Primer, Paint, Undercoating, Etc.

I’ve got to give a ton of credit to the guys at www.autobodystore.com. This is where I go to to ask questions and receive great advice. These guys are good, patient and always willing to help out. I’ve also bought most of my supplied from this site.

With all the paint stripping completed and the sheet metal work done, I’m finally putting material back on the car. This is a major milestone in my project and am excited to moving into this next phase.

Metal Prep

After removing the paint, old filler and replacing sheet metal, I applied this product call Picklex 20. This spray is a combination metal surface cleaner and surface rust remover. I applied it to the metal and it prevented the bare metal from rusting over night. In fact, my metal was exposed for many months without any surface rust forming.

Filler

The first filler I used was Evercoat EverGlass. I know I’ve been severely badmouthing the previous repair jobs on my Comet for the amount of bondo they used. To my defense, I can only say that I did the best sheet metal work my skill set and experience will yield and I’m applying the filler as thin as possible. My sheet metal work is not perfect and filler is going to be needed to smooth out my panels. This stuff is waterproof and I applied it over all my welds. The idea was to prevent moisture coming from the other side of the metal, through the porous welds into my paint job. This stuff is hard to sand so I used only enough to cover the welds.

Over the EverGlass, I used Evercoat Rage Extreme. I learned to apply this stuff generously over the areas being repairs. Most of it came off during sanding / blocking process but what was left was a smooth surface.

For filling pinholes and fine scratches, I used Evercoat Euro-Soft Polyester glazing putty. This material is very soft and sands easily. I sanded all my filler work to 180 grit prior to spraying on the epoxy

Primer

After I thought I had everything smooth and ready for the first coat of primer, I sprayed on PPG DL90LF Epoxy primer along with its hardener DP402LF as a sealant of my metal and first pass of filler. This comes in different colors and the 90 signifies black.

When I bought the DPLF, I was not aware of the Omni line of PPG. This is a lower level line that is also cheaper to buy. From the many posts on a couple different forums, the consensus seemed to be that MP170, which is the Epoxy Primer of the Omni line, does the job. The hardener associated with MP170 is MP175.

In some high places, I sanded the epoxy down to bare metal and in the low areas I applied filler on top of the epoxy. Even though you are not supposed to sand Epoxy primer, I had no choice because my filler work was so bad. Once I thought I had it all level and smooth again, I sprayed on a couple more coats of epoxy followed by two coats of PPG K36, which is a high built primer.

In the Omni line of primers is MX245. It is a Buff colored (tan) polyester filler primer. It uses a tube of harder (MX199) for every one quart of primer. It costs less than half the price of K36 and I’ll be using this instead from now on.

I learned about a good weld through primer called U-Pol. It applies a zinc based coating and is very conductive and allows me to coat the metal being welded while providing protection to the metal I won’t be able to access from the other side. I wish I had found this earlier in my sheet metal replacement process.

Basecoat / Clearcoat

I have no idea on what color the car is going to be painted. I just know I’m going to be using a Basecoat / Top coat type system. Right now I’m leaning to Wimbledon White or a light Creamy Taupe.

I was able to buy a quart of Concept LV which is a single stage Urethane that happens to be a very expensive line of PPG for only $20. The paint shop I frequent happened to have several quarts, pints, and a couple gallons of paints that people ordered but never claimed. The hardened associated with this paint is DCX61. The paint I found is a gloss black which I intend on using on the front suspension components.

Undercoating

On the underside of the car, I applied 3M Body Schutz. This rubberized material is applied with a schutz gun pressured at 50-60 psi. I applied this over the epoxy and it left a nice uniform speckled flat black appearance. I used eight bottles (pint each) to get a good even coat. Really looks nice and clean…as compared to the original grease, grime and dirt that covered the underbody when I started. Having the rotisserie made a world of difference. I tilted the car perpendicular to the ground and stood comfortably while spraying on the schutz.

Seam Sealers

During the tear down and while removing the paint, I removed existing rubberized sealants from between panels throughout the car. On top of the epoxy, I used 3M Seam Sealer in all these areas and also on my welds inside the car where a finish coat of paint will not be applied to prevent moisture from penetrating through.

Another Seam Sealer I’m using is Duramix, a two-part self-leveling seam sealer. I’m using this material in tight areas like in the drip railing and panels that make up the trim around the windows.

Sound / Heat Insulation

Throughout the interior, on the firewall, under the roof, and in the trunk, I sprayed on a product called Lizard Skin (http://www.coollizard.com). This product is a ceramic insulation that has air filled insulating/reflective and sound absorbing particles.

The directions tell you to spray on the material with a spray gun capable of applying viscous material. They sell a gun that can do just that as well. You are supposed to spray it on to a thickness of .050 but thicker is better. I got it sprayed throughout the inside firewall, the floor pans, the roof, and all through the trunk. Now that I have it all sprayed on, I won’t be able to see it works until I’m all done.