Hey guys I'm prepping the bottom side of my trunk and there's a thin strip of seam sealer that goes around the outer lip. I'm guessing it's covering where the outer trunk skin overlaps the metal on the bottom side of the trunk.

I'm planning on stripping everything off and laying down a couple coats of Tamco epoxy primer. My question involves the next steps. I'm wanting to then redo the thin strip of 2 part seam sealer (3m or SEM) around the inner lip but my question is do I need to scuff the epoxy primer first before I lay down the seam sealer?

But my real confusion is once I get the seam sealer laid down, what are my next steps? Do I just tape off a quarter inch or so outside the seal sealer and just lay another couple coats of epoxy primer down around the lip or would you guys scuff the entire bottom side of the trunk and do the whole thing again? Also does the seam sealer itself need to be scuffed once it's cured? Thanks.

I usually like to put the seam sealer on OVER the epoxy. but it just depends on the particular job and time period. if the epoxy has gone past the recoat time I will scuff or sand the epoxy before the seam sealer. not necessarily for the seam sealer but because im going to be spraying another coat of something over it, so I want the epoxy sanded for adhesion along the seam sealer. if the seam sealer has been on for some time it sure doesn't hurt to go over it lightly with a scratch pad. you most likely need to scuff the area there anyway. is this epoxy going to be the final coat in the trunk or are you going to put color or something on?
Jay D.

badsix wrote:I usually like to put the seam sealer on OVER the epoxy. but it just depends on the particular job and time period. if the epoxy has gone past the recoat time I will scuff or sand the epoxy before the seam sealer. not necessarily for the seam sealer but because im going to be spraying another coat of something over it, so I want the epoxy sanded for adhesion along the seam sealer. if the seam sealer has been on for some time it sure doesn't hurt to go over it lightly with a scratch pad. you most likely need to scuff the area there anyway. is this epoxy going to be the final coat in the trunk or are you going to put color or something on?
Jay D.

My plan is to epoxy, seam seal, then epoxy again and leave it as is until I have the rest of the panels prepped and am ready for basecoat. I don't plan on doing any prep or high build primer on the bottom side of the trunk lid. Basically I just want to seal the seam sealer in but I don't want to screw up the prep and have it bite me later once I paint it.