prepping a car for paint? Point me to a good write up

[Bonebuster29]

I am a novice at this whole body work stuff, can someone point me to a good write up on what to buy (supplies) and the steps to take prior to paint? I want to do as much as possible myself for the knowledge/experience and to save money, but I will not be doing the painting. I just want to do as much as I can myself then take it to a bodyshop and have them perfect my mistakes LOL

[Bonebuster29]

I removing the windows this weekend as well, going to buy a mini sandblaster to get the channels all cleaned out around the windows and trunk area. Any tips here would be helpful as well

[mitch_04]

Go to Southern Polyurethanes website and read "The Perfect Paintjob". Also, their tech book is a great read. Their products are not outrageously expensive and of (IMO) great quality. The owner of the business will answer your phone calls, lists his personal phone on the tech book. The forum they have is great for learning as well.

Here's a rundown of how I do it.

1. Strip to bare metal (no paint removal products, just a razor blade and 80 grit).
2. Coat in epoxy ("seals" the metal so you have a good foundation)
3. Beat out dents, replace panels, etc etc
4. Re-epoxy over filler and paint that was removed for panel replacement
5. Spray 2k or poly primer for some build.
6. Block sand until laser straight.
7. Seal with reduced epoxy.
8. Base
9. Clear

You can go way more in depth, but that's a simple rundown. As you can see, I use epoxy often as it is a great barrier to prevent water from getting to metal and solvents from escaping into your base or clear. It also seals porous body fillers pretty well, or even wood for home projects.

I'm not a salesman of SPI, just happy with their products and the people on their forum have helped me a ton. Learned a lot about not only what to do, but why. Why paint will wrinkle, bubble, wave, etc etc... couple grumps on the forum, but it's pretty good.

[snappytravis]

Whatever brand you decide to go with get the product data sheets, printed off or download of the interent. Read them, they will tell you what products are compatible and what is not. I used ppg and DuPont paint over the years and both are good products. They each have lower line and upper line products, clears, primers and such. I used dp epoxy on my Camaro with urethane primer over the top. The epoxy give excellent corrosion and adhesion and the urethane gives your build for block sanding and filling scratches in bodywork. Watch the windows, witch is dry times, flash times, cures times. Most urethane primers don't cure if it is under 60 degrees. Just a few things I can tell you. Hope it helps