The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop DP90LF First time

Hello,
I went to the Pomona Swap today and bought some Primer. My plan is to strip a fender and see how it works. I have never sprayed anything other than rattle cans. Any pointers? What have your experiences been like?

Do Tell.

My plan is to grind/sand/strip the thing, primer all of it and then fill where necessary.
Let me know what you think.

thanks,
Sean

Hope you have a good gun. DP is actually nice to work with.

Read through the posts, especially those by MARTINSR, he's a true pro, unlike us wannabe's. A steady, even moving hand and the knowledge you can soak in here will go a long way toward doing a nice job.

Good luck and have fun. Just don't expect it to be perfect out of the gates.

PPG is my favorite to work with. I think you will like it too.

They make videos to help with your technique. I haven't used them....but I hear they can be helpful.

Unlike the other poster...my primer gun isn't as nice as my painting gun..but that is just me.

Good luck!

I used an ATD gun with a 2.0 orifice for the primer, so I guess I'm not that different. It was something close to $60 and does a real nice job. I use a Sharpe Cobalt for finish coat. Still not a real pricey gun, but does a good job. My point in mentioning a good gun was to shy away from the really cheap stuff out there that doesn't make good use of quality products like DP.

You don't need to go straight to the super high buck stuff, just step right over the junk at the very botom.

I signed up at a local tech school and took a class in auto refinishing. Best money I ever spent. I did spray cans too over the years, but learning with the good stuff changes everything for the better.

Have fun with it!

What does "DP LF 90" stand for?

I really like the DP primers. I start with a bare metal surface that has either been sandblasted( chassis parts ) or well sanded with 60 or 80 grit( sheet metal ). Then cleaned well with wax and grease remover. I've applied filler over it and have had no problems so far with adhesion. I use a Devilbis Finish Line gun with the 1.6 tip and cheat a little by upping the inlet pressure on the gun a couple pounds. Seems to help with the orange peel. You can also reduce the DP with a DT reducer to use as a sealer for final top coats and this also sprays nicely.

I used PPG DP60LF on the cab of my 37 Chevy truck and really like the product. I have finished all the dent work and now spraying with PPG K36 primer and sanding it. After sanding, I will seal with PPG DP60LF and add DX870 reducer. This is what my PPG dealer advised me to do. The only difference between DP60 and DP90 is the color. DP60 is blue, DP90 is gray. I will use PPG DCC for the final top coats. I have used PPG products in the past and am very satisfied.

What does "DP LF 90" stand for?

Maybe bit by bit the whole answer will come out...!

Charles mentioned that the number signifies the color. The "LF" means that it's lead free. I'm not sure what the DP means.

As good of a product as it is, I'm not aware of anybody that likes it as much as they did before it went "LF".

Tim
Stellar Antique Auto Restorations

All the DP's I believe are epoxy primers. A PPG jobber can get you product data sheets. Curious why someone was selling it at a show/swap meet?? Shelf life issues perhaps? Got activator? Reducer?

Yes, I have heard the same qualitative discussion pre/post LF'ing the product.

Bruce Palmer
[email protected]

I did get the catalyst I did not get the reducer.
I did plan to ask about that. Where to get it and how much?
I paid 40$ for the quart and the catalyst.

Contact a PPG paint jobber and ask what the reducer should be as well as mix ratios, etc. They have a web site too where you can ask questions I believe and down load product data sheets. I'd still like to see what kind of shelf life issues there is with the product before I spent any more money on it. If it's too old.........

You don't need the reducer, just if you want to use it as a sealer, use a DT reducer according to ambient temp. To use the DP as a primer just mix it 2 to 1 with the catalyst. I use DP401, mix it well for about 5 minutes, and then allow 30 minutes induction time before spraying. I like the 401 catalyst since it has a 72 hour pot life. I keep whats left in a sealed coffee can and can use it for a couple days after mixing.

I just used a quart of Martin Seniour 2k primer that had been opened and sitting in my garage for three years and it went on just as well as it did when I got it from the store. That's the beauty of 2 part systems, they are pretty inert until mixed.

Usually the spraying conditions aren't affected by the shelf life, so much as the performance of the product after it is set up.

My PPG jobber tells me that DCX61 should be used up within 12 days after opening, and they told me the same about the reactive reducer used in the DRR basecoat system. I switched to DBC to avoid that shelf life issue.

I've seen freshly spayed PPG2021 Clear that is difficult to compound that the jobber blamed on "old" hardener. I'm sure the DCX61 was only a couple of weeks old.

It's a bit frustrating, because in restoration, paint jobs tend to be quite spread apart, as compared to a production collision shop that might spray color a couple times a day, every day....

Tim Bowers
Stellar Antique Auto Restorations.