The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop primer question

begining body work on 65 gmc stepside and need a good sandable primer recomendation and any tips that anyone might have to help me prep this pig for paint. Any help would be greatly appreciated....

PPG K36 high build primer. I've been using in on my 37 & it is very easy to sand - at least to me anyway.

I've been using SPI epoxy primer on my 58 and love it. As long as you let it cure a couple days it sands easy doesn't need guide coat and is less expensive than ppg. Best customer support you'll find anywhere hands down. 1 coat epoxy is about .75 of the high build primers so there may be a bit more used but your only building one material up and nothing is going to be a stronger foundation for your base.

CASO, glad to know SPI works so well. I agree, PPG is expensive, that's why I am now using DuPont Nason single stage urethane for topcoats rather than PPG.

Charles, A year ago when I started my body work I invested hours and hours researching methods and materials. It is my very first time working with fillers and paint prep. I could tell from reading numerous forums that there are a few really open and knowledgeable guys out there who don't follow 'party' lines and offer knowledge as opposed to opinion. ( I'm nothing but opinion myself except for how well the epoxy sands when cured)
I checked out SPI's painters forum finally and realized several of the guys I had developed the most respect for based on their posts in other forums were posting there. But what sealed the deal for me was being able to speak directly with the guy who makes the products and ask him questions even about other products and get answers that addressed my questions not some sales pitch why one is better or worse than another. Also SPI doesn't make Base coat (other than their red) and focuses on Primers and Clears. Check it out you'll be glad you did.
Oh and if there is no jobber near you they ship direct. Hard to beat that if your rural like me and the nearest jobbers an hour away.
Good luck on the project

I just used Nason 2k. Not saying its better that others but has worked fine and is easy to sand. The best thing is that it was available at my local auto paint supply shop.

this might be a stupid question but does it make any difference what color primer I use, I plan to paint the truck a dark grey (almost black) I have been using Dupli-color brand (hope it is a quality brand) red "filler primer" I think it is their version of a high build. So my other question is about prep and sanding, what do you sand down to before you prime? I have sanding to 300 grit. and I guess another question How have you guys been preping the surface after sandig and before primer?....

it doesnt matter what color primer u use , but for darker top coats we use a darker primer , tend to use less color

What the spook says about primer tint. #120 before shooting surfacer is fine and I wet sand before paint with #400.
The is just Delstar acrylic enamel shot over the light gray K36 wet sanded with #400, no clear coats or buffing on it.
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/138728817
Denny G

Denny, what hardener did you use with the delstar? It looks great.

DTR602 reducer, DXR80 hardener.
Thanks Mark, I can't take credit for the final shine, I did the metal work and brought it up to the final sanding of the primers. Since I don't have a decent place to spray and have neighbors from hell that live on both sides of me, I had the aircraft paint shop at the end of the runway lay the paint on it. Real happy with it because it looks a lot like the original paint that's still on the cowl and there is very little, if any orange peel.
DG

Thanks again everyone for the input. things are moving along... got the driverside rocker pannel replaced today (what a pain in the neck). one small step.