My brother is helping me with my car. He has painted a few cars in the past and he does good work, but he does not do this for a living, and I don't think he is up to snuff with all the new paint chemistry. He likes to use laquer thinner for wiping the car down before applying primer or paint. The tech sheets usually say to use wax and grease remover before applying paint or primer, but my brother says he has had problems using this and never has had a problem with laquer thinner. My first question is should we use wax and grease remover before applying primer and paint, or is the laquer thinner going to be OK. I have heard that laquer thinner leaves a film behind, and may react with todays new paints. I also know that when using wax and grease remover that it should be applied and wiped off while wet and not left on to evaporate. what is the right way to clean the car before primer and paint? Is it OK to use laquer thinner before applying filler?

OK, my next question. Should we skim coat the whole car in filler and block sand the whole car and remove almost all the filler like you see the way Boyd Coddingtons guys do, or just use the filler in the low spots. My brother has never skim coated the whole car before and does not see the point in doing it this way, but I have to wonder why the guys on TV do it this way.

prep solve always before paint/primer/mud ect.. not thinner if your cheap enamel reducer was used be not as good, thinner will melt or stain all new paints not cool. dont deck out whole car they have spray fillers now

Prep solvent is an excellent product for removing any undesired residue. It can be used on metal, primer or painted surfaces.

Another great product for filling imperfections such as pin holes or waves in the metal, is a product called Spray Poly. It is a very thick spray-able primer that will not shrink over time. It can be sprayed over conventional primer coatings. When it is wet it actually smells like Fiberglas resin. Great stuff and it sands off very easily.

I'm not a fan of Prep-sol to "wash" a car down,....a good quality laquer thinner works best,....cheap thinner leaves a film


The days of skim coating with "BONDO" were gone 20 years ago!,....if you feel the need to "skim" the car, Evercoat has a product for this G2,...basically reformulation of the old "Featherfill"........kinda like spraying a coat of bondo on the car, you can go over epoxy, etch primer, bare metal, or GOOD old finishes properly prepared, sands well!......I'd recommend a quality ureathane primer after blocking the Evercoat G2,....the G2 comes in 3 color bases, Tan, Gray, or Black, depending on your finish coats, colors



I finished this car using an Epoxy base prep, 2 coats of Evercoats G2, blocked, then Duponts 2K ureathane black primer, followed by Duponts Chroma Preimer BC/CC......lotsa blocking!

I'd stay away from lacquer thinner,in my shop it's only good for cleaning the gun and old rubber weatherstripping, it can and will soften any feathered areas causing a ring to bleed thru,

Featherfill G2 by Evercoat is good product ,but I'd advise not to use it over bare metal, it will flake off,though the label says it works great on bare metal, it does not, trust me

Get some Wax & Grease Remover, that's what it's made for. Remember to use two rags, one to wipe with and the other to dry it with. Don't let it air dry or you'll get swelling in the topcoat. It will almost look like you painted it with a brush.

anyone else care to chime in

wax and greese remover doesnt cost any more than laquer thinner does. I cant figure out why someone would want to cover a whole car in bondo then sand 90% of it off, use the bondo on the low spot you can see or feel with your hand. then buy a good k-36 or 38 primer, and spend alot of time blocking that, not sanding off bondo where it dont need to be. dont use laquer primer.

Best way to apply wax & grease remover is with a squirt bottle, then wipe with a disposable wipe.
This prevents contaminating the can and uses it much more efficiently.

The TV guys are just banging those cars out, with basically no regard for the work holding up. Look at those cars under flourescent light in a year and they'll show shrinkage, sanding scratches, and everything else.
Get the panels dead straight with a minimum of filler.
Use a filler primer, block dead straight.
Prime again, block dead straight.
Wash the car and check it every step, know how to properly block, and on some cars, you might do this 3 or 4 times to get it perfect. The factory didn't, though.
Wax & Grease Remover every step too. No fried food, no WD40, no Armorall, nothing with grease/oil/dirty hands in the same room as the car. Cleanliness is Godliness when it comes to avoiding fisheyes & promoting adherence.