Hi Guys, I'm been working on my 63 Vespa project.
I originally had it sand blasted and painted and then found out it had the totally incorrect floor and braking system modded into it. This year I changed the floor and added the peg and brake line into the tunnel.
I thought it was going to be a simple job to just feather back the leg shield paint and redo the body work... I think I got in over my head , everytime I found a nick in the paint ( paint job is 7 years old and got a bit banged up moving) and started to sand it , I would find another one and ended up sanding to the point where more and more metal was showing.
Should I keep going with sanding the entire frame to metal and then start with the filler? I'm changing the colour to a sky blue from the cream color. I was using a da sander with 80 grit as well as a small rubber sanding block also with 80 grit.
Thanks for any help.
Lynn

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I would get it all sanded and clean, not necessarily down to metal, and
spray some epoxy primer on it. Then proceed to fill any pits or sand
any bodywork and reprime and sand before paint.

JCCLARK wrote:I would get it all sanded and clean, not necessarily down to metal, and
spray some epoxy primer on it. Then proceed to fill any pits or sand
any bodywork and reprime and sand before paint.

I had already picked up Montana Big Sky PS5012A and activator, I don't think it is Epoxy primer, If I'm bringing the frame down to bare metal or even leaving it the way it is now with some additional feathering and sanding , data sheet says " Featheredge with P180- P320 grit sandpaper. Sand the existing areas with P400 grit sandpaper. Large bare Metal areas should be sprayed with etch primer prior to priming. "
So following the data sheet feather with 180 - 320 and painted surfaces sand with 400. So with this information, wouldn't it make more sense to do my body filler skim coat on all the open metal surfaces and shape to a near finished state and then simply apply the 2k primer thus eliminating the need for any etch primer or epoxy primer? And then block sand and touch up with body filler again where needed?

you could do that ^^. JC mentioned the epoxy that's the BEST MOST RELIABLE way to go you could use epoxy all the way to your top coat. spray 2 coats of epoxy then do your filler work. then 2 more coats of epoxy and sand with 400 I like it wet then mix the epoxy as a sealer and spray one coat let it flash and then apply your color, done. if you use the 2k you should get dtm DIRECT TO METAL 2K PRIMER. epoxy is generally cheaper than the hi build.
Jay D.

badsix wrote:you could do that ^^. JC mentioned the epoxy that's the BEST MOST RELIABLE way to go you could use epoxy all the way to your top coat. spray 2 coats of epoxy then do your filler work. then 2 more coats of epoxy and sand with 400 I like it wet then mix the epoxy as a sealer and spray one coat let it flash and then apply your color, done. if you use the 2k you should get dtm DIRECT TO METAL 2K PRIMER. epoxy is generally cheaper than the hi build.
Jay D.

Is DTM also an epoxy primer?

NO, its more of a urethane.
Jay D.

badsix wrote:NO, its more of a urethane.
Jay D.

Ok I’m a bit confused , should I use epoxy primer or dtm? I know now that both can be applied to metal and sanded painted surface and then body filler applied on top of either.
Would there be an advantage on either for dry time or something?
I have the Montana brand as I had mentioned , but it definitely doesn’t sound like what I should be using.

i'm SORRY, I was thinking the Montana Big Sky was a top coat. so yes you'll be just fine to use it. but it sounds like and you stated it needs an etch primer first. for your small job you might consider a spray can type, SEMS makes a quality etch prime in spray cans.
The DTM DOESN'T require the etch prime NETHER does the EPOXY. the Epoxy is a little quirky in its use, it NEEDS to be warm at least 55 and up and its somewhat slower drying. they, the Montana, DYM, Epoxy, Urethane, all have their ups and downs and all work good you just have to decide.
Jay D.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q ... ooT6ehtLZ6

Thanks for the great info. I think tomorrow I'm going to visit a couple body shops and get a quote to strip the paint off , we don't have much other than sandblasting here so that will have to do. Once its sand blasted I'll get them to do an epoxy prime on the entire frame then I can bring it home and work at my own pace.
Any idea what kind of price I should expect to pay for a job like this?