Project Big Red

[junk]

When I use W&G I use a spray bottle to apply the product. Then use two paper shop towels to wipe it down. 1 is the initial wipe and the second is the second wipe. Once the first 1 gets too loaded I use the 2nd rag as my 1st stage and get a new 2nd wipe rag. I typically have wet spots also when done wiping down. I make sure those are gone before moving into my next coat.

I typicaly have my fan running when I'm doing W&G. My thought was more air movement helps it dry.

I'm amazed the Epoxy sands that nice. Most of it I've used is horrible sanding. Definitely nothing you'd want to hand sand. If it sands that nice and no further filling is needed I'd be OK painting right over it.

If your in the recoat window I'd be comfortable adding more primer.

Regarding surface finish IE Orange peel. I don't worry about it in the epoxy unless I have big runs of defects when I'm going to prime again. Now if I'm going into color then I would fully sand it out with 400 or 600 then go into color. I don't want orange peel from my primer affecting the orange peel appearence in my top coats.

Regarding sand throughs. I have no issue with 2k sanded showing epoxy. Sand throughs to original finish could be an issue if you get a reaction. Sand throughs to metal under the size of a dime are acceptable for collision work is what I've heard. I've personally painted over them and had no issues.

Now sand throughs that create a calico or spotty colored substrate to paint over could lead to paint coverage issues. I prefer a solid base color to paint over. I have less coverage issues. I also have started using sealer over my primers. They help seal the edges of the primer to the paint incase I have a primer to paint connection that is a butt joint vs an overlap.

 

[laserjock]

I don't think I'm going to go crazy blocking this thing. The epoxy is shiny enough to show me that the body work is actually pretty decent. I'm happy with it to the best I can see right now. I'm going to ask SPI a couple questions about the 2k but right now I'm thinking that I'll get the 2k primer on ( a couple coats) and then wait for a good day. The primer says it should be sandable in 30 minutes. It also says if sanded primer has sat for more than 24 hrs you must scuff it with a red scuff pad or equivalent prior to moving to the next product. Reading I've done says red Scotchbrite is 320-400 grit. Could I not just do my final sanding in 400 grit right before I am ready to go to color? It seems like this would be a good hold point if I can't catch a warm enough day to finish it off.

 

[laserjock]

Alrighty, here is the first shift update. I moved things around and vacuumed the overspray up off the floor. That worked shockingly well. Then shoved the truck back in and got to sanding.

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I sanded out all the nasty spots and gave it all a light sand to take the edge off the orange peel. It was pretty bad in some places.

I also sanded the worse fender down.

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I goofed and sanded through the Ecoat in one spot so now it needs epoxy primer again. [emoji53]

I nicked to metal in a couple tiny places on cab too but they are so small I'm not breaking out the epoxy primer again for them.

I went ahead and wiped it down tonight. I'll tack it off tomorrow before I prime it.

I'll probably go ahead and sand the hood and the other fender out tonight. The primer dries fast enough I might get them all caught up tomorrow. Need to decide how much color I'm going to put on the backs of the fenders and bottom of the hood.

 

[laserjock]

Got the hood and the other fender sanded out. Phone died before I got a pic of the hood. I foresee a lot of blocking on the hood.

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[IDIoit]

I foresee a lot of blocking on the hood.

sounds like the perfect time to modify it

 

[laserjock]

NO!!

No mods. Just make it red. The time for body work has past!!!



For now.

 

[laserjock]

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So it's gray. It was an adventure. I started with my devilbiss gun and 1.8 fluid tip. I could not get it dialed in. I fought with it and fought with it until I realized paint was coming out chunky. Crap. It kicked in the gun. Run and clean the crap out of it. Grab the purple gun. Mix a batch. Shoots great. Dialed it in within a couple strokes. Shot the rest with it.

The first gun full made a real mess of the roof.

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The spot on the drivers rear has got a lot of primer on it now so there would be plenty to sand. That's why it looks like it does.

I may have to prime some spots again after I do some sanding.

The big thing now is to get the hood and fenders done. I can't decide if I'm going to put color on the backs or just jamb them. Need to decide soon because my recoat window is coming.

 

[junk]

Sides look great. Yeah the roof looks like it's going to need some sanding. I know cause I've been there. I've had the exact same issue.

What devilibiss gun do you have? I don't remember. I'm surprised a 1.8 wouldn't do it.

 

[laserjock]

The HF gun actually is a 1.5 tip. I've got a starting line gun from devilbiss. It's not top of the line but I expected better. I don't know. I'll try it on the base and clear.

 

[junk]

I've got a Devilbiss Finish Line 3 gun for priming. With a 1.8 tip it's done really well for me. I know they talk about turning down the air for primer sometimes. Higher air pressure means finer droplets less orange peel. But with primer you need to move some volume and peel is less of a concern.

Interesting. In the end use the gun that gets the results!

 

[laserjock]

Well tonight I set out to re-shoot the fender that needs it. I've been foiled though.

First for the good news.

I came up with a better way to hang the fenders.

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Needed the extra height so that I could get the bottom edge. This way it doesn't swing.

Now the gotcha. Thinking I would speed the process up, I used my duplicolor wax and grease remover. It's solvent based and says right on the bottle it's mostly acetone, which is a great grease remover by the way, well after a wipe down and waiting a while it still looked wet. Hmm. If it were acetone, it would have dried on contact. So I will not be using it for anything anymore. Wiped down with the SPI stuff and it looks more like it did before I wiped it down the first time.

Just looked like I had wiped it down with oil. Not happy if that's what caused my problems in the first place.

Hopefully tomorrow.

 

[laserjock]

Last fender primed.

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It looks great. Little trash in it probably off the saw horse or from the heater blowing.

Hood and other fender in grey primer.

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The fender looks awesome. Had some pot life issues on the hood. Tech sheet says 45-60 minutes. BS. I mixed a batch and had a coat on everything within 10 minutes. Looked at my watch. Supposed to be like 5 minute flash time. So I'm thinking no sweat. Should be good to go. Wrong.

25 minutes after mixing. First stroke. Hmm. That's not quite right. One more to be sure. Damn it!!!!

So now I have a rough spot on the hood. I poured the paint to it in the second coat so hopefully I'll have enough to sand it out.

So I'm currently in almost a gallon (+ 1 qt) sprayable of urethane primer. Most of a gallon of epoxy primer. For a cab and most of a front clip does that seem really excessive?

 

[IDIoit]

have you done anything to the bed?

 

[laserjock]

No.

 

[Thewespaul]

It's great to look back to three years ago and be able to see where this project started. Man this truck has come so far and you have done some beautiful work, we are all very jealous of your build and I hope that someday I can do something similar, but it would probably take me a decade... Thank you so much laserjock for continuing to update us on your build and share the struggles and accomplishments with us, You tha man!

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