Instant orange peel.

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Hipster

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So does this look like a decent strategy for painting the window trim?

Sand back down to bare metal.
Prime it. www.amazon.com/SprayMax-Activated-EPOXY-Primer-3680034/dp/B07CXPQ814/
Smooth it because my welding sucks. www.amazon.com/SprayMax-3684026-Polyester-Filler-Primer/dp/B08142BHQK/
Paint it. www.amazon.com/SprayMax-3680222-Topcoat-Black-Gloss/dp/B0897987KG/
Clear coat it. www.amazon.com/Spray-Refinishing-Permanent-Surfaces-3680061/dp/B0043B7UQY/

That's about $120 versus $40 in Rustoeum primer and paint, but if it keeps me from losing the rear window once, it's worth it. Is SprayMax a decent rattle can urethane?
You don't need the clearcoat over the topcoat gloss, you don't really need the polyester prime either. I try and make plug welds nice, but you can always take a little filler and put a dab where the welds are, and a little sanding to smooth the surface before spraying the epoxy.
Not familiar with that epoxy but most say you can topcoat after a sufficient flash time to up to a few days without scuffing and a chemical bond on the topcoat occurs. What Tech suggests I believe to be the textbook method. That being said and I've done it. Get everything painted but the bottom flange of the window channel, and whoops you can see the epoxy down in the channel after you set the glass.

Epoxy is not that popular in collision shops, normally done in a Dtm 2k primer and painted. Never have an issue unless somebody forgot to seam seal something.
 
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TechNova

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So, prime it with the epoxy primer I linked to above. Tape off the actual window mounting surface, proceed with smoothing, painting, and clear coating the rest, then pull the tape and have the window installed right on the epoxy primer?
yes. that is how we do it, let the epoxy dry enough to put 3/4" tape across it where the urethane will be. Finish all you other steps with the tape on to protect the epoxy. I don't use rattle cans so I don't know the quality of that product. Read the tech sheet, I bet it is thin and may take more coats than an epoxy from a spray gun.
BTW, don't use any filler where the urethane will be. Bare metal, epoxy, urethane. glass (glass primer may be required).
 

RichLo

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Understood. I mean, I can weld well enough (that's part of bodywork, is it not?) that, with a little practice, I could get certified.

Paint, however, it's a patient mans game.

Before I ask if this is a joke, what kind of welding are your working on getting certified for? A lot of really good welders cant or wont even touch sheet metal used for body work on vehicles.
 

Hipster

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Before I ask if this is a joke, what kind of welding are your working on getting certified for? A lot of really good welders cant or wont even touch sheet metal used for body work on vehicles.
That's about the truth right there.

A lot of people think they're good welders until they have their stuff destructive tested or x-rayed. A lot to keep up with welding on cars. I-Car used to call for 30% more plug welds than factory except in crush zones, what is or isn't HSS or SHSS steels, welding close to magnesium parts that should have been removed etc. Proper use of weld-thru primers, the fact some work better than others, and some just contaminate the weld. Cars full of computers that can fry from just one incident of an improper ground, Oem guidelines and sectioning procedures that don't always make sense but that's the way it needs to be done. Improper repair procedures/methods/poor welding can lead to early or late srs deployment etc.

When you get into something that is designed and engineered to collapse at a controlled rate to protect the occupants there's some different rules involved then what might be discussed in a standard sky scraper/ bridge building/pipe-line welding class or cert. Nevermind welding beer can thickness sheetmetal. lol
 
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DeCaff2007

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I thought one must be certified to work in any weld shop. It's not that I'm trying, it just seems that lack of certification would impeded a potential job application.
 

TechNova

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I thought one must be certified to work in any weld shop. It's not that I'm trying, it just seems that lack of certification would impeded a potential job application.
No, not for any weld shop. For welds in certain industries, yes.
In collision repair there is I-CAR certification which is a hands on test for steel or aluminum and is good for 5 years. I certify techs every spring but there is not a requirement for it in the industry. Having it certainly helps on a job application. Some insurance companies want it to get the work. Some don't care. Some want someone in the shop to have it even if they aren't doing the welding. Knowing how to make all the proper welds is a safety issue. Having weld certification and documentation of test welds, including visual inspection and destructive testing, prior to welding on a car is a defense if you get taken to court when the car is wrecked again.
 

TechNova

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Before I ask if this is a joke, what kind of welding are your working on getting certified for? A lot of really good welders cant or wont even touch sheet metal used for body work on vehicles.
yes, it is a whole different ballgame. I can't do some of the stuff the really good thick or specialty metal welders do,
they hate my thin stuff.
 

DeCaff2007

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Before I ask if this is a joke, what kind of welding are your working on getting certified for? A lot of really good welders cant or wont even touch sheet metal used for body work on vehicles.

yes, it is a whole different ballgame. I can't do some of the stuff the really good thick or specialty metal welders do,
they hate my thin stuff.

So you all are saying I need not be concerned about getting certified. The thickest thing I've welded (outside of a controlled classroom) is a 3/8 steel plate. I was able to get decent penetration using flux core on a 110 mig welder.
 

Hipster

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So you all are saying I need not be concerned about getting certified. The thickest thing I've welded (outside of a controlled classroom) is a 3/8 steel plate. I was able to get decent penetration using flux core on a 110 mig welder.
I would have liked to see what the haz looked like on that. 3/8th's is at the upper limits and many times past what a 110v welder can do.
 
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