Need Some Painting/Body Work Advice

The problem I'm talking about is trying to fix the current chipped paint. If I sand the nose where the chips and yellow background are, I end up with a nice ridge where the old paint ends and the raw fiberglass begins.

I was thinking about applying some body glaze on the nose where I sanded, and try to feather it into the old paint. Is that something that's normally done, or, would a professional just sand all of the old paint off?

It just seems like a waste of time, and a lot of work to sand all that good paint off.

 

Feather the sanding out so there isn't a ridge. Don't do filler unless you have to.

 

I'll give it a try, thanks.

 

how do you feather 100 small chips?? Wouldnt it be easier to fill those dings in since the new top coat is going on anyways?? And since no paint is "chip proof" just put the vinyl over the area???

 

i don't do clear bra's but i have tons of scrap

 

I had my bellypan done with the ClearBra material by a friend who does ClearBra for a living. It is holding up very well,is easy to clean and looks nice. The edges of the vinyl have lifted a little, but overall it looks better than the previous bellypan did, all chipped and shit.

 

I bet you do!

P.S. I'll be calling you soon for my annual order

 

Yes there is you, dolt. Etching primer has an acid in it and is used on BARE metal. Epoxy is completely different.

 

Just an FYI, the majority of the information posted up so far is pretty bad, and mostly wrong (in terms of what would work best)

The thing with paint is that there isn't always a definitive "right" and "wrong" answer, but there are usually "better" and "worse" ways to do things.

I'm not trying to be a dick, I'm actually trying to help keep you from wasting time/money doing things the wrong way.

I don't have time to disagree with most of the posts and elaborate, but I'll try to help with a few things now.

First, most single-stage paints are actually harder than a lot of base/clear aplications.

Keeping paint from chipping has to do with a few factors, not just how "hard" the final product is. Proper prep and adhesion is key.

If you existing paint is all chipped up, you should prob try to sand most of it off. If it is already chipping, it will probably continue, and take new top coat with it. If you think that paint has really good adhesion, you can just smooth it.
I'd prime it if possible. The primer will give better adhesion, but more importantly it will fill in the existing holes and chips, and allow you to sand the new surface a little smoother. It will also prevent "mapping" of the new paint.

You CAN get away without priming though, if you prep the surface right. It probably won't look as good in the end, but it will work just fine.

I'm EXHAUSTED from 12 hours of painting today, but will post up in more detail tomorrow AM, and hopefully be able to help more.

 

Mike, try using Evercoat Fiber Tech to fill the small holes/pits after light sanding. You won't have to take the paint all the way down to bare fiberglass bodywork. It's a reinforced repair compound filler made of polyester and kevlar and some other crap I can't think of right now.

Stuff bonds to everything. Perfect for plastic and fiberglass. We use it a lot on automotive sheet metal. Sands out smooth and it's easy to get it to feather in.

Blending paint is a different story for later.

Good luck

 

Knowing me, I'll probably start sanding the chipped area and keep going until it's all done. In the past I've been using this for primer:



Is that crap? Should I try something else? I really need to use a primer from a spray can. I do all the bodywork and prep at my house, but, the painting is being done by someone else.

 

That primer is "OK". Most all spraycan primers are lacquer or enamel based, and are meant to use over old paint or where body filler was applied. They adhere "OK" in those circumstances. But, spraying directly to metal or fiberglass, you need a 2K or catalyzed primer. Spraymax makes Epoxy primer, and 2 different high build primers. This will make all the difference in the world, Except behind the front wheel!

http://www.spraymax.com/index.php?id=352&L=1

 

LMAO!!

 

Thanks, I hadn't seen the Spraymax products yet. You could almost do the whole job, prime and paint with an aerosol spray can.

After doing some further research, it looks like the best primer for covering glaze and fiberglass is a polyester primer like Feather Fill or Slick Sand.

I'll probably just bite the bullet and get a cheap spray gun to shoot some good poly primer on it.

 

Harbor freight has a decent HVLP gun, usually on sale every other month. They also have a two gun kit. I use one for primer and the other for color/clear. If your only doing a race bike or two a year they will be fine. Your local paint shop may help you a lot or a little. I've got one that always has lots of info, suggestions for newbies that don't quite know what they're doing. They always throws in lots of strainers and mixing sticks too. The other two stores tolerate newbies and sell paint, strainers and sticks are extra. I usually paint outdoors early in the morning before any wind comes up under an old costco canopy.

 

You should use the same brand paint from the primer up to the clear. They are a system that needs to be compatible.

 

Wow, a few nuggets of good info and a ton of folks with no commercial paint experience in here .

I feel like there are a few that just like to talk on every thread.

 

I came across this brand new product from Wagner while looking for HVLP guns.

http://www.wagnerspraytech.com/portal/paint_ready_system_en_spray,431860,358970.html

It looks like one gun would be perfect for the primer, and the other smaller one would be good for base and clear.

Unfortunately, the system is so new there's not much written about it yet.


P.S. I don't have a compressor that can handle an HVLP gun.

 

Do you have a compressor? I did my first paint jobs with a little pancake compressor from HD that I got with a couple nail guns. As long as I wasn't moving too fast it did just fine. I ran a lot but it worked. I didn't see anything in the link on tip sizes. So when is dswens gonaa pop back in, I know what has worked for me but I'm just a backyard painter.