tack rag to again just lightly dust the car to remove any final particles of dirt.
With the new masking complete, we cleaned the car once with wax and grease remover, follow

At first, we considered renting a spray booth and found several places that charge between $100 and $200 for 12 to 24 hours. This gets you a spray booth and compressed air. You will need to supply the gun and all the material. It's best to discuss all the details with the shop before renting so there are no misunderstandings. This is an excellent plan as long as you check out the facility first and know the specific shop's rules. For example, painting the walls of the paint booth would probably incur an additional cost, so you should expect to treat the rental booth as if it were your own. The advantages of a rented booth are that it has an adequate compressor, air filters, regulators, and water filters for the air source that will minimize problems and maximize your investment.