I am working on my first project car 51 Pontiac Chieftain, right now I don't have the cash to have the paint job I want as I'm still gathering and spending money on drivetrain parts. I have taken the car down to metal, and was wondering if I am looking at a rust issue if I want to drive it for awhile until I can afford the paint job that I want? I know geography can make a difference I live in Houston, is there a cheap way to go so I can run it until I'm ready to drop the cash? Thanks SJ
Blow some primer on it. it can still develop rust in time but it should get you by for a year or two.
How about shooting a coat of epoxy primer to keep the car from rusting,epoxy primers will seal and prevent the metal from rusting unlike regular primers. This is what I have done in the past. Some guys spray the car down with Gibb's & WD 40 but when it's time for paint there is a lot of prep work to do. HRP
Best bet is to prime with epoxy, all other primers will let water go through and form rust. Being hot and humid, Houston would be a rust problem.
Best to top coat the primer with a sealer to keep the moisture out, if not you will find rust under it later. A good epoxy printer will work like DP from PPG and if you are trying to stretch your $ their shopline product line works good .
Go to one of the area paint stores , and talk to there rep. He will know what works in your area. I done painting for almost 60 tears and I still ask for advice, it's cheaper to ask than trial and error. All most all the paint lines work good if you stay with one product line. The Shopline of PPG works good they just don't have as many color options or guarrentee that the premium lines have. Good luck and be sure to use a good dryer so you don't trap moisture, you also may need to ask about a acid etch before you prime, if so don't go the spray can route. I have had that shit bight me in the ass. No one likes do overs they cost time and $. Most of all remember a paint job is only as good as the foundation. Good luck and ask a lot of questions.
Remember, Epoxy primers are not stabilized for UV (that is the base coats job), and as such the primer will start to break down and allow moisture through. This obviously will happen faster in a southern city like Houston then Seattle. You most likely will have to reapply the primer in a year or so if you don't get the paint job done.
How long until you may be able to paint it. In my case, its years if ever. I spray my cars with a cheap paint(not rustoleum) to seal and protect until I might be able to actually do it. I put the trim on as it is the best place to store it. Granted none of my cars were stripped like yours.
Use epoxy. Epoxy will not break down. It will oxidize and lose some of its gloss. We all recommend different mil thickness to achieve water resistance. Ours is 8 mils wet, but most epoxy work just fine. But don't go by he said she said. Look at technical data sheets because solids content plays a roll in this. I saw one comment of someone saying epoxy will break down, this goes back to technical data sheets, the epoxy probably didn't break down, it just didn't have enough mils to achieve water resistance. we manufacture epoxy topcoats for the oil fields and underground storage tanks very high end restoration and aerospace, and none of ours have broke down and they are exposed to the most brutal of conditions. Epoxy will lose gloss but use that. Not self etch, not oil based products. Use epoxy it has excellent adhesion to metal and it's very chemical resistant, and you can do body work on top of it. Its the best foundation for any restoration. And one more thing most people forget. Epoxy has a induction time. Once you mix the hardener with the epoxy it needs to set for about 15 mins before you start spraying. Good luck!
How did you get it down to bare metal strip, sand, or grind? Sounds like you will be back there at some time but for now some epoxy primer would be the way to go. Bob
I shot mine with an etch primer and then a finish 1 sealer thats suitable as a top coat. less than 300 bucks in a gallon of each and all needed side stuff. comes in 7 shades from white to black. Looks decent
In want to put some miles on mine before it get's the shiny stuff to work all or any nuts n bolts issue's out. I used urethane primer with a couple coats on satin clear. It won't spend any time outside if not being driven anyway so I am thinking I am safe or at least hope so.
You will be fine. It will go grayer even though you put clear on the top, urethane primers usually don't use topcoat pigments. Even if you have the best of the best clear coat on top a lot depends on what's underneath. But the typical person 20 years from now will not notice your black going grayer unless half of it is getting sun exposure.
I will 2nd. Paint Guru advice, and read the MSDS .and I am waiting to see his black, would like to try it on my 29 roadster I have almost finished.
