I am stripping my car down to metal, everywhere.

This is of course a crap load of work when doing this on jack stands in a garage, but I feel like it is worth it.

I just wanted to get a double check on my painting setup.

1. Strip the area down to metal, currently working on firewall forward and front wheel tubs.
2. Do any metal work. Some custom stuff going on to smooth things out.
3. Sand with 80 grit to get off as much OEM primer/seam sealer as possible.
4. Sand EVERYTHING with 120 grit.
5. Wipe down with pre-painting prep cleaner.
6. Spray 2K epoxy primer. (1 coat or 2 needed here?)
7. Wheel tubs get 2K bed liner sprayed on.
8. Everything else gets high build primer surfacer.
9. Add body filler to places that need it. Sand and feather with 120 or 240 grit.
10. Spray more primer surfacer and gently sand with 240 or higher to prep surfaces for topcoat (undecided on exact product yet).

Thanks for any advice that can be given. I am looking for a comprehensive procedure since I will be doing this to every nook and cranny of the car.

A couple images of the car last week. I have done some more welding and grinding since then.

 

You have the jist of it correct but you really need to decide what paint manufacturer and line you go with to nail down your grits and application specifics. 120° on the bare steel before the epoxy primer should be fine but the manufacturer data sheet will be the end all. You'll want to spray the 2K primer directly after the epoxy primer is sprayed. You want to avoid sanding the epoxy primer. It will also be another big help if you can ensure the epoxy primer and 2K primer are different shades so you know when/if you sand through the 2K primer. The end finishing grit for primer before color is also vendor and line specific in addition to color and effect specific. lighter colors you can get away with finishing to only 400 grit but dark colors, metal flake and pearl will want 600 or maybe even 800 if the vendor allows it.

Whatever brand you go with print out a few copies of their data sheet and buy their paint prep. Yes, yes I know you can buy paint prep at wal-mart and all the auto parts stores but that is all useless soy based crap. I ended up with small fish eyes (that I had to respray) after multiple passes with that soy based garbage.

For paint prep on steel I still use the acid wash, If you see it turning black in spots you know there is a problem in the surface that needs further attention before paint. It's like a last ditch CYA.

 

Make sure to remove those brackets that the tie rod adjuster bolts to from the engine frame rails before painting. Something else to do would be to weld a plate of 1/8" steel to the bottom of both of the inner frame rails (same procedure used to weld a roll bar to a floor pan)and then weld a 1/4" steel loop to that plate. Your'e basically creating a tie down hooks or tow hooks.

 

Hey Tibo -

Yesterday I watched this video:
from Eastwood. They sand the metal, then the bondo, then epoxy, then sand, then surfacer and sand. Basically sand every step of the way.

This seems to differ from your advice. I am not familiar with what you mean when you say "buy their paint prep". Can you clarify?

This is all new to me so "common knowledge" lingo and abbreviations are hard to follow still.

 

Oh and I was planning on simply sticking with all Eastwood products to keep things simple and all ordered from the same place. This is going to be a commuter car that can go to shows as well. Nothing crazy fancy, just a functional white paint job. A few imperfections is not the end of the world. I imagine every 5 years, needing to paint the nose to fix rock chips from the highway. I want to put a bunch of miles on this once its done.

 

I have asked Eastwood what they recommend for a color white that is close to new Audi white. I really like that color. Once they get back to me, I can nail down the color and get the spec sheet to start learning how to spray it.

Good idea about the tow hook, but I plan to just cruise around in the car, not much at all. Maybe autocross someday. Should be able to throw straps around the K-member or attach to the stock hook location. Anyways, that is a bridge I will cross later down the line.

For now I just want to feel much more sure about my body prep steps. The engine bay is pretty naked and I will need to keep moving forward if I want it to not rust over on me.

 

I think you are just asking, should you put filler directly onto metal or epoxy prime it first?

There are some Direct To Metal (dubbed DTM) fillers that are for use without epoxies or primers. I had come across this writeup by a guy over on autobodystore.com : http://autobodystore.com/filler_&_epoxy.shtml
It's interesting and shows that fillers (DTM fillers) applied directly to metal have enough holding power. However, experience has taught me that I should take the metal down to bare, clean it and cover it up as quickly as I can. The longer you leave metal exposed to the elements the more likely you are to have rust develop and you do not want rust under your body filler.

In the professional world they can have entire work days to complete a task whereas you or I may only have an hour Monday, 3 hours Tuesday, no time Wednesday, etc. I feel fairly comfortable out here in the desert leaving metal exposed as long as it stays indoors. But if it rains we get 100% humidity for the rest of the day and you'll start to see the metal discolor. I imagine it in your area you'll have more humidity and then condensation to deal with. You can ask RobGuitarGod what he had to go through with his paint prep adventure in his garage to ensure he had no condensation in the colder months....

So there really is no definitive answer, it's just whatever way you feel most comfortable with.

Whatever brand your paint is, buy that brand of prep-all for your pre-paint wipe down. Don't use straight chemicals like rubbing alcohol or acetone.

 

Ah got it. I plan to use all Eastwood products to help eliminate variables.

Basically their what they call PRE, and their tack rags.