ClassicGlass63

I am taking over a paint job my son started and have a few questions before going any further.

My son has painted many cars, but DPLF was new to him. He striped the 1972 Corvette to bare glass. He sanded the car and applied the DPLF and a few coats of feather fill in the coverage window.

Right now there are a number of spots that have minor body work done with filler and a few areas that he sanded through the feather fill and the DPLF to bare glass again.

This is the state of the car now. I am wondering if I should prime again with feather fill or recoat with DPLF?

I also have another question on the DPLF:
Can the DPLF be sprayed, let dry and then primered, or does it have to be top coated within the recoat window?

For example: There are quite a few places on the car that he sanded through the feather fill and the DPLF is exposed. Can I scuff the DPLF and hit it with feather fill again.

If he had not taken so much time getting the doors and back half of the car so straight, I would just sand it all back down and start over. He went off to school, so this is mine to finish if I want it done any time soon.

Thanks for any input you can give.

M

DUB

I would sand the feather fill back BUT try to leave the epoxy primer intact. then apply the epoxy but not allow it to get onto the featherfill...which is why feathering the featherfill back so you can apply the epoxy is what I would do if I came across this issue.

Do all that you can not to allow it to loose the window of time. DPLF does not like being sanded on. And I do not like scuffing it...so that is why I stay in the window of time at all costs.

This is different than the above question. If you sanded into it...then you have basically already prepped it. If you have not broken through the DPLF...then YES...you can prep and shoot the featherfill as required.


A lot of it would depend on how it reacts when you sand and break through all the way to the bare fiberglass. if I came across areas that were gummy, or the epoxy is peeling back and I can scratch it and it acts weird....I would strip it back down and do it again. Not like that is the first time I have ever done that one.

I have my processes on what I would do and choose not to preach to you. If you are confident in what you are doing...which is a viable method...though I do not do it that way. Just stay on task and keep going.

DUB

Dave Tracy

The DPLF is a very thin epoxy primer. If there are bare spots, it may be the contours that need to be addressed. You may want to sand it down to glass and start over. PPG has a different epoxy primer, DPLV that has some build properties and I have recently used it. SPI has an epoxy primer that Porchdog(on this forum) uses. DUB(another professional on this forum) uses gel coat. If the car has been outside you will definitely want to start over. The DPLF has a 1 week window. DUB beat me to the draw here. Good luck

ClassicGlass63

First, I want to say thanks for the input.

As I started to sand the car to see how things were reacting, the DPLF is sanding far better than anyone said it would. This might be because it was sprayed over three years ago.

It appears to have really good adhesion every where.

I am open to anything that you feel I might be doing wrong. Even if is just another way of doing it, I would like to hear any suggestions.

At this point I am going to continue to use the same products as adding in another just might be a can of worms I do not want to open.

My plan is to scuff the DPLF, the edges are all feathered already, spot the DPLF on the bare glass spots, and then use the feather fill within the time window. Does this sound alright?

Also: do you typically do the body work before DPLF, or do you do it on top of it. It appears my son did most under the DPLF, but had a few areas to address with body filler after the epoxy primer.

Thanks again to all for at least making me feel like this just might work out.

M

Dave Tracy

Typically, the body work is done first which is why I suggested that the body may need more work prior to spraying the primer.

DUB

YES...that has EVERYTHING to do with it being able to be sanded without clogging up sandpaper.

VERY GOOD

A GOOD philosophy to live by

VERY WISE.....because using gelcoat at this time would require it to be stripped all off again and start fresh.

As long as the process I wrote in the past post is what you do... then I agree. I would not want to get a lot of epoxy on my featherfill...so that is why I would want it CAREFULLY sanded back ONLY to expose the epoxy so you can spray the epoxy...and NOT get a lot on the featherfill.

On METAL cars....applying body filler on top of the epoxy is acceptable. This is to stop any chance of rust being started due to the body filler being directly against the bare steel. Seeing how your Corvette is NOT metal.....then I personally do all of my bodywork under any type of product that I plan on spraying on the body.

I am NOT a big fan of 'sandwiching' body filers between layers of DPLF. It takes DPLF so long to TOTALLY cure...I can only imagine that the surface would be slightly distorted when all layers finally decided to settle to their final resting place.

I use another product which is NOT a PPG epoxy when I am doing bodywork on a steel car. It does the same thing...but it is not a soft as DPLF.

Please keep posting any concerns.

DUB

ClassicGlass63

After talking to my son, he has made me aware that there are areas on the front clip that have DPLF, primer sprayed in the appropriate window, and DPLF sprayed over the primer after it being scuffed and so on.

After all the help you guys have provided, and talking to my son, we have come to the conclusion that it is best to go ahead spot the DPLF and re-primer on the tops, doors, and rear half the car.

We also plan to go ahead and re-strip the whole front clip. I actually tried a little area and it comes right off with a heat gun.

I guess my son planned on stripping parts of the front end anyway. He had a few areas he wanted to re-do the body work after doing the rest of the car.

