The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Did I do the right thing?

So I tried to teach myself to do bodywork. I'm no expert but for what its worth, I think I did ok. I may have used more bondo than most but oh well. My question is the primer. Since I did a section at a time over the past year, I'd simply used Rustoleum rattle can filler primer then wet sanded as needed. Will this primer do well with paint or do I need to use something else?

I'm sure some painters will tell you that that's no good, but I use spray can primer, as I take forever to do body work. But the trick, I think, is to make sure you spray a good primer/sealer all over, that is compatible with your top coat before you paint. And let it dry thoroughly. That was my last experience...with acrylic enamel...and it was beautiful. But with new urethane paints, somebody else will have to tell us!

I would second what casey says.....before you paint, put a good quality primer over all of the parts.

rattle can primer is mainly acrylic enamel so if your going to paint your vehicle with acrylic enamel you should paint with that but if your going to use Sikkens or Nason or P.P.G you should stay with that if you use acrylic enamel with say nason or ppg your paint will re coat re-act the thing i like to do if you have a pretty straight car or truck is to use a good epoxy primer then use a coat of good sand able primer then use a poly fill its really expensive but does a really good job and if your really good at painting you can get an OK paint job from o rileys with the duplicolor line ANY WAY BOTTOM LINE STAY WITH THE SAME PRODUCT THROUGH THE WHOLE PROCESS LOL I HOPE THAT HELPED

I was just stripping the step sides on mine today. I'd sprayed the under side of these just a couple years ago with rustoleum and as I was taking it off I thought to myself "This is why painters don't use it" .
If your going to use an epoxy primer it needs to be against good clean metal not over rattle can primer.
Thats like using wax paper under a band aid on a cut.

If your just doing a panel at a time just use a small 6" roller and go with 3 good coats epoxy from the get go then if your years into the project you know its still water tight in epoxy instead of wondering about how much moisture the rustoleum is holding.

Since you have been using this the entire time, you will need to figure out what will work over that stuff. If you spray something incompatible you will have to start all over again. I was always told to pick a system from one company and stick with it throughout. I went with Nason since it was available at the local auto paint supply shop.

Found out that Rustoleum makes automotive paint but the color selection is limited to black, orange, red, blue and white. I had actually thought about black , flat black, red or blue. Was really hoping for silver though.

I have tried to reclaim MANY projects that had been coated with rattle can primer over months, or even years. Here's the problem: Primer is porous, and if it gets rained on, there's a good chance a thin layer of rust will develop down at the metal surface. Even if the top surface is sanded and coated with a good epoxy-based primer, the rust will be there to erupt like a volcano at some time in the future. Most professional painters I've known will simply refuse to paint a vehicle that's had primed areas exposed to rain, unless they're allowed to sand all the way back to bare metal and reprime those spots. Putting a color coat over a possible layer of rust would be like applying a Band-Aid over a boil getting ready to come to a head.
Jerry