primer question

chimp koose · December 21, 2009, 01:50:08 AM

OK I am about to start doing bodywork on the anglia. I have a dumb question about primer. Is it possible to BRUSH primer onto the car. For any number of reasons I would like to brush it on as I strip the old paint off the car . I have a garage full of stuff that I dont want to move or have to cover up.I would like to strip one panel at a time and prime it to avoid flash rust . I may not have the time to strip and prime the whole car at once . What type of primer,if any ,could I brush on?

WZ JUNK · December 21, 2009, 08:16:44 AM

Quote from: "chimp koose"OK I am about to start doing bodywork on the anglia. I have a dumb question about primer. Is it possible to BRUSH primer onto the car. For any number of reasons I would like to brush it on as I strip the old paint off the car . I have a garage full of stuff that I dont want to move or have to cover up.I would like to strip one panel at a time and prime it to avoid flash rust . I may not have the time to strip and prime the whole car at once . What type of primer,if any ,could I brush on?

I understand your thoughts but I have never brushed it on. My advise would be to make a temporary paint booth by hanging plastic from the ceiling of your shop and surrounding the car in a plastic enclosure when you prime it. I did see a high build primer advertised once that you applied with a small roller but I have never seen it on the shelf or in use.

An hvlp spray gun makes very little overspray and most of the new catalyzed primers dry before they hit the floor. They are not near the mess that the old lacquer primers were.

John

sirstude · December 21, 2009, 08:49:46 AM

PPG makes a roll on primer, and I have rolled on small patches with Sherwin Williams. I don't know about doing an entire panel evenly though.

Doug

Digger · December 21, 2009, 09:51:30 AM

You have to clean and prep the metal before you prime it anyway, why dont you just use the phosphoric acid metal prep and forget the primer til you are ready? I can imagine the amount of sanding it would require to smooth out brushed on primer. There is also the danger of it being too thick and wrinkling up on you.

enjenjo · December 21, 2009, 11:32:06 AM

You can use a brush to apply primer. Even spray type. Prep just like you do for spraying. Make sure the metal is warm enough, cold metal plays havoc with adhesion.

In the past I have just applied a light coat of laquer, paint, not primer, and then wiped it off with thinner when I was ready to paint. It works fine in the short term.

Mac · December 21, 2009, 10:42:24 PM

I use one of these HVLP sprayers from Harbor Frieght

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?itemnumber=46719

Due to the minimal overspray and pressure I don't have to bother much with covering stuff or even clean up in the area after body work on a section of the car. These spray guns work well and they're almost always on sale.
For $24 they have a non-gravity HVLP detail gun, too.

chimp koose · December 22, 2009, 02:20:36 AM

Thanks for the opinions guys. I havent painted a car in 20 years. I was used to lacquer primer that gets everywhere when sprayed. I have nowhere to put all the other toys when spraying(its winter, cant put them outside).How harmful is high solids primer, does it go on HVLP? I just dont want a garage full of primered stuff.

WZ JUNK · December 22, 2009, 07:38:21 AM

Quote from: "chimp koose"Thanks for the opinions guys. I havent painted a car in 20 years. I was used to lacquer primer that gets everywhere when sprayed. I have nowhere to put all the other toys when spraying(its winter, cant put them outside).How harmful is high solids primer, does it go on HVLP? I just dont want a garage full of primered stuff.

I use a cheap HVLP gun with a 2.0 tip to shoot the high solids filler primer. Between applying the primer and dry sanding after it has dried, I have a lot of dust in the shop but a minimal amount of overspray attached to anything. Of course my place has been used to paint, weld .... for many years now and it is hard to tell where one mess ends and another one starts. If you have a lot of nice stuff, I would buy a big roll of thin, cheap plastic and cover everything when you are painting. Drop cloths from the Dollar Store work good for smaller areas.

John

38HAULR · December 22, 2009, 04:00:30 PM

I have used some primer and paint mix thinned to spraying consistency,leaning more to thinners to prevent rapid dry , and wiped it on with a ball of lint free cloth .
The mix was actually "tinted thinners" from cleaning the spray gun pot,that would normally be discarded..
Did this on some bare steel with good results..
Frank.