At this point are there any ideas you guys care to throw my way. I will take a few pictures and let you see exactly what it is I am dealing with.

My plan is to practice on the tops and exhaust panel to used to the gun and see how the paint covers and see if there are any surprises I might run into.

Again, Thanks, and open to any input.

Also, even though the car is a very correct big block, 4-speed, A/C, car, I do not like the original factory red. Any ideas on a real red color with much orange in it. The Dodge red is nice, but I think I like red with a small amount of blue.

Again, open to any suggestions.

M

ClassicGlass63

Oh,
By the way, this is not my sons first paint job with these products. Dad here is the one out of date. I showed him a lot years ago. At this point he is far more familiar with the newer products.

They seem to change so fast, it is hard to keep up.

M

DUB

First off...do yourself a favor and NOT shoot on your pats. Get 'comfortable' on something that is it goes bad...you are not having to 'back-track'. Just so you can get the 'feel' back again.....which should not take long.

When it comes to color choice...go to the paint store and they should have color decks that you can look at...and take them outside on a sunny day and look at them in the sun...then the shade...then inside under the lights in the building....because many reds can change color due to the type of light. I shoot small panels for my customers and shoot several different shades of the basic color they are interested in....I clearcoat them also. I give them to them and they look at the color at night under the lights a gas station...under direct sunlight....at sunset...etc. Then when they have their mind made up...i mix that color and shoot it. NO NEED in getting in a hurry when it comes to color choice. NOTHING is worse than regretting your color choice because you did not take the time. In many cases.....the strong red toner on my paint service is chosen. That way...it will match in most cases due to not having any other pigments/toners to make up the color if it ever needs to be touched up.. Just a thought.

Photo's are always helpful. Seeing what you see means a lot.

DUB

ClassicGlass63

Dub,
First I just want to let you and the others know how much I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to help guys like myself. And I will practice on some other parts that I have that do not matter to me.



I painted a lot as a young man. As I got older I did not have the time. A very common story. A number of years ago I paid a reputable painter to paint my 63. After 3 years, he had a back injury, I got my car back to find out they had some kids working on it because of his injury. We will just leave it at that. Plus, we all know how much one of these quality paint jobs cost.

This is what prompted my son to do this car. He used to paint more too.

Anyway, to the paint job. I want to explain what it is you are seeing in the pictures as it could be very confusing.

The car was stripped with a heat gun and razor blade. It worked better than could have been drempt for. He then went and did the typical repairs.

Then, BPLF (black) was laid down with featherfill (grey) being layed down over the top of it within the topcoat window. In pictures like the picture of the driver front fender, you might see what looks like many shades of grey. The reason for this is, each time my son sprayed another layer of Featherfill, he took a couple of ounces out of the can of black Featherfill to darken it just a bit.

So, you will see the car in grey, then it will be grey with a black guide coat. After he felt it was really straight, he sprayed it with black Featherfill in hopes almost all of that would end up on the ground after sanding.

Then you will see some areas where the black is gone, but see where the DPLF was actually sanded through.

With all the advice you have give, I feel very comfortable just spotting in the DPLF and progressing on the doors back. As nice as the front looks, I know there are a few areas that have DPLF over Featherfill. In this case the whole front end will be stripped back to bare glass. My son already did the hood and it is up to me to do the rest of the front end. No problem though. The nice thing about DPLF is how easy it comes back off. It is just the final sanding and acetone that is a bit of a bear.

Wish me luck and send suggestions. I love to hear your feedback as I am just starting this painting thing again many years.

M

DUB

For what it is worth....so you are not wasting product begin sprayed to make a guide coat. Do yourself a favor and get the 3M dry guide coat when you plan on blocking.

AND...in the future....if you see that you are beginning to break through and might get down to the bare glass again...STOP...mask it off and re-prime it. It will save you aggravation....but this also depends on if the body was ready for primer initially.

DUB

ClassicGlass63

I just realized I never posted a picture of the DPLF issue.





All the Black Featherfill was sanded off the back portion of the car. This is when he realized he missed a few areas that needed more body work and building up spray primer was not the way to go.

He sanded all the black off anda good portion of the grey and was almost starting over. And this is when he went through the primer and DPLF and hit raw glass.

At this point I am going to remover the body filler and redo it on bare glass. As long as I am going to be spot filling DPLF, I might as well be doing it over the body filler too.

The kid has tons of hours into making this car straight. I wished he would have saved some of those hours for the other car, but this was his practice for doing the63.

Again, I am open to any suggestions. Even opinions gives me something to think about.

Thanks to all.
M

P.S. Forget those dates on the pictures. I have one of those great friends that steals your camera while you are not looking, changes the settings, and then takes a picture of his private parts so when you are going through your pictures later you get a surprise shot of his best side. If you know what I mean. LOL

DUB

YES...get it down and start over is best. I have never been a fan of applying anything on top of my polyester primer of such large amounts.

BUT the issue I wrote in the past post now can come into play. If when you are blocking you see that you are getting ready to get into your epoxy....STOP and re-prime.

DUB