Ordinary primer surfacer is porous and will not keep off rust for long. Do you know what brand of paint you will be using? Consult the dealer of that brand for the best answer. Or, paint it yourself with a roller and foam brush. Before you laugh or barf look up $50 paint job or roller paint job. Some guys have had great success using Tremclad, or yacht paint, or auto paint applied with a foam roller, wet sanding between coats and a final buff and polish. Won't work with metallic but will work with plain enamel like your car probably came with. Or you could paint it yourself with a cheap spray gun and putt putt compressor. It has been done.
http://www.southernpolyurethanes.com Check them out and compare primers, great tech support as well. If you wanna get tricky, put a good coat of gray primer on it, then shoot it with cheap clear with silver pearl. Or use red/brown primer with copper pearl. You'll have to sand all the clear off later but what the hell, you might just like the color as is.
indyjps - Not to hijack the thread but do you have any photos you could show of the gray primer/clear with silver pearl or red/brown primer with copper pearl? Love to see some examples of what you are describing. Thanks - Bantam
You really couldn't see the silver pearl over gray primer. You could over black. I am partial to fine blue pearl over black. I personally don't see the copper pearl lookin good over red oxide, but I might do a spray out this evening to see. Challenge accepted!
Just a heads up on the SPI black epoxy primer, it has UV protection added in. Not in Grey or White however.
Red oxide varies quite a bit between brands brown to red, red pearl, maroon pearl, copper pearl depending on the tint. It gives UV protection and could be fun, do some fades, tint the clear and panel it up, whatever. I wouldn't spend much on clear you'll be grinding off in a few years though. Can't wait to see it.
No examples, just thinking out loud, might be cool, it will all get sanded off in the near future, so why not. I started shooting polyurethane with pearl in it on a couple wood working projects, as the poly soaks in it draws the pearl to the grain, pretty wild. Now I want pearl in everything.
Ok I did true red oxide pigment next to industrial red oxide and the orange pearl on top. I have to say I really like the red oxide pigment with orange pearl on top. Next to that is the gray primer and industrial red oxide with a crystal pearl on top. Notice the face and flop!
I second that, how did you get to bare metal? I still have the original lacquer paint on mine that needs to come off.
You can do the slow way by wiping it with a rag soaked with automotive grade reducer or lacquer thinner, or chemical stripper but these are not the safest ways, or the quickest way a variable speed buffer with a 8 inch sandpaper pad and a box of 180 a loud radio and case of your favorite beverage. Car is stripped in 4-8 hours, and its ready for epoxy. Buy good sandpaper though like Orion, Mirka, Norton, Eagle and those lines won't break the bank either.
From from the owner of SPI: Here's the BarryK quote:Epoxy with uv protection. As some of you know from the other threads, I have been playing with the UV protection with our epoxy, even though our epoxy (black) has showed us around 5 years life when exposed to the sun where most epoxies die inside of 3 - 6 months, we are making it better!The black and black only at this point that we made this week has extra UV protection, we still have around 100 gallons of the old batch but that should be gone by middle of next week and we will ship the new. (Quarts will not have for about two months)I used 1/2 the amount of UV I wanted to but as we go along I will increase, at this point it should last as long as any mid grade SS paint.You will notice no difference in spraying or drying or handling the epoxy with this addition as I have tested and retested but reason I cut it in half is just to make sure the epoxy is still bullet proof.I have no plans to add it to the other colors as they are never exposed as an topside paint but our black epoxy has been used as hood strips on cudas and rat rods so the protection was warranted.
A true Epoxy is a unsaturated chain it will fade regardless. What it sounds like he has is a Epoxy acrylate which is a hybrid epoxy topcoat. It has a lot of thermoplastic acrylic resin in it. We sell this to the rail road industry. It will last as long as a low end single stage but that's it. It is a very good product but you do give up some true epoxy characteristics that probably are not a concern to most. Good point I was not thinking outside of a true epoxy. I never would have thought to offer that for car restoration. How is the sandability on the new compared to the old?
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