So you wanna paint that truck of yours...Material list

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TechNova

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Always use refinish products from the same company. Do not mix brands. There is extensive research in compatibility within a brand and no
research for mixing brand
Filler should always be applied over properly prepared bare metal, read the instructions. Almost every dent has a high spot, you can't fill a high spot so straightening is required before filling.

Read the tech sheets for all coatings. A YouTube search is not a training class.
Proper material order is: etch or epoxy for bare metal
primer surfacer for scratch filling
sealer wet on wet - right before color.
basecoat
clear proper amount according to tech sheet.
notice no midcoat listed. Not needed and can cause problems. part of the adhesion of paint is chemical adhesion, putting foreign substances
on from outside the paint manufacturers system can block that adhesion.
each tech sheet will explain proper prep, mixing and use and grits if sanding is required.

In 30+ years of refinishing, almost every paint failure I have seen has been operator error, either the painter made a mistake or
they failed to follow the instructions on the tech sheet.

Yes, primer surfacer will absorb water. Not in the time frame of wetsanding but over repeated exposure. I have seen it many times on stalled projects someone brings in. Left in primer while they were working on it and driving it. A quick hit with the DA shows rust underneath.
Primers, all 3 categories (primers, primer -surfacers, primer -sealers) also have no UV protection an degrade in the sun.

Doing any of the steps wrong does not guarantee failure but does increase the odds significantly.
Do you want to take a chance with your labor and material dollars?

an air supplied respirator is the only approved system for paints with hardeners. Your health, your choice.
 

CapnDean

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Thank you for the articulate write up. I decided to pay a professional to paint mine. I don't have the patience, to see it through, or the place to do it.
 

Epic

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And then do it over n over n over... Gets better every time. My tip. Learn everything possible about the chemicals
 

CATman

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Great write up. I have painted one truck, after doing body work (seemed like it would never end...sand,sand,sand and sand again.) Shaved my door handles and tailgate handle. My brother didn't take his time and I had some nice warps to deal with on the doors. Thanks Bro! Lol.
Not to bad when you are doing the complete truck, just takes more time to completely sand and primer.
Got a 95 gmc c3500 with some paint peeling off in spots. I see this on many chevy and gm products around that era. I had it bad on the hood. So I sanded it down completely to metal, primed it and through some flat black paint on it for now. Not sure when I will get time to paint it.

My question is, how should I tackle the spots that are Peeling off? Some spots are about the size of a quarter and some are smaller than your hand. If I just repair those spots, while other spots in the paint do the same later? There are 3 spots, one on the roof and others are on the driver door and fender.
 

TechNova

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Peeling, called delamination erequires that the panel nbe stripped to bare metal.
If you try to DA it back to a feather edge, it may look good but the old paint is defective and not holding together.
You would be putting new paint on a bad foundation.
Often, the delam only affects the tops or maybe one side. Sunlight causes it, alot depends on where the vehicle was parked.
When I did alot of them , I could tell which direction the vehicle was parked by which side faced the afternoon sun. One car peeled bad on hood but not roof or trunk. The parked in a parking ramp facing west.
 

CATman

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Peeling, called delamination erequires that the panel nbe stripped to bare metal.
If you try to DA it back to a feather edge, it may look good but the old paint is defective and not holding together.
You would be putting new paint on a bad foundation.
Often, the delam only affects the tops or maybe one side. Sunlight causes it, alot depends on where the vehicle was parked.
When I did alot of them , I could tell which direction the vehicle was parked by which side faced the afternoon sun. One car peeled bad on hood but not roof or trunk. The parked in a parking ramp facing west.
That is what is thinking. If I try to fix one spot it might pop up somewhere esle, because of the bad paint. I'm not wanting that.
So take it down to bare metal. I read something about using a sealer. Should that be done after primer? Just before painting? Or before primer?
 

Hipster

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That is what is thinking. If I try to fix one spot it might pop up somewhere esle, because of the bad paint. I'm not wanting that.
So take it down to bare metal. I read something about using a sealer. Should that be done after primer? Just before painting? Or before primer?

It depends on the paint system you use, but typically some primers are direct to metal and some are not thus requiring an etch/wash primer before the primer goes on. Some epoxy primers can be used as a primer or sealer being called primer/sealers depending upon reduction ratios. Some epoxies are also not direct to metal requiring an etch primer. Epoxies typically don't fill or sand well.

Once you get all your bodywork, priming, and prep done you use a sealer before applying color. You can use epoxy sealer here again but most paint systems have their own product for this and many paint systems REQUIRE this sealer before spraying color/topcoat. This assures uniform color across the vehicle. Many modern single stage and basecoats are translucent so if you don't seal it prior to putting on color you'll be forever with multiple coats trying to cover primer spots and sanding cut throughs etc and many paint systems call for a color coded or tinted sealer. The sealers also typically have adhesion benefits. Cheaper paint has even less pigment per volume.

In the restoration world stripped panels usually get epoxied and then bodyworked and reprimed with a 2k high build over that. When working at a Gm dealer doing warranty delamination jobs we used to strip the panels , prep the rest, roll them into the booth, epoxy the bare panels, flash time, sealer, flash time, and then paint wet on wet.

1. Strip to metal
2. Etch prime then prime or DTM/direct to metal primer. Usually some type of 2k high build primer if over bodywork.
3. The beginning of the paint process seal it with the appropriate tinted/color coded sealer. These are non sanding type sealers. Paintable after the flash time with basecoat/clearcoat or whatever you picked out.

The technical data sheets (TDS) for whatever paint system you choose will have all the info you need and most are available online these days.
 
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CATman

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Wow, thanks for the detailed reply. I appreciate the information from the pros. I want the truck to look good, but not going for show quality looks. I also don't want to do the job twice because I didn't use the right material or procedure.
 

GMTMark

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If you really want the body lines to look good then strip the whole truck. It’s a huge amount of work and messy but it gets rid of all old paint and filler that can cause problems later. Also your vehicle could have been repaired and painted, therefore causing the problem of mixed brands which gets back to earlier posts about not mixing paint systems. Your truck will look better and the paint should hold up longer. I’ve done it twice and worked my tail off but it was rewarding.
 

caw_86

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ive been price comparing VHT paint for my upcoming engine bay project, so far best ive found is to order from autozone.com, in batches of 3, $35 orders qualify for free shipping and $7 off coupon, and $4 rebate(rewards program), which comes out to $9.66 per can after tax, best amazon price after tax was 11.77 a can
 
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