Hot Rods How do I tell what kind of primer was used on my 27 roadster

I acquired an all original 27 model t roadster from my uncle, body is straight as an arrow. It was primed when it was bare metal, but I'm not sure what type of primer it is, and there's no way of contacting the paint shop. It was a reputable shop though.

I'm hoping it's an epoxy primer, it's got a few spots sanded through, it's been sitting for a year too. I was going to shoot epoxy primer over it to get 100% coverage, but is there a way to tell what primer was used?

 

Take a rag soak it in lacquer thinner...set it somewhere inconspicuous on the car...if it wrinkles or lifts ya got lacquer primer

 

Here's a couple pics, it's dirty, dusty etc

 

Ok. And would lacquer primer lift or wrinkle a 2k primer? How would I tell epoxy and 2k apart? The stuff is rock hard, that's for sure. Seems thick too. But I haven't tried sanding yet so I don't know those characteristics

 

Try sanding a small spot and smell it. Sounds funny I know, but urethane, epoxy and lacquer all have their own distinct smell.

 

Looking at how smooth and shiny it is, it looks like epoxy. Also the way it lays around the edges of the holes.

 

If it's lacquer it will need to come off. It's not a stable base to lay modern urethane products over

 

Ya the guy that sprayed the primer was a pretty well known painter. I assumed he would have sprayed epoxy over bare metal for a good foundation, but just wondering if there was a way to check.

Looked like epoxy to me, just wanted some more opinions.

If it is epoxy, would you re coat the whole body? Or just where it was sanded through?

 

If it were me I would deal with that surface rust and re shoot the whole thing.

 

Make sure its not lacquer, might as well block what's on there, then lay epoxy over it, keep on blocking.

 

Actually, lacquer thinner will not wrinkle lacquer primer. It will remelt it, and it will come off on a rag. Most enamel based primes will wrinkle if lacquer is kept on it for a while. Epoxy is the toughest, and will resist wrinkling the longest. And, like slapdad says, they do smell different!

 

Ok I'll just plan on dealing with the little bit of surface rust and re shoot it. Thanks for the tips

 

Needs pics of the whole car!

 

Here's a shot from the front. After I ran it the first few times, I stripped everything off for paint so it'll be ready for summer

 

That's a good looking roadster.

 

Hell yes!
An A-frame 27T. That's exactly what I'm building, minus the hemi. Some nice gear on there. Some people will give you shit on the hamb for the disc brakes but who cares.

I want more pics!

What is the suspension layout. Rear end? What trans and how are the pedals set up?

You need a build thread for this thing. Your uncle built it this far? He must be a talented man.

 

Very true. I am around paint all day and can tell by the smell but cant explain the smells to someone else ha.

basically all you can do it try to wipe it with a damp lacquer thinner rag. Wipe back and forth a few times. it will smear and come off on your rag if its lacquer. if it smears remove it all and epoxy the car. if it dosent wipe off your good to go.

 

My uncle basically did all the body work, some lead and one patch panel on the quarter panel. The body was in pristine condition. It was sitting in a garage for years, along with an original 32 coupe, chopped and channeled way back when, my other uncle got the 32. He's been a surfboard builder since the 60's, so body work came pretty easy to him early on. The fitment is damn near perfect everywhere.

I've built everything else on the car from start to finish. It's an original 331 Hemi that's been in the family forever, T10 transmission with a ford 9", still not sure on gears, guessing it's 3:83 though.

Front suspension is a beam, leafs and shocks, lowered a couple inches. Rear is a coil over setup, pretty basic.

Pedals are tricky, I had to mount the gas pedal up on the firewall and have a long, radiused pedal coming down. That way it misses the interior portion of the floor/firewall where I had to do some sheet metal work to fit the Hemi in there. Plus I'm 6'2" so I need as much room as I can get. Being tall, a small car, a big steering wheel etc., it's a tight fit! But it's just right for me.

My friend owns a company called GearVendors, so depending on what gears end up being in the 9", we'll probably put an overdrive in it before he makes the drive shaft for me.

Kind of proud of myself on this project. Usually I lose focus on something that takes so long to finish, part of that instant gratification thing I guess. But I'm on to paint and looking forward to putting this thing back together and enjoy my summer. This car has been my girlfriend for the past year.

This guy has been helping me every step of the way though, who's name happens to be Ham

 

any updates?

 

What exactly does epoxy primer look like? Just for suture reference.

The only real way to tell what kind of primer was used is to take a scraping and send it to a lab. you can narrow it down with lacquer thinner but you still won't be sure, he could have shot it with enamel and lacquer thinner will also knock enamel.

If the painter didn't use an etching primer or etch the metal some way then it needs to go back to bare metal and be etched anyway. Even 2 part epoxy needs some tooth to stick.