Coupe Body Work Questions

[drewr]

Hello all,
I’ve knocked the mold seams on my coupe and have bought some Rage Gold. I have been scouring the forums for body work posts and am 95% sure I am going to paint it myself. I have a quick question about the Rage Gold. It seems that once this stage is started, it is best not to expose the Rage Gold to the elements and to proceed to Slick Sand, Sealer, then paint. Is it possible to cover the Rage Gold with a primer after the initial sculpting? If so, what sort of primer could go under Slick Sand? I gues the real question is, do I need to commit to the whole shebang at once, or can I do it in stages while the car is still drivable?

Thanks for helping!
Drew

[cob427sc]

I will defer to the real painters but I do understand that body filler absorbs moisture so you don't want to leave it unprotected. I believe Slicksand does not seal against moisture either so you would need to use a good primer to seal everything if you plan on doing the job piece meal as you move along. Good Luck! I've done the body work and painted a number of cars over the years and done them complete and piece meal. I would vote to bite the bullet and just do it all continually.

[Alan_C]

If you are going to spend some time away from the project, you could shoot a light coat of sealer over the Rage Gold. Later you can sand the light coat off pretty easily and then proceed on with the Slick Sand. If you feel you cannot do it all in sequence, maybe delay until you can otherwise protect the Rage Gold in some way. Even one of the clear body cover bags would be better than leaving the Rage Gold to spung up finger prints, dust, humidity, etc. You can clean the Rage Gold surface with something like a prep cleaner, but it is only virgin once.

[drewr]

Thanks for the input. It sounds like I should be ready to do the whole project. If I'm not mistaken, the color should go on soon after the sealer, correct?

[Jeff Kleiner]

Raw filler AND raw fiberglass should not be exposed to road grime and the elements. While knocking down the parting lines you may have already gone through the gelcoat and if so are exposing raw 'glass. Yes, you could shoot impermeable catalyzed sealer over the 'glass or filler but before proceeding to the next stage you'd have to sand it off. That's a whole lot of one step forward and two steps back! Yes, with most manufacturer's products there is a rather short recoat window for getting the base coat on...for example with the PPG products that I use that is a maximum of 72 hours (however I don't even like to wait that long). The progression after the bodywork and filler is done is 2+ gallons of high build polyester (Slick Sand, Featherfill, etc.) which gets blocked to 150 followed by 3 coats of 2K catalyzed primer surfacer. That gets blocked to 320 dry and then 600 wet before getting 1-2 coats of catalyzed sealer. Sealer is nib sanded as necessary before moving on to the basecoat.

Jeff

[drewr]

Thanks, Jeff. I appreciate your input.

[GThompson]

Does no one use HSRF (high strength repair filler from 3M) anymore?

[Jeff Kleiner]

Does no one use HSRF (high strength repair filler from 3M) anymore?

Only if there are major voids or repairs necessary. It's a structural filler and NOT a shaping filler.

Jeff

[flight_83]

Used rage on the nose of mine and it sat outside unprotected all fall and winter with no problems. Apparently not the best I suppose but just what I experienced.