Paint Prep Basics--Teach Me
 

I'm swapping out a duck tail for a regular engine lid on my new project car (a '73.5 T coupe that will eventually house a 3.2). I've picked up a nice straight deck lid and I'm thinking about doing the prep work on it myself. Can anyone explain to me, on a 2nd or 3rd grade level, how to go about doing that? Start from the beginning (stripping off the old paint?) and talk slowly--assume that I'm not very bright. Take me through the primer stage. How do I fill the holes where I'm not going to replace the PORSCHE lettering? There is one very small (3mm wide and 2mm deep) dent where someone dropped something on it--how do I fill that? There is some minor surface rust on the underside--how do I treat that?

As always, your wise guidance is sincerely appreciated.

hi it could help if you could post a picture of the lid so people can see the condition of the paint thats allready there it will determin what you need to do in regards to prep work. also your car color and paint is it 2k or enamel,acyrilic,all these things will determin the out come. IT dosent matter how well the paint comes out on the lid if it dont macth the rest of the car.

I'll try to post a picture of the decklid later today, but the paint on the lid is in decent condition--it appears to be the original paint on an unmolested lid. The paint on the car is a repaint in the correct Glasurit paint--I'm not sure what you mean by 2K. The car is light yellow (color coe 117) and the paint is in very good shape.

hi
i am not sure of paint differences between US and australia 2k is referd to as 2 pak as in two part paint color and hardner similair two enamel only you dont want to breath 2 pak you need a really good mask for painting 2k for small peices a dust mask is okay for enamel or acrylic i looked up color code 117 in my book it shows as bright yellow so i would recomend when you buy the paint take the car or petrol flap to the shop and get paint color matched. Do you intend to use spray gun or get a pressure pack tin also i would look for somthing to try a test on with colour before you do final paint on the lid to make sure color is ok.

I'm not going to try to paint it myself--my plan is just to do the prep work and then take the deck lid to someone who knows what they're doing for the actual painting (and color matching).

sounds like you've got a lid with a dent... body work adds hours.
most pro shops would rather buy a new panel than fix a dent.

your going to need to sand the old paint off.
I normally would not strip a panel to bare metal if your base paint is good and could be left.

but since you have a dent and want to fill the letters your going to need most of it stripped to metal anyways... so go ahead.

After reaching bare metal on the dent I would use a body hammer and dolly to remove as much of the dent as possible. use low force and spend a half hour or 45 minutes tapping the dent out from behind. Always use a dolly... don't even strike 1x without the dolly.

regarding the porsche letter holes. I would weld them closed. be sure to use very low heat and only weld for 1-2 seconds max at a time without a full cool down. Otherwise you will warp the panel and could spend another 5 hours trying to fix that.

you could use bondo on the holes and the dent but it may cause problems for you later.

after welding the holes you may need to grind the welds some and then dolly them a bit too to cure any minor warp.

Now your going to need a little bit of light weight filler (professional bondo) still to finish off both areas you have repaired. Mix it per the can and use a plastic bondo tool to apply. you can rough sand it with 80grit but then move to something like 220 before long.

finish the whole panel with some 320 (or 220) and use your sense of feel to make certain it is smooth.

your going to need to befriend an autobody supply store and get to know the guy at the paint counter.

now if you have a paint gun (not rattle can) you can buy and shoot some primer. Epoxy is nice. clean up is a pain. after it dries wet sand again with 320. It probably will need a 2nd coat after the sanding. Then after the 2nd or 3rd coat dries you can do a guide coat on it.

at this point, I'd take it to a good body shop and have them shoot the top coat. Talk to the place that did the repaint in glasurit. Have them shoot the top coat.

make sure you talk to them before the primer stage and then use the primer that they want and use regularly. Most body shops will not shoot their top coat over anything but their base products. would suck for you to take it to them and have them insist on stripping off all of your body work and primer due to incompatiable base products.

go to len's website

I think it might be:
autobodystore.com

they have a good webboard and can teach you everything you need.
if you have to buy much equiptment.. it could be cheaper to just pay someone else to do the entire panel and not do it yourself.

It would probaly best if you follow brants advice being a us member is more fairmiliar with us paint terms you might want speek with local paint shop first could be cheaper to let them do prep work as brant correctly points out about primer base and also weather you have the equitment to do the body work somtimes the longest way is the shortest way good luck hope it works out for you.

most good painters wont trust the prep work done by somebody else and will re-do what you have done anyway.....it is their reputation on the line....and the prep is the most important part of the job.....you cant hide bad prep with good paint....

Just strip all the paint off using chemical stripper, I use the Aircraft stripper available at any auto paint store. Directions are on the can. Then give it to your body shop as you will waste a LOT of time and money and end up with a mess that most good body shops will reject anyway...

All good advice--especially the "don't do it" kind of advice.

Since we're talking about repainting decklids, I'll throw in a question.

I've got a fiberglass decklid with a couple hairline cracks in the paint over the latch, as well as a few chips and cracks elsewhere on glass bumpers. I'd like to do a quick and cheap patch and paint. The car's a track car so this doesn't have to be stellar.

Can I simply strip/rough sand around it, apply as little glass-specific bondo as necessary, sand, prime with spray can primer and the repaint and feather the edges with one of those glass bottle propellant combos with single stage paint in my car's color? It only has to look fine from ten feet.

Thanks!

That would depend on where the cracks originated. If they are (most likely) in the glass itself you need to grind the affected area out and re-resin it back up. Chips are easily repaired and painted, area can be brought back up flush with primer, laquer putty, or filler.

Thanks Gary.

If the glass itself is cracked, after grinding it, can I get away with just the resin or should I use either glass fabric or raw fiber as well? I suppose an extra laminate on the back/inside with some cloth to strengthen it wouldn't hurt either, would it?

I actually use the fiber matting, breaking off small pieces/shreds for small repairs like filling in a V-notch where a crack was. I think by raw fiber that is what you are referring to. Resin by itself is rather brittle, especially in an area you know to be prone to cracking. Good compressive strength but virtually no tensile strength without reinforcement. There are fiberglass reinforced fillers available and as you will be doing this yourself and sound like you don't mind the work, you may even try one of them. Worst case scenario is you have to do it all over again soon.

And yes, extra reinforcement behind the affected area may well help.

One more thing.. I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
:D