g741.org

Finally ready to paint my cab. Before I order paint I was wondering how many coats of primer ( thinking red oxide) and how many coats of GCI enamel?
Thanks,

Depends on how it comes out. I used one coat of primer, but if I had to re-sand or fix something I didn't see, then a second coat or spot prime was in order. As for the top, I did 2 coats with the same caveat, if it came out good I was done, if not, it got more until it did. My passenger door has the most, took 4-5 coats to get it right. I was using 24087 so there was extra stress trying to get the luster right. YMMV

I did two primer and three base color on my bed and interior cab-the rest still needs to be stripped, prepped and painted-just haven't had time this year to do it....
Gary

There really is no set answer to "how many coats of primer" to use.

As you probably already know, preparation of the surfaces to be painted is 90% of the work. The finished quality
of your paint job is directly related to the amount of time spent on preparation.

Pay attention to preping rusted areas, deep scratches, welding repairs, and body filler finishing.
Deep scratches like 80 grit sandpaper, grinders and orbital sanders will come back to haunt you after
the primer and top coat have cured. Primer is not a substitue for filling deep scratches; use body filler like
Bondo.

Wet sand in between each coat of primer. Use a "guide" coat to spot low and high areas.
Re-prime and wet sand until you achieve the desired result. If it ain't right, do it again.

Wash all surfaces to be top coated with warm water and Tide. Do not use any other product like
dish soap or liquid hand soap. Do not use anything but Tide. Rinse well, blow dry hidden areas.
Allow primed surfaces to adequately dry before top coating.

Take your time; be picky about repairing even the smallest dent or scratch. You won't be sorry.
JB

Thanks JB

You're welcome Gerry.

The few thoughts I posted are just the tip of the ice berg. So, talk to everyone you know that has
painted a vehicle. You'll probably hear the good, the bad and the ugly.

In the same breath, I love and hate body work. I enjoy, appreciate, and love it when the finished
product comes out as good or better than I expected.

I hate the dusty, dirty, time consuming, tedious labor that must be done. About the time I've had
all I can stand and say "that's good enough" it usually means I'm due for a break or done for the day.
When you return the next day you'll see that it probably WASN't good enough.

Metal working with hammer and dolly, metal shrinking and other skills is extremely satisfying.
Taking a crumpled metal body part and shaping back to near normal is alwys a pleasant surprise.
And, maybe, I saved a few bucks by not buying an NOS or reproduction part. My labor not included of course.

After forty + years of doing my own paint and body work, I still consider myself an amateur.
Professional paint and body men are talented artists with skills you and I can't imagine.
They're worth every dime you spend on them.
JB

In one of the above posts I recommended "Tide" powdered laundry detergent mixed with warm water to
clean primered metal prior to applying the O.D. top coat.

I had two small M parts to shoot this morning with a final coat of O.D. So before spraying, I washed one
with Tide and just wet sanded the other.

Sure enough, the one with the Tide wash turned out perfect. The other one that was just wet sanded
had "fish eyes" and other miscellaneous micro-bubbles. Stripped that piece with laquer thinner and
started over. After re-priming and giving it a Tide wash, it turned out perfect too.

So, Tide works for me. Use "powdered" not the liquid. Powdered is getting hard to find these days,
but it's still out there.
JB

Thanks JB