How many coats?

[Hot_Rodder]

on my '72 I'm going back tothe original triple black set up. Plus I'm gonna tint the windows, should look nice. Anyway, on the paint side of things, I'm planning on going with POR-15 primer, then Jet Black paint, then clear coat. I can't see any problems with that. Anyway, here's my question, how many coats of primer, how many of color, and how many of clear coat? This car will be on the street, probably not much, if any, track time (such a heavy car), and will be ging to shows with it. So, any ideas?

[bill440rt]

Yes.
Why not use a paint line matched to itself? Such as PPG epoxy primer, filler primer, base & clear. Or DuPont, etc? It's a much better, proven system. 

Which POR-15 "primer" are you referring to?? Same with the "jet-black paint", & clear coat?

[Hot_Rodder]

Lemme just say, I'm not much of a paint and body man. I've looked into the POR-15 products, and liked what I saw, but if going other routes would be better, than by any and all means, I'm open to ideas. Same as to the names of the blacks that are out there. I thought about a dark cherry, but since factory is black, then black is what I'm planning on going with.

[bill440rt]

If you're planning on taking your car to shows, I would strongly suggest using a tried & true paint system on the exterior. Not a POR-15 system. That is best left to the insides of frame rails, wheelhouses, floor pans, etc to fight or prevent rust. POR-15 works great on non-exposed areas.

On the exterior, you can't beat a modern urethane base/clear system from companies like PPG, DuPont, etc. Try to stick with the same brand for the entire system. For example, don't spray a DuPont sealer before applying a PPG topcoat. Some products are allowed to be topcoated over as long as they are cured and sanded before applying another product. A filler primer is one example. I used a filler primer made by Evercoat before applying PPG's epoxy primer/sealer, before applying PPG paint.

Your local auto body supplier store is your BEST bet for help. Visit them & tell them about your project & what you plan to do. They will be able to show you a variety of products that will fit your budget & give you good results.

Good Luck!

[chargerman68]

depends on how easy your body can handle the cold and the location of where u live

[bill440rt]

Also, if you're really lacking in paint/body skills, I can only suggest letting a competent body shop do this for you. Nothing is more frustrating, or expensive, than have to re-do body/paint work over & over & over & over & over again until it meets your satisfaction. ESPECIALLY black!!!

[Hot_Rodder]

Cold, what's that again? I live in south west Georgia. It doesn't get down to freezing temps much. And around December/January is when it really starts to drop in temp anyway... So...

As far as bodies with black, I know enough to the point where, black is the hardest to paint and keep it looking really nice. Black shows the most bad areas than any other. From what I've noticed right off hand, there's really only one bad area that needs to be fixed where black paint will be, and that's the driver side front 1/4 panel, some time ago before I owned the car, looks like something made contact with it, and well, it's obvious. That will need to be straightened, not a problem since the fender will get pulled anyway.

I've done body work in the past on hot rods and such that were show only vehicles for a local guy. This guy doesn't like fiberglass or anything else. He is steel only. The only time when he uses filler, is when the metal has pretty much been worked to the point where it can't really been taken any fruther, and at the point, the filler is really thin, and just there to help smooth things out. But I got a guy I know who does do a lot of paint and body work, and I'm thinking about seeing if he'll give me a hand with all this. I was just wondering how many coats of what would it probbaly take to get it looking really good.

[hemi-hampton]

I agree with Bill, Except one thing, Nothing more Frustration then for me or another body shop to have to redo a ameture attemp at poor body work/paint (no insult intended). Not saying thats you but that is some people. Some people attemp it on there own & do allright while some others dont. Depends on your ability. I like to go with 3 coats Primer Surfacer & then block, I sand away & go threw the Primer because I know I'll be priming & blocking again anyways, But some like to use 5 coats Primer & try not to sand threw because they dont want to reprime. I usually use 3 coats base & 3 coats clear but Depends on many different factors. l   LEON.

[bill440rt]

 

On the '69 I'm currently building, I started with a sandblasted shell. I gave it 2 coats of PPG epoxy primer. From there, I DA'd the panels with 80-grit & did my bodywork over the epoxy primer. Then I gave each panel 2 coats of Stand-Ox Spritz-Plastik, a sprayable plastic body filler. This got finish blocked with 80 then 180.
Then, 3 coats of Evercoat's Uro-Fill Primer. This was blocked with 220, then 3 more coats of Uro-Fill, then finish blocked with 400. The car was rolled into the booth, followed by 1 coat of PPG's epoxy primer mixed as a sealer. Then, 3 coats of base & 4 coats of clear because I knew the car was gonna get sanded & buffed.

The result is a show-winning paint job.

[Hot_Rodder]

Trying to nock this crease out, with the proper tools, I don't think would be all that difficult. However, the painting part of it and all.... well... That's where the guy I know comes in. He's got all that equipment to do the work with, but it's got some body work that needs to be done... I already know about the primer, then wet sand it, primer, and keep going at it to find the high and low spots, and fix 'em... or is that the filler? I can't remember right now, a bit tired, got to work tonight .

