Hi all vette’s lovers.

First I want to tank you all for plenty of great infos on this site. You have given me the confidence to paint my car by myself. I know about what to do and if I don’t know something, you are there.

At this moment, the vette is on fibreglass on 80% of the body. The other 20% is on a primer which has sticked on the body and it wasn’t possible to take off this old primer with the razor blade technique. The 80% was so badly sticked on the fibreglass that it was possible to take off big chunks of paint with this method. The biggest chunk had about one foot square and I took it off with a butter knife!

I’m actually block sanding the old primer and it goes well, except for the bumpers. I haven’t been able to take off even the first coat of old paint with razor blades. The blade made gouges. I haven’t used any chemical stripper. The only thing I’m going to use is dx 330 degreaser. I’m lucky that the body is in very good condition, except for a one inch crack at the base of the front fender where the air gap is. I have made some little gouges in the fibreglass too. I'm going to fill them obviously.

I live in the province of Quebec where it’s very cold and snowy and I work on my car outside when the weather is good. One advantage is that is easy to work on lower parts of the car. With hot clothes, I lay myself on the snow. The disadvantage is that I have to use the shovel twice a week to keep the car clean of snow. The car is well covered. I have sprayed wd 40 on my chromed Hookers side-pipes (I love them) to avoid rust. I start the car twice a month without any problem, even at -15 Celsius. I have a very big parking where the snow is clear of sand and salt and I drive it a little bit to move all pieces. It’s very slippery and it’s fun because it’s safe to spin around.

Here’s what I intend to do:

PPG products:
1) dp 40 epoxy primer
2) K-38 urethane high build primer
3) Base (red)
4) Clear omni or PPG

There’s a do it yourself garage well equipped for painting cars in my neighbourhood. It cost 70$ for 4 hours in the paint booth. They have guns (they wash them!), mask, a professional compressor and all the equipement.

Here is my questions:

It will be a lot easier for me to prime dp 40 and k-38 at home, taking my time to sand the k-38 perfectly and then spray base and clear in the paint booth later. It will be hard for me to bring the car at the garage because I will take off doors, hood, bumpers and spoilers to paint them. I may bring all parts to paint them in one shot, leave them at the garage, and bring the body another day to shot it. I’ll be able to put on parts over there, I’ll be in a garage!

For doing this the best way to manage this project is to use a roll it primer. Can I use this method with dp 40 and k-38? Also, it’s possible for me to have a little compressor at home. It’s not strong enough to do a good base and clear job, but knowing that I’m going to sand the primer, can I use a little compressor to spray primer, outside when the wheather is perfect?

Tank you for any advice on this project, and I’m going to send pictures soon.

Claude

Sorry for mistakes, I’m a French Canadian. I hope it's clear

 

First you may need to understand paints, they don't like cold or hot temperatures, this goes for primer or top coats.
Cold is going to be your biggest issue that will effect your final finish. With lower temperatures, you'll need to adjust your curing hardner and use a faster evaporation solvent. Spraying primer in cold conditions (sanding or not) will create a dull top coat finish, because of poor holdout of the primer.
Paints need a temperature above 50 deg. (dry 68-72 deg. best) and should only be sprayed under dry / warm conditions to dry (flash off) properly.
Even if you take the car or parts of the car to a heated garage, it will be hours in the warmth, before the body parts are warm enough to paint with good results.
If I were you, I'd wait till spring / summer to prime, or find a garage you can use to complete the job. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you can't prime outside in winter, but the end result may not be what you want.
Take the time to talk to your paint supplier, ask them about cold weather painting (outside in winter) of the product they sell, or ask someone at a bodyshop who paints cars.
Just trying to help you get the results your after.

 

I'm not far from you in Ontario ,don't even think about painting outside in this wheather.Do it once do it right .Good luck

 

My intention is to do it as soon as the temperature will be over 15 Celcius. May be in april here. That mean I have a lot of time to prep the car perfectly. I love to work on my car, even if it's in winter. I called the PPG store and the guy who's following my projet suggested me to not roll it, because it's going to be hard to have a nice finish. He told me too that I can use a little compressor to do primer and even base coat. The clear ought to done with pro stock.

What do you think about prime it with my little compressor outside on beautiful day over 15 Celcius without wind?

Tank you,

Claude

 

Over 15C (60 deg) is a better temp. Spraying primer with a small compressor outside, remember to do only very small areas at a time. Your compressor will loose air pressure very fast and not be able to maintain it with the cfm output of a spraygun. I suggest you buy a very cheap trim gun which will consume less air. Spraying primer outside you will have to make sure you sand every inch of the body. Your going to have dirt and airbourne dust mixed into the paint that must not be there for the final top coat.
Claude I'm not trying to sway your decision to paint ouside or not, my suggestions are only to, maybe guide you on what to expect. In the spring / summer, go rent that garage for 4 hours or more and use the correct compressor and spray guns to complete the top and final coats.
Good Luck and keep trying

 

and stay as far away from the body with that WD 40 as you can bare glass and oil are a recipe for disaster. it will soak it up and ruin your paint job

 

Tank you guys,

I think it's an emergency for me to use dx 330 to wipe off my car because there's surely some drops of wd 40 on doors and fenders.

I'm going to think about how I will spray. The goal of shooting outside is to save money and and have time to sand it perfectly piece by piece. I dont mind to sand. If I shoot it at the do it yourself garage, I will not have a lot of time to sand.

Base and clear will be done for sure in the paint booth. I'm going to try to prime it outside piece by piece. Anyway if I have any problem, it will be always time to finish it at the garage.

Tank you,

Claude

 

Here are the pictures :
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/h...3/DSCF0163.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/h...3/DSCF0166.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/h...3/DSCF0165.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/h...3/DSCF0164.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/h...3/DSCF0162.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/h...3/DSCF0161.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/h...3/DSCF0160.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/h...3/DSCF0159.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/h...3/DSCF0158.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/h...3/DSCF0157.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/h...3/DSCF0156.jpg

It seems like the car is not on the bare fiberglass. WHat's the color of fiberglas? The car has a dark brown coat.

I washed my car with dx 330 degreaser but I'm going to it a few more time tobe sure all dw-40 is off.

 

just keep wiping it down with the dx 330 before you do any more sanding. man you have some tough working conditions you sure are motivated to work out there

 

Any chance a friend might have a bigger compressor you could borrow or maybe you could rent a compressor to do the priming. Take your time and pay attention to detail and you will end up with a great job.

 

You make me feel guilty for not going out in my 40x64 concrete floor garage in 35 deg. F because it is too cold! You might be the most hardcore vette restorer I have ever heard of......Maybe a new show- "Extreme Restoration-North Woods Edition"

 

I got cold just looking at the pictures. Good luck

 

Yes I am very motivated. I want it to be ready in april. I want to drive it this summer. I don't want to wait good weather to do do it. At this moment, I have a lot of advance. 80 grit is almost done. I just have made it where there was paint over the brown coat, after the razor blade technique. Finishing time is beginning. I'm going to blocksand it with 150 and then 180 before priming after having put the car apart (hood,doors, etc.) Is it OK?

For my working conditions, don't worry. Quebec city is one of the most cold city in north america. I wear hot clothes. Working in these condition have plenty of advantages. The first one is the mess. A two minutes shovelling and it's clear. It' easy to work the lower and under parts. I can lay down myself in the snow. And it's free. Some elbow oil, sand paper and razor blades (and dx-330=25$)

And more that everything, the beer stays cold! I love these working week-end.

Tank you all for advices and I'm going to send you more pictures as the projet goes on.

Claude