I bought a body kit about 4 months ago and i've been working on it to get it fit properly and snug. The body kit came with a protective gel coat (lime green) i have been just sanding it down to where the green is a faded green and then primering ir or fiberglassing it. My question is do I have to sand it down to the actual fiberglass itself then primer it or is how im doing it good enough. i have a friend that said he will paint my whole car all i have to do is sand it down all the way and primer it and he'll do it the rest.
Thanks in advance
chris
if your friend is painting it and he knows what he is doing paint wise, let him prep it
gel coat doesn't have to be removed for painting/priming, only to add fiberglass. just sand it with 350 grit. What are you priming with?
twiztidhybrid wrote:What are you priming with?
*Waits for rattle can primer answer*
Thats what i was wondering about. I'd also say that if you don't have a DA sander, let your friend sand it.
if your asking how to prep a kit, you dont know how. its ok, not everyone is an expert on body work but if your friend knows how to paint well and knows his @!#$ he should be able to prep it no problem.
i know how to prep the car just that i have never prepped a gel coat body kit. This is my first body kit and i would like to make it good. My friend is going to paint my whole car for 300 thats including paint, all i have to do is the body work and primer. im a rookie when it comes to body work i know some but not alot but he is giving me ideas on how to go about certain stuff. right now im rattle canning the body kit till i get everything matching up right then im going to HVLP primer the car. BTW I had to do alot of fiberglassing work to get the drift sides to fit perfect and still working on them.
The main reason im doing the prep work is because im trying to do almost all the work to my car. I dont trust myself painting my car but primering I do.
dont rattle can the kit. your gonna have to spend so much time sanding it off. seriously have someone else prep this kit if you want it to look good.
Just get the car as smooth as possible, and as far as how far down you should go: as long as there is nothing shiny than the primer will stick to it.
Car Domain
Alex . wrote:Just get the car as smooth as possible, and as far as how far down you should go: as long as there is nothing shiny than the primer will stick to it.
so primer wont stick to bare metal is what your saying?
no im saying paint and fiberglass wise primer has a very hard time sticking to shiny spots
Car Domain
im using the rattle can just to make sure the fiberglass im working with is smooth sometimes you can get those little dents or bubbles and not notice till your primer is on. Rattle can primer is alot cheaper than spray primer so i would rather waste the rattle can primer then wasting the other. until i get the glassed parts right then i'll hvlp primer the car.
rattle can is for hacks. no matter your intentions, it will never do the job auto primer will. even if it says "high build" its not.
do it right
Alex . wrote:no im saying paint and fiberglass wise primer has a very hard time sticking to shiny spots
When you say "shiny spots", you're either referring to...
Bare metal, in which case you're wrong, it'll do just fine or...
Unscuffed paint, in which case you're correct.
chris b. wrote:until i get the glassed parts right then i'll hvlp primer the car.
Or you could use a straight edge or even your hand to feel for ripples. Plus, sandable auto primer is meant for just that purpose. You spray a relatively thick coat that fills in minute imperfections and shows larger imperfections better since everything's in one color.
It's certainly worth it to spend the money instead of cheaping out with rattle can primer.
im going to use the auto spray when everythings ready just for the time being im using the cheap stuff. so what brand of primer do you guys recommend for the auto spray. I know not to get that cheap autozone crap.
the point everyone is making spray can primer is not good at all. your gonna spend sooo much time sanding that @!#$ off that your gonna wish you just used the regular primer. we're not bashing you, we're trying to help you from experience. ask anyone in the auto body field, how they feel about spray can primer
and to add to that, anything like pinholes, etc that you are trying to fill will take 10 coats compared to 1 of auto primer. its a wate of time/moeny/effort. one shot of auto primer will accomplish what you need done. dont make it harder on yourself.
as far as auto primer, if you have a Sherwin Williams auto store around, pick up their auto 2k high build primer. awesome stuff, quick setting, and very easy sanding. also very cost effective
so if i get the auto primer it will cover up the little pin holes that im having to spot putty?? we dont have Sherwin Williams auto store but we have other auto paint stores i'll check them out tomorrow. So if my paint on my side skirts isnt glossy but pretty much a flat color its ok to primer over instead of having to sand down to bare fiberglass?
and I know you guys arent trying to bash me I understand. I just really didnt see any harm in using the rattle can primer for small patches that im trying to glass or fix. I just had left over can primer from doing my interior so i figured why not use it.
another question I looked at the fiberglassing sticky but none of it answered my question. when your fiberglassing the interior like a bezel should you drill holes in the plastic so the fiberglass can breath? I heard that you should on plastic but then i seen that guy fiberglass his door panels and not drill holes in the panel. Thanks for all the help
find a ppg or dupont store
the oreily here is starting to sell dupont paint i believe
chris b wrote:so if i get the auto primer it will cover up the little pin holes that im having to spot putty?? we dont have Sherwin Williams auto store but we have other auto paint stores i'll check them out tomorrow. So if my paint on my side skirts isnt glossy but pretty much a flat color its ok to primer over instead of having to sand down to bare fiberglass?
and I know you guys arent trying to bash me I understand. I just really didnt see any harm in using the rattle can primer for small patches that im trying to glass or fix. I just had left over can primer from doing my interior so i figured why not use it.
another question I looked at the fiberglassing sticky but none of it answered my question. when your fiberglassing the interior like a bezel should you drill holes in the plastic so the fiberglass can breath? I heard that you should on plastic but then i seen that guy fiberglass his door panels and not drill holes in the panel. Thanks for all the help
yup, auto primer will fill the pinholes fine.
for the fiberglassing, I highly suggest drilling plenty of holes and getting glass in/behind those holes to hold the glass to the plastic. if not, it will eventually pop right out.
yeah im starting to notice that on my bezel i glassed the cig lighter and its popping up on the side. close to the gauge part. got any ideas on how to fix it.
I went out on saturday and bought some auto primer it works alot better thanks for all the info guys. Only think I dont like about it is this primer looks white. will that affect my base coat and clear coat. im painting my car gloss black or a flat black not sure which one yet most likley gloss black.
Thanks
for the cig lighter, i would drill holes thru the back side into the glass, and then glass from the back. that way it sandwiches it in there.
for the primer, you will be fine. the black basecoat will cover the primer fine. most auto primers are that light greyish white. usually you throw a guide coat of a different color over it to see imperfections and waves.
i'll try that on my fiberglass bezel tomorrow..
i'll try that out on body kit hopefully I can get my car ready for paint soon.
