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Rolling restoration question

Started by Spooner, February 01, 2007, 07:59:18 AM

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Spooner

Good Morning all.  Cadillac newbie question here.

Anyway, Im "restoring" a 1969 DeVille convertible. Not a frame off, but more of a refreshing. Its intended use is a driver to get the family to the lake and out to Marthas Vineyard, etc.

Ive replaced the floors where needed, and now its on to the rockers.  Note that FEN will make you rocker patch panels.

My time/budget means that this will be a "rolling restoration" if you will. My plan is to fix the rockers on the front fenders, then pull them back off and sand and fill and prime them before putting them back on. Then sand and prime the hood. The rear rockers need some work too, but that will be later this coming summer. So, for the first part of the summer the car will be half primer.

My plan is to bit by bit sand and prime the various parts of the car until it is all in primer. Then one more full sand and off to my buddys for paint this fall.

After all this explaination, my question is this: what kind of primer should I use? Can I just get away with rattle can for now, knowing its all going to be sanded off in the fall and primed/painted? Or should I invest in an air gun and prime it with something else? Or should I just abandon the whole idea and just prime the metal Im replacing and sand/block the whole car immediately before painting.

Being the Dad of 3 my time is mostly in a stolen couple of hours here and there, which is why I was going with this piece-by-piece rolling restoration.

Thanks for any help.

Bob

Bill Gauch

Rattle can primer is better than no coating on the metal at all, but it has a couple of serious issues. Most rattle can primer is not UV stable. Also, it isnt waterproof. Its deceptive because the solid color covers any new microscopic rust. Rust will be your enemy, especially if you are going to hit the Vineyard. Salty sea air and humidity will rust things up in a flash. That said, I understand your plight of no-time. I am a new father of a baby girl and have only seen my 38 twice in the last 3 months. One of those times was to check the oil level for my heating oil tank. Personally, I would find someone who lives near you that has a paint gun. For the cost of a six-pack, some primer, and an afternoon, you could have it done right. The benefit is that it will save you more time in the future for other things rather than going back and doing it again.

Anthony Amman #15293

I would highly recommend a primer rich in zinc chromate content. Make sure that you decide what you are going to use for the final topcoat so that all of the undercoats will be compatible with the final paint.  Ditzler, Dupont, and RM all make great finishing systems.  Consult your local autobody supply for detailed information and MSDS sheets on the products your interested in.

You could probably get by using a touch up gun bought inexpensively from Harbor Freight.  Borrow or rent a small compressor to apply the primer.  Good, portable compressors are fairly inexpensive these days too.  Try Sears.  Make sure to use a pressure regulator/moisture and oil trap between the compressor and the gun to keep comtaminates out of your finish.

HTH,

Tony

brian rachlin

I am not an expert on bodywork and paint by any means, but the likelihood of you ending up with a nice looking, long lasting paint job is not very good if you do the car the way you are thinking.

You would be better off fixing the floors, and driving the car as-is until you can get the car in a shop to do the patching, priming, and bodywork at the same time.

Patching the sheetmetal involves welding.  Welding is going to burn off any paint or primer on both sides of the repair, inside the panels and outside, on the surface that will be getting painted.

Spray can primer will not protect the metal against rust over a long period of time, and getting road grime and grease all over the primer will contaminate the primer and the metal underneath because primer is porous. Its just meant to prep the surface, stick to the metal, and provide some "tooth" for the top coats.

I say fix the floors, because thats a safety issue for you and your kids, and those repairs are more structurally important than appearance.
 
Drive it rusty, maybe give it some RatRod black primer on the rusted areas, but you will not be doing yourself any favors by repairing it a foot at a time, and covering up with primer.

From what I have seen on TV lately, what they do is get down to bare metal, spray on a 2 part epoxy primer that needs to be done in a booth, not a driveway.  The hardeners in modern paints contain materials that are like crazy glue, and will be very harmful to your lungs.

They spray the epoxy etching primer on bare metal, and then do bodywork over the primer, the use a different type of high-build primer to fill in sand scratches and minor imperfections.  That all gets block sanded prior to the top coats.

Compare it to spackling and taping a new sheetrock wall.  Then think patching a plaster wall next to it.  Getting it all smooth and looking the same and getting it ready for paint, thats the real artistry.  Getting the paint on the wall is the easy part.

If you are thinking of keeping the car long term, take your time and do it correctly, or you will be doing it over again in only a couple of years.  I have had lots of cars over the last 30 some years, and have run the gamut between body-off restoration, patch jobs, and everything in-between.  

Body and paint is best left to the pros.  If you can get someone who has access to a shop as a side job, thats even better.  Possible a tech school would be interested in taking on a project.

Good Luck,

Brian