The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop materials choice

OK guys...

here's the question;

I have quite a bit of my k5 sanded down to primer. I'm really considering dumping the zero rust idea, and here is why; this is suppose to be a practice project for my AD. with that in mind it seems like I should go through all the primer steps etc. that I would with my truck.

to that end I also do not want to spend much money on material because this is and off-road vehicle.

question number one this is sanded down, but some is primer, and some is metal. should I sand it down all the way to metal, and then use etching primer? of is there a product that will work well on both?

also, what material options do I have that will give me the practice, and still keep the costs down?

You should not need to strip your paint all off to bare metal. Just make sure edges are well feather edged and you can use an acid primer on those areas, then you can use a high build primer over everything. Then you sand out any minor imperfections and you'll probably want some type of topcoat paint with a hardener in it at least since your offroading so it won't scratch as easily. Like your cat washing post!!! You'll probably get 50 other recommendation for paint this project, everyone has their own methods that work best for them.

As it is a off road truck, spending big money to paint it is a waste. Spraying paint is like anything else, the more you spray the better you get. Primers and sealers and top coats are all different to spray. The time of day and temperature of the day make a difference. Every day is different, you may spray good today and crappy tommorrow. Heck, if you want practice, spray your house, its the same thing.

If you haven't priced paint and materials yet, you should get to it. It will really shock you! The new paints are all very costly. A good paint system ( base primer, fill primer, sealer, base coat color, clear) to do a whole truck will be $500 to $700 + depending what you choose. Thats not including paper, tape, sandpaper, putty, files, blocks, thinners, clean up thinner, cups, masks, paint suits, etc.......

Go with a fill primer and enamel top coat with lots of hardner. The hardner dries quicker so its easyer for beginers to spray. In 6 months from now it won't matter what you did or did not due. It will be scratched and dented anyway.

I've only done a little painting all the years I've wrenched stuff. Lately on my MM tractor I went to an IH/Case dealer and got their gray tractor primer. It sprayed real easy, didn't run and seems hard as top paint when dry. It needs their special thinner, none of this was 'specially expensive either. I have also use the Argent (silver) for the wheels and IND Yellow for other parts and it's all smooth and Shiny, easy to spray and "I liked it." Hope to do the Yellow sheet metal this summer. Check that primer out, don't know if you want your truck tractor colors so maybe not good source for top paint, Red is nice tho! Another thing, I just have a cheap Import spray gun and get good pattern and delivery from it. I had a Campbell Hausefeld from Sears for years and never could get it to give good pattern. :rolleyes: I once worked in a True Value and a fella was always painting trucks and semis with their rust-resistant equipment paint! Don't know what they looked like, but judging by the colors he picked, must have been UGLIEIEIE! Besides, a good brush with fine bristles on end...... Martin Senour paints are easy to use and don't show brush marks easily!

thanks guys, that will give me a few options to go with. I think I'm going to do an acid wash or clean with rubbing alcohol on pieces that are ready to spray, and then spray the parts that are down to metal with rustoleum, and then do one coat of primer.

I haven't decided on a top coat, but I'm sure I will. I just might look into that tractor paint though.

Solo,
If you do use the Rustoleum, avoid the Rusty Metal Primer. It apparently has a fish oil base in it to prevent rust from spreading. Other brands of top coats may not stick to it well. I don't think the other primers they produce have the fish oil. Also avoid the alkaloid based primers and paints they offer. Rustoleum has an informative website which describes all of their consumer and industrial coatings and usage recommendations. For what it is worth, I coated some spare parts which are stored outside with the brush-on Rusty Metal Primer. By golly, they haven't rusted yet!

Since it looks like you have taken it down to the bare metal in your pictures, you might as well go with the etching primer/filler primer route. DO NOT use an etching primer and then an epoxy primer as their chemical makeup are not compatible. As a general rule, use epoxy primer over old paint. Use etching primer when you go all the way down to the bare metal on the whole truck. Etching primer has a little bit of an edge over epoxy. Etching attaches itself chemically to the metal forming a very tight bond. Epoxy seals the existing surface and provides a uniform surface so that the boo-boos of the past don't have to be removed.

thanks for the recommendations guys!

there ar eparts that are bare metal, but there are parts that are still primer. (kinda looks like my head after my wife cuts my hair... )

Hey guys, I have a question about painting over enamels. I have a AC tractor that I did some initial metal undenting and then painted with cheap enamel. (I did this because I had never, ever had a spray gun in my hands before.) It didn't turn out bad at all. I finally got the trick how to prevent runs, etc. and the fenders and the grill didn't sport the silver dollar size dents anymore. At any rate, after a couple of years, I can see some fading of the color and I would like to paint with some acrilic (at least I think I do)

What I need to know is how do I treat the finish so I don't get unfavorable reaction from applying the acrilic?

Thanks for your advice

Dave

Dave,
What type of paint did you use originally? If it was an implement/tractor paint it was probably an oil based or aclyde based paint. If it was your options would be limited to stripping back to original paint and using products compatible with acrylic paint. If it sythenol enamel I think you can just sand it with a 320/400 sandpaper and paint it.

Yes, It was implement paint at $18 a gallon. There isn't anything I can seal it with then is there? Is there anything besides acrilic that would work?

Cheap son of gun aren't I?

But hey, I got the technique on how to handle the gun, though. Problem is as somebody mentioned above, probably what ever I use later will act so different that what practice I got won't be any good.
Dave

What about using an implement paint on your tractor again. I know Quality Farm and Fleet ( no longer in business) had a hardener you could mix with their tractor paints. That would make the paint more scratch resistant and hold it shine longer. I think Car Quest sells the same type of tractor paint.