Quote:

---

X2 on reading the tech sheets for the product you are using, not all epoxies are DTM and require etch prime first.

---

Quote:

---

X2 on reading the tech sheets for the product you are using, not all epoxies are DTM and require etch prime first.

---

Quote:

---

I teach autobody at the Venango Tech Center in Oil City, Pa and here is our procedure:

Sandblast steel or 80 grit DA

WASH steel with water and Dawn dish detergent (I will discuss this later)

Clean steel with a water based wax and grease remover, then with solvent based wax and grease remover.

Allow to flash off and spray epoxy ( I like SPI Epoxy)

After 12-24 hrs, apply filler and block sand as normal. It is not necessary to sand the epoxy first as epoxy and filler will have a death grip on each other as long as the epoxy has not cured too long.

After filler work is complete, re-epoxy to sandwich your filler from both sides. Now you can use primer filler and block sand until the panel is ready.


*Sandblasting and washing*

Most sand used for blasting has contaminants- you are forcing those contaminants onto the surface of your car when blasting. Some dawn detergent followed by a waterborne wax and grease remover is a great way to really have CLEAN bare steel.

I know that it seems counter intuitive but when done the correct way excellent results are achieved.

As far as epoxy I am also a DuPont guy but I have to say that SPI epoxy is the best I have used, you also have a full 7 days to do your filler work and re coat with epoxy before you have to sand the original coat of epoxy.

Any questions let me know.

---

I don't teach it, but have been doing it for 30 years myself, media blasting and refinishing trucks, many. The surface is too ruff for wiping down after media blasting. That all should be done before media blasting. Have you ever done it?

I have used silica sand, coal slag and plastic media on about 15 steel tanker trucks since 1983 and repainted them without ever touching the freshly blasted white metal before primer.

You don't need no dawn soap or water! That makes rust.

I have some of the trucks I painted 20+ years ago still on my lot and know what lasts. I have painted many trucks and tankers after media blasting. I have done big jobs.

I also have done several cars and documented them here. Media blast and then the appropriate primer, no prep.

I use a etch primer over my blasted steel, then the epoxy primer has a chemical bond over freshly blasted steel. The freshly blasted steel is perfect for any kind of paint, don't mess it it up with prep after media blasting.

Then I have done lot's of epoxy DTM without any etch too and have never touched the freshly blasted steel before paint. It don't need to be I here to say!

Lastly before any media blasting goes on, the body is steam pressure washed, stripping it of all grease and oil before media blasting. I never blast oily greasy metal, that's crazy and dumb. No matter how much dawn after(LOL)you use, your screwed because you just blasted oil into the pores of the metal like a dumazz.




I'm not talking about throwing a old tarp over the cab and sand blasting the tanker. I take it all the way apart off the truck chassis bare and rewire in explosion proof and re plumb the entire truck myself after painting it.

Etch primer before the epoxy while the tank is still hanging over the sand we blasted it with. Use the same diesel compressor to prime as I did to blast it.

Then it got mounted on the chassis within 2 days and I sprayed the finish colors(3 of them) with in 3-5 days so I'm with in the 7 recoat window with no primer scuffing. I've done this many times, bust azz for 3-4 days, strip with media blasting and paint a whole tanker truck.

I always try to apply primer to freshly blasted steel within a hour or two, never let it sit over night.


Wash/etch primer applied within an hour of blasting. Then epoxy primer over this all in the same day it was blasted bare. Can you imagine washing this with soap and water after blasting?

Quote:

---

Here is an easy way to explain it:

Collision shops are all about speed- grind, fill, etch, prime, seal, color, clear.

Resto shops are all about longevity- Blast, clean, epoxy, fill, epoxy again, prime, seal, color, clear.

Collsion shops hate epoxy because it is waaay to slow for them.

I personally believe epoxy is best for restoration work.

---

nailed it.

Quote:

---

There are some manufacturers out there that have 3 in 1 type primers that are supposed to etch, fill and seal. Transtar and UPOL are the couple that come to mind. TP Tools sells these brands. I have yet to try them, but for the DIY person not wanting to buy a bunch of products, they might be an option.

---

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

There are some manufacturers out there that have 3 in 1 type primers that are supposed to etch, fill and seal. Transtar and UPOL are the couple that come to mind. TP Tools sells these brands. I have yet to try them, but for the DIY person not wanting to buy a bunch of products, they might be an option.

---

This is what I use. It is direct to metal, very high build and doesn't shrink. I know someone is going to say all primers shrink. I used to think that too until I used this. It saves a lot of time and money to do it all in one step.

---

Quote:

---

Chrisf and FY1TA,

Thanks for backing me up. When I started to answer on this thread I figured I could help some people out that were interested. Glad not everyone on moparts is a tool.

---

kind of like a religion question or a torque converter question on moparts Your going to get 20 different answers and they are all right. they can keep doing it their way as its working for them.

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

There are some manufacturers out there that have 3 in 1 type primers that are supposed to etch, fill and seal. Transtar and UPOL are the couple that come to mind. TP Tools sells these brands. I have yet to try them, but for the DIY person not wanting to buy a bunch of products, they might be an option.

---

This is what I use. It is direct to metal, very high build and doesn't shrink. I know someone is going to say all primers shrink. I used to think that too until I used this. It saves a lot of time and money to do it all in one step.

---

Not familiar with that brand. I would like to try some, where do you buy yours? Right from the company or distributor?

---

Quote:

---

Chrisf and FY1TA,

Thanks for backing me up. When I started to answer on this thread I figured I could help some people out that were interested. Glad not everyone on moparts is a tool.

---

This thread needs to get a sticky, or be in the Tech Archives....so those of us who want to do our own work can bug HudsonHornet to death from now on! I've been using Rage gold filler over DTM PPG epoxy for years. I started doing that because every car I've stripped to metal has surface rust under old filler that I have found. I only can assume that comes from when the filler gets hot during curing, the temperature difference between that and the cooler metal causes condensation, gets sandwiched in and causes surface rust under the filler.

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

Chrisf and FY1TA,

Thanks for backing me up. When I started to answer on this thread I figured I could help some people out that were interested. Glad not everyone on moparts is a tool.

---

This thread needs to get a sticky, or be in the Tech Archives....so those of us who want to do our own work can bug HudsonHornet to death from now on! I've been using Rage gold filler over DTM PPG epoxy for years. I started doing that because every car I've stripped to metal has surface rust under old filler that I have found. I only can assume that comes from when the filler gets hot during curing, the temperature difference between that and the cooler metal causes condensation, gets sandwiched in and causes surface rust under the filler.

---