I'm a novice to the autobody world. Just found this site, and it has proven to be an excellent source of info. My hats off to all who have contributed.

Just started back on a 1967 Dodge restoration that has been on hold since 2003. At the time, the rust free body was stripped, sealed in epoxy, and the engine compartment and door jams have been painted with Dupont Centari 99A pitch black. I recently completed the drivetrane and now ready to move into finishing the body.

During mechanical assembly, the epoxy was scratched and chipped in places and showing signs of surface rust where the damage was to metal. I'm sure the sealer was contaminated with oil and grease. From everything I've read on this site so far, I've come up with the following plan:
- thoroughly wash body with dawn
- wipe body with W & G remover
- treat spot rust (media blast, treat, spot seal with epoxy
- sand epoxy starting with 320, apply multiple guide coats and block sand to 500-600
- apply top coat (Centari)
- allow sufficient cure time before sanding, buffing and sealing

My only concern would be the epoxy that has was applied back in 2003.
Also, do I need to apply any further primers or sealers over the epoxy after the final sanding and before the top coat?

Thanks
Dave

Wash it down with soap and water using a Maroon Scotchbrite pad (=400 grit)and be sure to dull the entire surface. Rinse well and dry.
Repair your areas and spot with epoxy, then reshoot the entire car with fresh epoxy.
Let set for 24 hours and then lightly block sand with 180 grit just to reveal any lows, do filler work, then move on to shooting 2k and blocking sessions.

180 sounds pretty course. The body already has a guide coat and was told it's ready for block sanding.

You said it was stripped to bare metal and sealed with epoxy, now it has guide coat on it?

Yes. Sorry...was not included in original post. The car was given back to me after stripping, sealing, engine compartment and door jams painted, and a guide coat.
As mentioned, it has incurred a few scratches and chips during the mechanical assembly...so I would like to pick up where it was left off.

whether you need any additional sealers. primers over the epoxy i think would depend on the tech sheet for the base coat that is going to be used.

is there any other concern with the epoxy other than that?

'68 Coronet R/T wrote:Wash it down with soap and water using a Maroon Scotchbrite pad (=400 grit)and be sure to dull the entire surface. Rinse well and dry.
Repair your areas and spot with epoxy, then reshoot the entire car with fresh epoxy.
Let set for 24 hours and then lightly block sand with 180 grit just to reveal any lows, do filler work, then move on to shooting 2k and blocking sessions.

good advice above^^, has this car been inside all this time ? I would use some wax & grease remover as my first step then wash with the soap. it wouldn't hurt to use the W/G remover again before any other coating. i'm a nit picker and this is the most important stage of your job.
180 grit is good anything finer will not cut it flat. if someone else striped the car I would be worried about how flat he got it and his prep work, being black you need to perfect. you will find out with blocking with 180. use a guide coat, it doesn't hurt to use a guide coat with any sanding.
Jay D.

All great advice. Thanks. I will proceed with a good scrubbing and cleaning as suggested before any further work.

The car has been stored inside the last 5 years, so it has been exposed to the elements for a good 10 years. That was my big concern. As for body work that was required under the epoxy, it had no rust, was never hit, and no door dings.

Looking at the Centari tech sheet, it states compatible with all Axalta Transportation primers.
That would suggest I should use Axalta 1220S™ URO® 2k urethane primer over the epoxy...correct? I'm thinking I should also use black for a more consistent top coat.

I would sure think about paint material I like the old Centari S/S and have used many gal. of it but in today time there are much better ways to go one being s/s urethane or base clear. the urethane is just like Centari but better sprays better and buffs better. then base clear easy to use and better reparability. for black I've used all three the urethane or B/C, I've always liked urethane for black but B/C is good to. kinda depends on the clear. really the Centari should go over any quality primer. have you priced any URO primer lately you might want a chair handy you may want to set down. I use to use it all the time years ago but it got scary expensive back then. I think we were paying around 200.00 or more a gal. in the 80s
Jay D.