Thinking about starting my paint job.What primer to use?

[stephen4785]

Iv got a 65 GT and the clear coat is coming off and in some spots its starting to rust.Should I go ahead and start sanding down the car and primering?How long can you leave it primer,what kind of primer to use,should I just wait untill I have the money to prime and paint the whole thing.This car is my daily driver so keep that in mind.

 

[candy-a-Mach1]

Most primers can be left exposed for a long time, but need to scuffed and topcoated before you proceed with your paint job. Pick a paint brand and stick with it throught the primer and finish coat. I chose PPG. I stripped to bare metal, used DPLF epoxy primer to seal the metal, did body work on top the epoxy primer, used K36 filler primer for wet sanding, then sealed the entire car with a thinned coat of DPLF epoxy primer as a primer-sealer. As soon as I can drive it to the booth, it will get one more light coat of primer sealer right before the color.

If you don't mind driving work in progress, I'd strip and prime, strip and prime. It's a more managable project. Just use good primer, IMO.

Good luck.

 

[68rustang]

if you are really wanting to strip and paint the car I would buy a POS to drive while you park the stang.

But I also recommend the PPG paints, one way to save some $$ is use the OMNI line of paint. the MP170 primer is almost the same as the dplf

 

[Mike98GT]

If your going to prime, you better do the proper prep work like stripping it completely down. If you don't prep right, your waisting your time. I also highly recommend PPG paints.

 

[68rustang]

If your going to prime, you better do the proper prep work like stripping it completely down. If you don't prep right, your waisting your time.

Completely stripping a car is not always necessary or recommended. As long as the car hasn't been previously repainted, the paint isn't cracking, flaking, bubbling, or displaying any other adhesion issues usually you can sand it down and seal it. The PPG DPLF and PPG Omni MP170 are both suitable for this purpose. If you do go the completely strip to bare metal and paint route I would use a self etching DTM (Direct To Metal) primer. PPG has a few of these but I am not sure of the numbers right off the top of my head.

Stripping a car to the bare metal can open a whole can of worms that some people aren't prepared to deal with. Especially if you are interested in driving it while you work on it.

Just my $.02, take it or leave it.