superman22x

Hi all, I have not posted before, mostly just lurked. I am a member over at 944hybrids for those that frequent both forums. I am working on a 1984 944 LS3 swap. The car is in decent shape overall, but it had been repainted at some point. And the paint job was less than steller, it had lots of fisheye and a few large runs. So I am in the process of repainting this winter/spring and looking for some pointers from those who have painted a 944 before.
Here is my plan:
Block sand current paint job with 80 grit (but avoid sanding to bare metal to retain the galvanized coating)
Find all dings and dents, sand these out and use Evercoat Quantum 1 to fill in any that need it.
On the nastier dings that are down to bare metal, I plan to epoxy primer (Summit racing or Kirkland Epoxy Primer) first over these areas
Spray the whole car with Evercoat SlickSand.
Block Sand with 180-220-320
Epoxy Primer whole car
Block sand – 400
Take to paint shop to spray color/clear or a single stage depending on pricing

The main spot of confusion I have is with the epoxy primer step before filler work on the nasty dents. Do you guys think just epoxy primer over these spots is good? I don’t think I would need it before Slicksand on the rest of the car.

Any other tips for paint? I have all the trim, weather stripping, bumpers, etc removed. I do not plan on painting door jams or underhood as those were not painted before and I want to attempt to match the Guards Red somewhat.

Mrspencer

Are you sanding wood that's way to rough it's better to scuff up the paint but leave it as a base ,you don't want to remove the paint entirely unless you are doing a color change 800, then 1000, once smooth primer sand again with 1000, look for high or low spots repair what you find and, 80 grit will leave some serious scratches and way more work to smooth out, good luck.

951and944S

Yes, epoxy prime before. Depending on the product (I use TransStar), you can wipe filler without even resanding the epoxy within the "cure window". Controversial to some, but there are tests and videos around the web that show no improvement to adhesion of fillers by using the older school of thought - mechanical adhesion by increasingly rougher grit scratches.

Again, depending on product, but the TransStar dries to a pretty high gloss which helps you highlight the dents and dings.....you can attack these 1-several at a time (I work one panel completely) within a 72 hour period and save material by mixing very small quantities of epoxy primer to repass over your work as you proceed. This allows you to reinspect your work when the epoxy glosses back over.....you will ALWAYS be able to see better under gloss than dull dry urethane primers.

A good tip is to purchase a single bulb 48 inch fluorescent light (T series is smaller diameter) and make a rolling stand for it, mounted horizontal.
When looking over your finished panel and the epoxy is unsanded still with a gloss, you look for the light bar reflection in your panel to be true and straight while moving your head to change view angle. If you see a dip or curve in the bulb's reflection, you still have work to do. If you pass this test, the car will look straight when glossed with topcoat later.

I can go on and on.....I do all aspects automotive and body/paint is only one, but it's probably my favorite.

T

951and944S

LOL, no primer known to man that I am aware of has application allowance for adhesion to 1000 grit scratches.

Epoxy (in original poster case) requires 80-180 grit minimum for bare metals and 220 grit for existing finishes.

T

V2Rocket

T, have you ever tried using surplus aircraft epoxy primer?
...I may repaint my car again someday and "know a guy" to get some...lol

superman22x

Thanks guys! Got it all painted now (except the bumper and a headlight cover). I used Tamco base and clear, and it turned out awesome. $125/Qt and matches great. Mixes 1:1 with reducer. I used featherfill G2 and summit racing epoxy primers. If I were to do it again, I would use Tamco Epoxy primer as my build primer and sealer. I just didn't know of it until later. Overall, I am very happy with the results for a garage paint job.

951and944S

LOL, no, I haven't.

I used some 2 part marine for ferry and tugboat decks once for a shop floor that I was renting at the time...from "a guy"..

T

951and944S

Man...., I swear, I thought you only posted the original yesterday when I answered because it popped up fresh.

If I had realized Mr.Spencer had bumped this, I might have passed...

I look in here after lunch and see the car and I'm like "d@amned, this cat don't play around, maybe he really IS Superman X 22....!?!?!".....

T

AnthonyGS

If you have any suggested reading or forums on how you painted it, I'm all ears.