fstbck70

Hello all,

My name is Brett, long time visitor, first time poster. Currently own a 70 fastback in its early restoration phase. I'm looking for advice and a sense of direction relating to paint preparation and shooting.

As it sits right now, the car is completely disassembled and media blasted rotating on a rotisserie. Doors and fenders are removed and various parts have already been replaced with the exception of a few. The body is completely down to bare metal and the hood, roof, and doors have one layer of body filler applied and sanded.

Now I believe I may have gotten ahead of myself in body stripping and I know these humid Nebraska days will quickly be upon me. I decided to focus the next few times I get to work on it to make sure I get the car protected properly before any type of moisture plays havoc on the body. I went down to my local paint supplier and picked up a few things.

I essentially bought 3 kinds of primer: an acid etch, epoxy, and I believe just a typical primer (2k possibly). I don't have the specifics in front of me at the moment. Since the body is 95% bare, I was told that a few coats of the acid etch works best for bare metal surfaces and helps seals/converts what little surface rust may be present. I then have only 24 hours to put a few coats of basic primer over that otherwise I'd have to sand the acid etch first. The epoxy primer would be for the doors, hood, and roof that currently have filler on them.

So my questions and concerns to all of you paint gurus:

1) Are my paint selections on par?
-Acid etch for bare metal?
-Epoxy on body filler panels?
-2k primer over acid etch w/in 24 hours?
2) If paint is correct, and since time is a big issue, can I do most of the body filler work on
top of the primer and then shoot a few more primer coats over that?
3) What are your concerns on my methodology and what would you do differently?

Again, my biggest concern is to protect the car from the humidity in the air during the summer. I don't want to go down the road of removing surface rust again. So is primer, body filler, and primer again a reasonable option giving the constraints?

Sorry for the long post, I tried to be as detailed as possible of the current situation to receive the best feedback. All responses will be appreciated and I can't wait to use this forum to return feedback and resolve other problems.

Cheers,
Brett

ford4v429

I'm no expert to say the least, but talked to a few sharp paint guys over the years...best advice EVER was 'Ospho' or whatever brand of phosphoric acid your local hardware store sells... immediately after air/humidity hits bare iron, it starts to oxidize... you wont see it, but microscopic rust starts immediately... phosphoric acid converts iron oxide into iron phosphate, stops rust dead before it gets a start... better yet, it gives paint really good 'bite', something about a crystalline structure or some such thing... I know it sure works great.

self etching primers are similarly reactive supposedly, but I'm sold on a acid wash first

as for primers, PPG K36 'prima' is my favorite- last time I bought some it set me back over 100 bucks for a quart with the additives... but you can lay it down heavy as you want, and be blocksanding in a hour... I'm too sloppy skimcoating with filler, a few heavy coats of K36 and blocking goes fast and easy... I redid a quarter on our 65 galaxie, HAD to fill over welded areas, but getting it straight took me a week of evenings... I shoulda K36'd after the first skim coat of filler, woulda saved a lot of hours.

if you go to paint, highly suggest basecoat/clearcoat urethane... expensive materials, but mistakes are super easy to correct. I shot the roof on our 65 with enamel, will never ever do that again...more overspray, dries too slow (dust settles in/bugs too) and even with hardener you really need to wait before rubbing out... with urethanes you can wetsand/buff hours after shooting.


phosphoric acid on all bare metal (Ospho)
epoxy primer (PPG K36)
basecoat/urethane clearcoat (PPG Deltron/ Concept clears)

these are a few of my favorite things

get a GOOD respirator before working with any of this stuff... surely the mild acid cant be good to breathe (goggles too!), but especially the multipart paints... isocyanates can leave you a pulmonary cripple for life after one exposure, or just kill you... nasty, nasty stuff- dont skimp on your respirator- the chemicals in there could at best be like breathing poison ivy smoke...

like I said, no expert by any stretch, but Ive used the stuff above after talking to some really talented folks, and was sure happy with the results...
I'm sure some real paint guys will chime in here too- I'm all ears

PS- I got a 69 on a spit right now too

fstbck70

I've seen you mention the Ospho treatment on here before. I'm glad that you have had great results with it. I do have a respirator to use if I go that route but I am somewhat concerned/turned off on the application process and the overall "nastiness" of the product. (Not that paint fumes are any better!)

I'm not sure if you mentioned it, but do you have to sand the Ospho "residue" off after it is done drying? Or do you just apply it and wipe it down shortly after application? Or do you apply it, let it dry, and paint directly over?

I did find my receipt for the paint I bought:
Etch-Shop Line JP215
Epoxy-Shop Line JH377
2K Primer- Shop Line JP202

According to the P-Sheets, the etch would be used for bare metal, epoxy on panels with filler, and the 2K would be essentially the "top coat" of primer.

I appreciate your comments and insight on your recommendations. It definitely seems like it is a great option. I'd like to get some more opinions on the pros/cons on acid etch. That is basically what I am debating right now.

The pictures I added are pretty old. These were taken before media blasting. There is essentially no rust (maybe minor surface rust here and there)

ford4v429

to me, the scary stuff isnt ospho, its pretty mild stuff- but the urethane paint chemicals that contain isocyanates I've been repeatedly warned about- one paintjob can destroy lungs - a GOOD respirator, properly fitted is a must...breathing any isocyanates can be lethal.

any chemical requires following the warning instructions, Ospho is pretty typical of that... its a chemical, but its not as immediately dangerous as the isocyanate type paint stuff... like the bleach in the laundry room, you dont want to get it on you, and especially not in the eyes... Ive dripped Ospho on my forearms, it tingles/kinda itches lightly (unless it gets in a cut- then its like alcohol!) and gets your attention to rinse it off... I keep jug of water/paper towels handy just in case... like anything, read/heed manufacturers recommendations, should be fine...

your mustang looks clean- mine hasnt been touched since september, floor was surprisingly near perfect even after sitting in my garage for 29 years on concrete... my frontend had rot where the fender aprons overlap the shock towers, the drivers torquebox and toe board above the torque box is shot, in the rear some old repairs in the wheelhouse need sectioned in, the drivers quarter wheellip is swisscheese, and just above both rear shackles the very rear frame rails are puffed up. should be easy fixes on most of it. hoping to get back after mine this weekend- lost the fall/winter rebuilding a ranger for my 16 yr old son, weather sucked in Ohio this past winter, time to get back on track. I want to redo frontend with RRS tower notching plates, and some sort of coilover strut setup to reduce shocktower loading, as its getting a iron 429...

if you get bored, pics of as it sits are here (quarter rot pics at bottom- yuck...) https://www.flickr.com/photos/832321...7634916492409/

fstbck70

Well I finally got her painted this weekend. PIC HEAVY