Sorry everyone, I bet this has come up before but I haven't been able to find it. Maybe it hasn't come up.

Which primer is best? I suppose I will have to buy an air compressor, but I was wondering if the primers in the spray cans are any good.

Thanks.

Dexter

the primer's in the spray can from the parts stores, as far as i know, aren't compatible with base and clear. I bought some stuff from the local paint shop in a spray can, but it was $15.00 a can. It was the least expensive canned primer they had, but the guys at the counter swore by it and i thought it actually went on pretty good and it for sure didn't interfere with the other primers i used. I used it to cover spots as i got done working. after that, blocked the whole car out and used epoxy primer then a 2k surfacer which were mixed and sprayed with a paint gun. I had actually bought a gallon of eastwoods contour spray filler, but didn't end up using it.

if you are priming bare metal spots you need to use an "etch" primer which bonds to the bare metal so anything else you put on top of it will bond. i went to a local body shop supply place and bought an etch primer called "washprimer" in an aerosol can. it was $15.00 and well worth the money. i then determined what color i wanted to paint the car and asked what primer the paint shop uses that is going to be doing my paint work. i did this to make sure that the primers i use to prep the car are compatible with the products the paint shop uses in case they need to do a final block and spray before painting.

hood with the Etch primer after minor body filler


then hood with a coat of high build primer, now ready for block sanding

I made my choice Epoxy primer on my bare metal car. If you look at Eastwood they feel Epoxy is the best protection for bare metal.

Look at these links,

http://www.eastwood.com/how-to-paint-yo ... ch-library

http://www.eastwood.com/images/pdf/CCRP ... -PAINT.pdf

However, etching primer, DTM (direct to metal primer) are the other choices. You can do body filler on epoxy, but not recommended for etching primer.

I hope to be putting that epoxy on within the next month.

Good luck on your project

Paul

its all very confusing to me. it seems each body shop i talk with has a completely different opinion about how to prime it and the final grit of paper to use before you paint. drives me nuts

I agree it is very confusing, I still am not sure I will get it right, but I am going to go for it. I think most of it is just preference or that is the way they have done it.

Paul

I'm using this stuff on my small parts (rockers and things). Its supposedly amazing, but I've not used it yet personally.

http://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-s-2k-a ... -gray.html

Thanks so much for all the responses and tips. Sorry I have been very busy lately so haven't had time to keep up on the forum.

I think I am going to pick my paint shop first and ask them what paint they are going to use and then go from there. I don't want to primer it and then have them tell me they have to redo my work because it doesn't work with their paint.

It looks like I am going to have to buy a spray gun and air pump etc… Anybody have any suggestions on which is best?

i went to sears(watch for sales and % off coupons in the paper) and you can score a nice upright compressor for around Three hundred bucks. Harbor freight has a nice sprayer setup for about seventy bucks. most important is make sure you buy a water separator for the compressor. not expensive. also they make a small water separator piece that screws onto the sprayer right where the hose attaches. nothing will ruin a good primer job quicker than contaminated water mixing with your primer

Tcpglobal has a much better paint gun set for around $99.00 and you can order all of your paint supplies, match a color and so forth unless you would rather shop local. I have a lot of Harbor Freight stuff, but not sure I would get my paint gun there unless you had good recommendations. Also paint guns need certain air flow, so you need to make sure the compressor can produce the required air flow for the paint gun, or you are just wasting your money. Most Paint guns today require around 6-10 cfm at 90 psi depending on the gun. I may have my numbers a little confused without checking back on what I have, but the point is the compressor and gun need to be compatable.
R/