Getting ready to put some paint on

Gonkulor

Couple questions please.

I won't make topcoat for my 4th of July parade and that is fine. But I wan't to get something on the metal to stop the oxidization.

Can anyone tell me if I'm ok doing this.

The guys at the local paint store said I really should epoxy seal all of the bare metal before I prime it. So I bought a gallon of PPG OMNI MP172. I was told this line/brand will stick to anything and anything will stick to it. This brand is the low end epoxy sealer but I won't be limited to using this specific brand/line of paint when I color coat it.

So here is my question. Do I still need to sand everything with 80 grit before applying this epoxy? Remember that I have a whole lot of bare sheet steel that has never had any coating. Obviously I'm going to wash everything to get the greases off, then I'll spritz it with the phosphate acid, rinse, dry, and finally acetone wipe it all before paint.

I'm scared to 80 grit the metal too much considering I've used a lot of 18 and 20 gauge steel which is rather thin stuff. I really don't want to burn through the metal. I have green scotch brites, course steel wool and a few 80 grit grinding discs plus hand paper.

Next question is more about me tapping any knowledge some of you may have about paint products.

I'm wanting to paint the cart with a black purple pearl. That's black with a purple pearl hue I guess. I looked at swatches while I was at the paint store and doing so I got thoroughly confused. I see B/C pearls, two parters. I didn't see any black pearls with a purple hue though. Obviously a 2 part process would be less painful but I have a 3 step application stuck in my mind for some reason. Anyone have advice on finding out if any of the major manufactures have used a black purple pearl? It would be easier just asking for a paint code than going my own route. And going my own route will be painful if/when I need to match paint again later.

Finally the last question. Can I bondo over epoxy primer or do I need to rub down to bare metal? I am being told by the guy who is helping me paint the cart that I should bondo over bare metal. I really don't want to do that if possible.

Thanks guys and hoping for answers before I shoot the epoxy tomorrow afternoon, albeit depending on the weather. Looks like there might be thunderstorms. I am not ready to shoot primer or paint and when I do shoot the primer/top coat I plan to sharkskin the inside of my buddies garage. For this epoxy primer I just want to do it outside, hoping it doesn't rain.

Laters all
Shon

BGW

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BumbleBee

Shon, on the sanding. you can do 80 on 18 and 20 just fine. I would us a DA or orbital sander and not a grinder for this. most auto motive sheetmetal is 18 gauge.

As far as the epoxy you will be fine using it with anything as you will be sanding it before you shoot your regular prime on it. On the body work side. I have heard both sides some say you can add bondo to epoxy just sand it first, others say it has to be stripped in the areas that require filler. My personal preference is the latter. In the case of yours, with the amount of fab work you have, I would say you are planning on a skim coat of the whole thing before prime and paint. I would do the bondo prior to epoxy. then shoot it and go from there. adding the filler to the bare metal is the proper way just make sure you sand first so you have the tooth you need for it to bond.

As far as your paint question, I would look toward house of color for the pearl. they usually have the most diverse paint selection. Even if you make your own mix, just order enough to have extra. for fixes, chips etc.

Hope that helps.

Arin

Gonkulor

Thanks Arin.

I was afraid I will have to strip epoxy where I need to bondo. I just sorta need to get a prime on it. I borrowed an orbital which sped up the process a whole bunch.

I'm considering an application of black POR15 to the underside of the front clip. The front clip has too many nooks and crannies get got a good sand/prep job. Plus.... heck, it's the underside.

I also didn't get my application done yesterday. Ya think I would have figured out by now to double my original time estimates on anything I have to take all my panels, minus the front clip, and put them in the media blaster at work. I have everything sanded but there are many spots the DA wouldn't fit. Specifically many areas within my fab welds. I just need to pop the black slag out.

Anyway, I'm getting there.
Shon

master66

Shon
As always these are just my personal opinions and others will have their own. So if you media blasted all of the panels then there is no need to sand it before you seal it "and yes it should be sealed". There are two kinds of ways to etch bare metal, chemical and manual, so you do not need to do both.
After the sealer is on you were asking about fillers. The heavier fillers are not designed to be put over anything sprayed. Now if you use a polyester finishing putty then that can be put over sprayed surfaces, but that should never really be thicker than an eighth of an inch. Depending on how much filling you have to do and which filler is used will determine if you have to sand to metal.
As far as the color goes with pearls with using black you might not get the purple pearl effect you are wanting because well it just doesn't show up that good. I mean you can do it but it might not pop the way you want. The pearl is usually added to the clear and sprayed over an existing color and when the sun hits it you see the pearl. There are other ways to get like a black/purple metallic but you really kind of have to mess around with mixing and spraying it to get what you want.