Forecast said rain for tomorrow. I'd like the weatherman to pay for my paint. I asked the guy what kind of primer he used, and he doesn't know so I don't know how much trouble I'm in. Worst case scenario, What kind of damage is happening right now?
2 things will make it ok. If it's a urethane primer and it's un-sanded. 2 things will make it a problem. If it's air cured lacquer based primer or if it's already sanded. Truth be told, the UV damage is far greater on primers than a little bit of water. I wetsand primer on show work, some of em are 20yrs old and haven't rusted yet.
I guess I should give Eastwood a call and get some rust encapsulator, or rust inhibitor, or a rotisserie and a grinder...
Is there any way to tell by looking at it? I'm not too worried about the primer because I plan to paint it I'm more worried about the metal
agreed. if it's just one rain on it, then don't worry. let it dry for a week and toss the paint on it. if it lives outside and will continue to get wet(and you don't have the coin for paint) get some epoxy primer on it right away. Most importantly: If the guy who did the primer doesn't know what he used, then he's not a painter, and you should have it reprimered anyway, by someone who knows their trade
Epoxy primer,,,no problem. Laquer primer, let it get good and dry before you paint and you're fine. No different than wet sanding, as has been said above. Just make sure it's dry before you re-coat it. Most types of primers are about as porous as a screen door. Moisture will get in, but it will evaporate out as well. The largest issue is trapping that moisture with an over coat. Trap it and you'll start getting little "bubble" looking things in the paint down the road. Nothing you can do at that point to stop it. Your paint job will have started to fail. Night time dew is as bad as rain. Get it dry in the sun and get it inside if you can. The dryer the better. If you can get a couple of dry days, better yet.
How old is the primer? You can take a rag with some laquer thinner on it and wipe the surface once, you'll get no paint transfer with cured epoxy.
I don't know exactly but the car has seen enough owners to make it from kansas to nyc in this primer. I can't afford paint just yet, I guess I can set up a sort of booth and prime it myself and save some money with epoxy
If it was mine, I'd remove whatever is on there ( unless it's catalyzed ) and etch the metal; then I would use PPg DPLF as a base for a good paint job. Do the lacquer thinner test as suggested and also sand through whats on the car with some 220 or 320 sandpaper in a few places. I f there is oxidation or some other hidden menace, you'll find it.
If moisture can get in, it can also get back out....right? but yeah, that urethane primer stuff is just fine in the rain. I left my 55 in primer (URO over bare metal) for oh, 13 years, before I finally got around to painting it. No problems. That included a couple trips across country with a lot of rain.
How long until you paint it? if you are planning on painting it within the next year or 2, I wouldnt worry much, as long as your going to strip it back and start over.
If you don't know what kind of primer it is, you're going to have to prime it again anyway because you don't want your expensive paint to fail due to questionable primer. So, go ahead and prep it and prime it again with some epoxy primer/SEALER and then let it go until it's ready for paint.
Most primers have been 2 part urethanes for the last decade or more. Until recently lacquer based primer was hard to get but Duplicolor came out with one in their latest push for "economy" paint products. Hopefully that's not what was used. If the water is laying there and leaving stains (like soaked paper) then you might have a small issue. Squirrel's partly right, if water gets in it will get out, but I'd bet a cup of coffee it's not going through. I think you'll be OK. When you're ready for paint prep it right and seal it.
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