irocz3507

About to start sanding my car, anyone have any tips on how to do it?

steve87ta

iTrader: (4)

A pic or description of the current finish may help. If it is ready for a new coat I would wet sand with 500 for the adhesion. ( I have yet to see one that does not need some straightening, though)

If it needs a lot I would not be afraid to hit it with 180 dry....

irocz3507

yea it needs alot of work so I think the 180 dry will work.

aremy10

iTrader: (3)

mine was peeling so bad and i didnt want to spend two weeks sanding it so i went to 80 grit to strip it then hit it with self eching apoxy( grey primer). i used the more expensive stuff cause cheap apoxy primer doesnt sand very well. but the good quality grey stuff does, ( sikens) then i sanded the scratches out of the primer, much easier then sanding the old pain and primer down with 180 . i hit it again with primer , then sanded that to 600 grit ( dont go any more then that or paint may not want to stick over time) thats it all ready for paint, after the pain i wet sanded it down with 2000 grit and buffed er out , the paint is still good after 6 years

aremy10

iTrader: (3)

of course all that is done after straightening the body out, ps i didnt use the 80 on the plastic, the lowest i went for that was 120

irocz3507

Well i started sanding on the hood today, i figured i may as well go ahead and sand it all the way down so thats they direction im headed in. I was kinda of wondering if i should use a different grip on the plastic i wasn't sure. I was going to ask but you beat me to it.

irocz3507

So how does this look? What needs to be done so it can be ready for paint?

1986v6

I am also in the process of tearing my 86 apart for paint and body work, from what I have learned that should be ok, as long as it is smooth and has an even surface just clean it well and use a good prep cleaner even mineral spirits then dry thoroughly with a clean towel and hit it with a tack cloth before you prime it... If I am wrong I am sure somebody here can corect me

juanillox8

iTrader: (7)

no mineral spirits..... use a prep cleaner or grease and wax remover but from an auto paint supply store

juanillox8

iTrader: (7)

so you can be on the safe side spray a sealer before the basecoat

aremy10

iTrader: (3)

no sealer is needed if you use a self etching primer, but ya clean it up , wipe it down good, then after primer , hit it with a block sander and go all directions, fill and sand out any low spots with the block sander , prime it again . and smooth it out to 400-600 grit, and paint it

juanillox8

iTrader: (7)

if you are replying to irocz3507 he does need sealer since he's gonna spray over old paint, thats what he has on the picture, self etching primer goes on top op bare metal only.

now, to 1986v6 i would recommend xtreme primer, its a urethane base clear that can be used as self etching, primer, and sealer depending on how you mix it then proceed as described by aremy10

irocz3507

Alright, Thanks! yea its smooth as can be. I'v sanded it like twice to make sure of that. I'll probly clean up today.

aremy10

iTrader: (3)

ya it does go on bare metal, and if the old paint isnt peeling, you dont need any sealer, as long as its sanded , the paint will stick... ive painted many cars, never once used sealer, all the paint jobs ive done for my friends and the 3 for myself, have all held good. some are 10 yr old jobs and still lookin good. sealer? bah humbug why would you seal old paint. if the old paint starts to come off, then anything,( including sealer) will come off thats on top of it.

so if the old paint is peeling here and there , take it all off. most likely some steel will be showing, this is where the self etching primer comes in, besides always use self etching anyway, it has a rust inhibitor in it, so why not use it . its better primer all together

aremy10

iTrader: (3)

i guess what i mean is, if the old paint is bad,,,, take it all off. anything on top of it will come off with it. so if its no good , get rid of it completely, and dont take the chance

ps ;;; ran a paint shop for 5 years , , think i know what im talkin about, i hope lol

judging by the way that hood looks i woul probebly take all the red off, primer generaly doesnt peel, so no need to take all of that off too,

for gleaning it , you can use many things, acetone, methle ethle keytone, acetate, do not use degreaser, it leaves a film on the surface. or like stated above any prep cleaner, what you are basicly doing is removing all the oil from your hands off the surface, and also dust etc.but beleive it or not , the oil in your hands is the most important one . ive seen paint jobs come out with peeling areas that are from fingerprints!! it looks terrible and the only way to fix it is to sand it and do it again. ive not seen this happen with primer on sanded paint, but mostly from not cleaning the primer before paint. and also seen rust come back from touching bare metel with your hand and priming over it, without cleaning it good just a few tips

aremy10

iTrader: (3)

never used x treme primer but i have heard good things about it .even thinkin about tryin it out on the 71 charger. or maybe even the modle A roadster. i do prefer appoxy primer ( grey only) ( sikens) the black stuff is a pain to sand. but the black stuff would be good for an undercoat, cause it goes on thick and can stand up to just about anything. after 6 months of curing time it would take a puddle of gas 6 months to eat through it. pretty tuff stuff, used alot for industrial purposes

juanillox8

iTrader: (7)

prep for paint is the most critical step, dont cut any corners body oil also creates fish eye so CLEAN IT RELLY GOOD and use latex powder free gloves that will help aloooot

juanillox8

iTrader: (7)

yea i use that along with Amron paint on flat beds those some tough products

aremy10

iTrader: (3)

ya amron is good too

irocz3507

Thanks for all the tips and brand names of stuff, I've been writing all of it down.

welchk85

im getting ready start sanding and prepping my 90 rs i was wondering if it would be a bad idea to start and do most of the sanding with a vibrating sander or if i should just use a block?

1986v6

Are you stripping it down to bare metal or are you just roughing it up and evening it out and painting over it? if going to bare metal it might not be a bad idea to help save some time but if just roughing it up for a paint over I would stick with a block, I am by no means a profesional painter but I have prepped a few cars for paint and done some priming in the past and they all turned out pretty nice The block is going to show you your low spots a lot better then a palm sander ever would, in my opinion the longer the block the better as it will sit over the low spots better than a short block so it becomes obvious where the waves in the body are.

welchk85

yeah im going all out and bringing it down to the metal i figured it would be faster with a sander but i wasnt sure if it was the best way to go thanks

1986v6

in that case yeah I would use a sander and maybe a 120 grit much rougher and you risk putting some serious scratches in the metal, take some pics so we can see your progress

irocz3507

Yea, I'm sanding my 87 Iroc down to the metal with just a palm sander and 120 grit and its workin just fine.