reidry

Lars and other Paint/Body Gurus...

I purchased a '70 LT1 firewall back body to replace the birdcage on my '69 from Scott at Corvetteworks. The body is great! I'm flaring so the small difference in the rear body will disappear. As I commented in one of Scott's previous posts I have only good things to say about Corvetteworks.

The body had already started to undergo restoration and is currently in a coat of primer. Neither Scott or I have any idea what products or prep methods were used on this body. The body has been in my shop all summer and shows no cracking or spiderwebing, blisters, orange peel, etc. What I am asking is should I shoot a coat of DP40 and press on or do I need to take the whole thing down to the fiberglass? I realize that I need to prep the surface before applying the DP40, I'm oversimplifying a little, but you get the idea. It may also be important to note this will NOT be a NCRS restoration, I'm building what I want. The underside of the body has been shot with a glossy undercoat of some type and is also in good condition.

The front end from my '69 appears to have had a very poor econo paint job (I'm not going to name names because I have no proof that any particular paint shop did the work) so I'm currently sanding it down to fiberglass and will follow the Lars recommedation on PPG products as I've worked with them in the past and had excellent results.

Thanks in advance,

Ryan

corvettejay

Ryan
if you think the primer job will hold up press on. most people dont use the proper products on a corvette and after a summer in the sun you might wish you would of just finished stripping it a did it corectly the first time. As for paint their is better paint systems out than that smelly ppg. you should look into sikkens or glasurit. we have tried ppg in my shop and we had problems with it
jay

Flareside

I've been wondering about this as well, still have to talk to Lars about it. The paint on my 68 seems decent, so do I really need to strip it all off? Yesterday, I spent an hour at the local PPG shop getting lots of stuff that Lars' paper specifies for the prep and primer stages.

dually4wd

If they took the time to paint the underside of the body, then maybe the upper side is done well. If it's a catalyzed product, and you can't see sand scratches, shrinkage, cut-throughs of multiple layers of old paint, or lifting/mapping, go ahead and block sand it with about 320 grit to give the DP something to bite, and move on. But, look it over VERY well before you make that decision. Wipe a spot with laquer thinner on a rag to confirm it's poly or epoxy. If it won't touch the primer, you're good.

CF6873

First I would wipe it with lacquer thinner as was mentioned above to make sure it is not lacquer primer. Since you dont' know what is under the primer or what kind of primer it is, I would block sand it very hard. I would also use a guide coat to check for straightness and pinholes and scratches. When you go through the primer you can see if the car was stripped or if there is paint under there. If it was stripped you can see if you have complete adhesion by the way it featheredges as you sand through. If it featheredges nicely with no adhesion issues then you can proceed with epoxy or urethane primer if you need fill. Good Luck, Craig :flag