What primer would you recommend?

[Olddaddy]

I am about to finally start the paint work on my 50 Suburban. I bought a pallet full of PPG basecoat and clearcoat paints with all the reducers, hardeners etc at a local auction. However, there was no primer in the deal. What would be a good primer to use with this type paint? The car is going to be two toned, white and tan if that makes any difference.

[1949P17BC]

I would take the paint #, Reducer # and make sure they all match. I would then, talk to a paint shop that uses that kind of paint and get their recommendation on the primer. You are going to spend alot of time and money getting the body ready to paint, why be a CA and cut corners and use primer that isn'r going to give you the best results. IMOP

[Allan Faust]

I would take the paint #, Reducer # and make sure they all match. I would then, talk to a paint shop that uses that kind of paint and get their recommendation on the primer. You are going to spend alot of time and money getting the body ready to paint, why be a CA and cut corners and use primer that isn'r going to give you the best results. IMOP

I agree.... stick with the same system.... ie if you use PPG for the paint and clear, use the PPG primer recommended where you purchase your paint.

Allan

[steveplym]

I've used different kinds of primer. Whatever you do try to by a filler primer, that will save you headaches and make a better finish overall. I've used 2k component primer in all my paint jobs. I've used lacquer and it isn't recommended.

I used a sherwin-williams color primer ultra fill primer at one time. It is expensive and I think most manufacturers have a similar product. I used Evercoat Uro-fill primer on my P-15 this summer and it worked very well. About $95 for a gallon of primer and activator. Fills quite well and comes in Gray or Tan color. I woudn't hesitate putting any manufacturers topcoat on this primer. I was skeptical at first due to the price, but after talking to some friends who work in the auto body industry they told me it works pretty good. They were correct as it will fill a 180 grit scratch. Sand down with 400 and finish sand with 600.

[55 Fargo]

PPg K 36 or PPG K39, urethane based 2 k Primers. My uncle figures these are great products, he is an eclusive PPG product user though.

Are you stripping the car to bare metal, or are you priming and doing bodywork over the OEM substrate.

2 K Epoxy primer can be used,as a first primer, it has superior adhesion properties, is excellent on bare metal, will also adhere to clean prepped oem finishes as well, it has less build properites, and does not sand as well as primer surfacer. But once primed with epoxy, you can do all your filler work, then shoot on primer surfacer, which has high build features, it will sand nicely too.

After you sand, strip, panels, epoxy prime, do all filler metal work, followed by a PPG high build primer K36 or K39 primer surfacer, get everything nice and smooth, then blocksand to perfect your work, use a guide coat, to find all your highs/lows.

Light colors will allow you to get away with less then perfect panels, dark colors, will enhance the imperfections, but dark colors also let body lines blend in better, where white will sometimes allow body lines to be more pronounced.........

[Norm's Coupe]

I would contact the local PPG dealer and ask them.

That said, what are you ever going to do with a full pallet of paint? A full pallet would be at least 40 or 50 gallons on a standard pallet.

[NatesSedan]

I would contact the local PPG dealer and ask them.

That said' date=' what are you ever going to do with a full pallet of paint? A full pallet would be at least 40 or 50 gallons on a standard pallet.[/quote']

Excellent question! I missed that one the first time I read it. Thats alot of overspray!

Regarding primer I like the 2k highbuild primer as well. PPG sells one. Its always the safest to stick with the recommendations from manufacturer.

[Uncle-Pekka]

I've been using industrial 2k epoxy for some time now and I am exxrrtemely happy with it.

It is a sealer and filler in the same package. It is not very reactive, thus I have not had any problems with old paint in case some left on after sanding. When dry it will seal effectively in both directions. It is also easy to lay several coats for thick filler. It takes a bit longer to dry and is harder to sand than a filler, thus before final coat I use regular PPG filler where needed.

[55 Fargo]

I've been using industrial 2k epoxy for some time now and I am exxrrtemely happy with it.

It is a sealer and filler in the same package. It is not very reactive, thus I have not had any problems with old paint in case some left on after sanding. When dry it will seal effectively in both directions. It is also easy to lay several coats for thick filler. It takes a bit longer to dry and is harder to sand than a filler, thus before final coat I use regular PPG filler where needed.

I agree, there are plenty of good epoxy primers aout there, some have a pot life of 8 hours or more, some have a film build that is thick, they all have super adhesion properties. Epoxy primer seals very well, as you mention can go over firmly adehered surfaces.

It is hard to sand, so this is where you can shoot on a high build primer surfacer, such as PPGs K36 or PPG K39, these 2 primers will sand and block sand to a nice fine finish, then BC or Topcoat can then be laid on after this.

I know guys up here that have done all there body work, then shot on black or grey epoxy primer, then drove the cars like this for a while, with no problems.

I personally used enamel rust primer, mixed with medium speed enamel reducer, it is much like epoxy primer in appearance, it also seals well, adheres fantastically, and so far has no rust issues, this is not for everyone, but is okay with me, my next step, is more body work to be followed by highbuild primer, sanding,blocking and topcoat........

[Olddaddy]

Thanks for all the advice, I am off to PPG tomorrow to buy the recommended primers. I got about 30 gallons of paint/hardner/reducer etc. I gave away all the non-PPG stuff like Imron etc. The only thing I didn't get much of was primer, one gallon total.

[wilmot andy]

I started spraying my truck with SPI epoxy. Very nice stuff. Found out about it on autobody101. Goes under all paints. Problem is epoxy does not go over self etch, which I had used rattle cans on and now I get to take it all off again.

[Norm's Coupe]

Thanks for all the advice, I am off to PPG tomorrow to buy the recommended primers. I got about 30 gallons of paint/hardner/reducer etc. I gave away all the non-PPG stuff like Imron etc. The only thing I didn't get much of was primer, one gallon total.

Good move giving away what you're not going to use. Otherwise, it would probably cost more than what the list price is to dump it at a hazardous waste site.

[55 Fargo]

I started spraying my truck with SPI epoxy. Very nice stuff. Found out about it on autobody101. Goes under all paints. Problem is epoxy does not go over self etch, which I had used rattle cans on and now I get to take it all off again.

What happened did you notice it having problems over the acid etching primer, how long has the etch primer been on?

I thought once the etch primer was good and cured you could shoot enay primer over it including 2 k epoxy, but maybe not.

[wilmot andy]

I first learned on the autobody101 forum that self etch is becoming a thing of the past. I spoke with the paint rep from the factory about it, he stated the epoxy and fillers they have found react with the self etching and cause adhesion problems, some showing a few years after painting. Another benefit with the epoxy is spray 2 coats on bare metal, epoxy is 'waterproof'. My self etching has some rust stains from the springtime moisture. Body filler goes right on top of the epoxy. Gives you more time to play, where I had some panels stripped, and by the time I got around to bondo(2 weeks), flash rust started. I could spray as soon as I got the panels back with epoxy, then fill. It won't be that bad for me to sand the light coat of self etch off though.