[Hot_Rodder]

This thread is a bit confussing. You ask how to do body/paint but you also say you have worked on *show only* cars. Thats weird. You shouldn't have to ask what needs to be done by now to your own car. Metal finish work is not easy, bondo is going to be in the car like it or not. Little the better, but you need help with that also it appears. Like hemi-hamptons and my experience, do what he recommends. I try to help answer questions for guys with they're body/paint work, but this topic is really a strange one.....Good luck man. 
Mark

The cars I worked on, I was helping a guy who owned the shop with. He was teaching me how to do things, I was suppoed to take over a drivetrain and suspension setup on a Mustang fastback, but never happened. I have some experience, but by far, am not a professional. The things I was asking about, are things that I am uncertain about, for, never done it. This is where the guy I know comes in. He does a lot of body work, and paints every car he works on, if needed of course... I'm trying to avoid using bondo, but I'm sure I can't get it exact, luckily, the area that's somewhat damaged, is supposed to be flat, well... somewhat rounded, but no crease in this area..... So maybe that'll make it easier...

[Hot_Rodder]

if you notice the creas under the side marker light, this is pretty much the roughest, and as far as I can remember, the only bad spot on this car, as far as, where there will be paint.

[Hot_Rodder]

LOL. There's a pic above of the area that I'm talking about....

[Hot_Rodder]

it's gonna have to be stripped first. I'm trying to see what's coming ahead. The photo does show what's there. The crease you see, is what's there, no photo illusion, nor anything else.

[bandit67]

Hot Rodder, get your crease fixed  and then make a copy of  Bills440rt post in the steps  outlined for his 69.  They are dead on.  Take this outline and get your paint guy to give you as much info as possible on each step.  We all know the type of finish you are looking for and it will take much time , effort and money to get there if you wish to do this yourself.  It may take you years to get each one of these steps done to your perfection, but , I wished I could have had this outline as a guide to work towards in my early days.  I believe he got that thru lots of trail and error........and it is where you want to be.......

[hemi-hampton]

The Crease I seen was very minor, not much to worry about, But your car is a perfect example of why you dont want a car sitting in primer for 10 years.  Another guy wants to just prime his car & then not paint for years.  Then it will look like yours. I'd be much more concerned with what looked like total rust   on you roof & what else may be hiding just below that old primer then the little crease. Just my opinion. LEON.

[Hot_Rodder]

Leon, the bad thing is, that isn't primer. There are parts of the car where some of the original paint is. Aparetnyl this car has sat outside, I would guess, it's whole life, and I suppose this is the result. On a side note, what's everyones opinion on House Of Kolors? I was looking at some of there paints, don't know though.

[Hot_Rodder]

I've already contacted them about a color I have a question about. I was looking into the different colors and types they offer, and liked several different ones. The one I had a question of was there "Black Sparkling Pearl" color....I'm guessing they mean that it's a black pearl with metal flake? I don't know. I'd like to see pic's of cars or what not with this particular color.

[Joshua]

The HOK paints that are described as a pearl will have the pearl in the base.....easier to shoot than a straight pearl.....but doesn't quite have the pearl effect of a straight pearl......great products however.....I love HOK, sprays really nice....
If you decide on a color from HOK, check out www.CoastAirBrush.com Great prices on the full line of HOK paints.....
BTW....IMO, Black is the easiest color to spray, as when your spraying, it's easier to 'see' your 'fog' line and gloss.......but it sure requires more attention/care once it's dry....

[Lord Warlock]

When spraying HOK paints, the tech sheets recommend 3 coats of basecoat, and 3 coats of clear on top.  I'd recommend using as much primer as is necessary to get the body smooth.  I've already worked thru a gallon of 2k primer, even though a single quart is enough to do a single coat on the car.  (mixed)

HOK paints are very good quality pigments, easy to spray (even the pearl basecoats) one thing with pearls is that you have to make sure you blend panels correctly or you'll end up with an uneven coat.  HOK is NOT a beginner paint though, it is fairly pricey compared to some of the other available paints. 

If going with HOK, use their own primers and sealers, it makes a difference in the final product.  While i usually try to stick with a particular system when spraying, mainly to avoid chemical reactions between one brand and another, sometimes it isn't practical.  The local paint supplier pointed me to 2k polyurethane primer, as well as Nason brands of paint. 

My question to leon is:  How do you determine when too many coats have been applied?  I don't really count the primer layer since every time i do a coat it gets sanded down significantly prior to the next coat.  I may have put 3 coats of primer on, but the sanding has to have cut thru at least 2.  Being careful around the edges is paramount, they are so easy to sand thru.  I've pretty much finished the drivers side of the car, but the body line on the passenger side still needs alot of block work. 

[hemi-hampton]

I put 3 coats of Primer on at once with no sanding of primer between coats. Then you block the 3 coats. You cant block one coat, You can sand one coat but you cant block one coat with out going threw. There are some people that will say their body work so good & straight that all they have to do is one coat primer &  D.A. it with 400 grit & call it done. Yeah, OK, I guess I'm not that good then. LEON.

[Hot_Rodder]

I talked to my friend, and he gave me anumber to call to a local shop that sales paints and such. I have not had the chance to dsicuss working on the car yet though with him. On the other hand, I called the place up, and they said for everything, in a kit, they said about $250 for the lower end kit, they said the other kit, the top end kit, for "conciderably more" so... and they also said "if your paint guy is good enough, then the lower end kit can look exactly like the top end kit" so... Also, the paint will be black with Ice Pearl in it, should look nice later on....