guide coats for the rookie

[IDIoit]

ive almost got the truck 100% sanded.
1 more door to go!

i have all of the clear sanded off the 5 other doors.
some of it is down to bare metal, the majority of it still has base coat on.

this isnt going to be a show quality paint job, but i do want it to look "nice"

with the dings and dents i have on this truck, i want to spray it with a guide coat.
and then block it out to find my low spots instead of trying to get it right with the naked eye.

im no professional painter, nor am i a painter at all.

but i do know that blocking a vehicle with a guide coat over the primer is the correct way to go about this.

my question is, whats the best material to use for a guide coat?

all i have is some rattle can etching primer and some enamel.

i thought about spraying some enamel on it, but i think that this will upset all of the work ive done,
and potentially giving me poor spots if some of the enamel isnt taken off all the way..

what should i use?

 

[G. Mann]

A light spray of a contrasting color... [OK.. not hot pink]... but if your primer is medium or dark gray.. a white spray bomb will work.. Hold it back about 18 to 24 inches and put down enough to only make dots of color about 1/2 inch apart... it should be "dry fast" paint.. no oil based enamel.

Give it time to dry, then block sand the surface... any low spots will show up because the paint dots won't be sanded off... any high spots will come off first.. so watch as you block sand... If you find a high spot... reduce it .. before you sand further.. [hammer and dolly] ... respray your guide coat... dry it.. then re block the formerly high spot... if you got it level.. all the guide coat will be sanded off and only smooth primer will show.. Low spots.. bump them up... sand a few passes with your block sander.. and watch what happens.. if it's flush, smooth and guide coat is all gone.. needs more bump up.. still some guide coat remaining...

Repeat as necessary until surface is flawless.. Then if enough primer remains.. paint booth time..

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gYZ3LPLF4o


http://www.amazon.com/SEM-38203-Black-Guide-Coat/dp/B000PL06IU

 

[IDIoit]

my question is, whats the best material to use for a guide coat?

all i have is some rattle can etching primer and some enamel.

i thought about spraying some enamel on it, but i think that this will upset all of the work ive done,
and potentially giving me poor spots if some of the enamel isnt taken off all the way..

what should i use?

but whats the best type of paint to use?

 

[Clb]

Flat not gloss.
Any primer!
Normally black.
There are actual guide coat spary bombs (iirc)

 

[79jasper]

Yeah, orielly carries some made by sem.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

 

[jwalterus]

I've always just laid a base of etching primer, then a high build grey, then used red primer as the guide coat........

 

[junk]

I know I'm late to the party here. But I'll put in my .02 which is probably worth .00 being late.

I started buying the SEM guild coat in a spray can. I'd used generic spray bombs in a contrasting color for years. But I've had a couple that seemed to stay tacky a long time and gummed up sand paper. The SEM stuff dry's quick and doesn't gum up paper.

they also make dry guide coat for doing filler work, but I've never used it yet. Planning to get some.