To prime, or not to prime
 

Does anyone drive there car with primer on it? I want to start working on the 71 a little, but it will require some epoxy primer and Im not sure if I want to drive it like that. Just wondering what others are doing.

Tom

Tom
Primers have a few requirements before you can drive on the street,
First, if you go with the red oxide color you have to mount your tail lights crooked and unplug one.. next step is to loosen something underneath and let it drag on the ground, for best efect remove your outside mirrors.

Now grey primer will be hard for a air cooled engine but I think you can rig your washer pump to pump coolant on the ground when at a stop sign or light, you must remove all trim and a headlight too. don't forget to rev you engine allot and for effect remove a spark plug wire.

I am sooo glad I can help :p
Tim in Sac

Don't drive your car in primer. Primer is porous, so if it gets wet it will absorb the moisture. The result of this is either rust or blistering of your top coat later on. Try not to take your car's paint off untill the very last moment before you commence work on it, and keep bare metal exposure to a minimum.

Cheers

Do I have to worry nas much about my 77? I know it is galvanized. I want to do a repaint in the spring, could I strip it and work on it through the winter, and take my time (months) or should I wait and do it all at once? Also do I need to prime it as soon as it is exposed or could I leave a galvanized body quite a while and have the shop do the primer and paint together in the spring??

Thanks

Early lacquer primers were based on talcum powder, I believe, and did absorb water, causing rust. I think if you use epoxy primer you won't have that problem. You will probably have to sand some of it off and reprime when you do go to paint as I don't think it is UV resistant.

That was my thought as well. I think that woud be better then leaving the surface rust I need to fix.

I did my whole Datsun 620 truck in PPG DP40/DP301 gray-green epoxy primer ... and drove it for over 12 years without any rust or blistering problems! Primer was a BIG improvement over the original carmel/mustard yellow! Oxidized nicely to same shade as Paul Newman's 356 ... in <b><i>Harper!</b></i>

Sounds good warren. Can you get the DP-40 in colors, I could go ahead and prime it grey so when I paint it it will cover nicely.

By the way warren, where are the pics of that car of yours?

I believe DP 40 is available in grey. PPG has a website for info but I don't have it handy right now.

thanks, Ill check it out...

The site is www.ppg.com/cr-refinish/phase1/frmPickRegion.asp .