[Zmagnette] Paint

[John Elwood]

Steve's email was good, just the epoxy bit confused me :)  I've only done two paint jobs, but sadly both were on the same car because my first one was awful.  Third one is a few months away.

My order of operation is/was:

1. Big metal work first.
2. Sandblast if applicable (wasn't on 1100 except in small places, Magnette went to bare metal all over)
3. Epoxy prime ASAP. (I use PPG "DP" too cuz paint lady gives me good prices)
4. Grind off epoxy in worst areas for marglass... Like a giant weld seam that's rough.  Bondo is too soft so this is good when you're more than 1/16th off.
5. Epoxy that again.... Cuz it's not like I'm going to finish it tomorrow and bare metal rusts.  Real body shops have climate control, my barn has mice.
6. Bondo what needs a skim (changing to Rage though... Supposedly easier to sand).
7. Maybe a little more epoxy if I sanded through.  Maybe not.  
8. K38 or some other high build primer ... Then sand sand sand.
9. Paint it... Concept DCC single stage...
10.  Optional:  Realize it's terrible, sand it down again, more K38, order $600 in sandpaper from Amazon.com that you should have bought before... 3M powdered guide coat on the new primer, find lots of errors, sand sand sand...  Plan on moving this step on the Magnette to before step 9.  Love the powder guide coat over the rattle can.
11.  More concept DCC.... Never enough paint on the car when you're power sanding/polishing.
12.  Sand down your orange peel 1000 grit, 1500 grit, 3000 grit...
13.  3M finesse it to what it should have looked like in the first place if that bug hadn't died on the roof.
14. Wonder where your vacation went.
15. Wonder if your baseball team is ever going to win a game.
16.  Slap on some parts, take it to British Invasion, lose your class to a car that was painted with kitchen sponge.
17. Catch eye of AutoWeek photographer :). 

Anyway, epoxy primer is for us restorers cuz we're gonna blast, prime, then bondo.  You aren't supposed to bondo over etch primer.  

-John