Do you have technical data sheet (TDS) for the primer you are using?

By the way, I used to trust local paint shop guy's advice, but then I found out many of them have NEVER painted an automobile! Also, when painting this '55 Chevy truck in Subaru Blue Spruce Pearl, they mixed the paint as a straight base coat and it didn't match properly. Turns out it was a Tri-stage color, so they wasted a few hundred dollars of my money.



I use the forbidden to mention here brand of Epoxy and have for years now after switching from the very expensive PPG DPLF brand.

Yes I got it off the website of the brand. I’ll attach a picture of it below. Says to mix 2:1 for regular primer use and same for sealer just reduced up to 25% which I tried and even a dash more probably up to 40% and still sprayed out like the side of a kitchen appliance all the way up to 45psi. Not real sure what went wrong with it as I’ve never had anything I haven’t been able to give me at least acceptable results. The activator was an off color almost like a dirty vegetable oil hue to it which I wasn’t sure if it was just the type of activator or it had gone bad. It was all sealed up brand new so I figured probably just the type it was for epoxy. I have another unopened quart of activator I got with it but didn’t want to open it up to investigate and have it go bad just to see the same result.

That blue spruce is a nice color. Would have been next to impossible to have that shot as one color of base with the depth the pearl coat gives it. Nicely done.

its not uncommon for the epoxy part B to be a golden color. what bothers me is the mix ratio, most any that i have ever used was a 1-1 mix. i'm not saying you're wrong, its just strange. the SSSSS-PEEEEE-IIIIIII is good stuff!
Jay D.

Well next time I’ll try that brand. Just thought maybe it was something I was doing wrong on my end but I triple checked it all so maybe a call to the company would give me some details about what I could do to improve the next time I spray a batch of their stuff. Probably won’t get me very far but worth a shot I guess. For a gallon of gray and two quarts activator it was $275 and I see I can get the SsPpIi for $299. Not having to fight a rough spray job is worth 25 bucks imo

I've used a lot of Nason's 491-16 epoxy and liked it. its around 270.00 a gal. one thing about the "other epoxy" i noticed was if you put it on a little to wet (heavy) it wants too separate, i've had this happen a few times. i usually would let it flash good and dust a couple light coats on and all was good. a little rough but it gets sanded anyway.
Jay D.

badsix wrote: one thing about the "other epoxy" i noticed was if you put it on a little to wet (heavy) it wants too separate, i've had this happen a few times.
Jay D.

Yes sir, especially when shooting white. I think it's because we desire full coverage on the first coat. This is why I use a 1.4 tip and spray it like it was base coat.

I couldn’t get the epoxy to dry sand either even though the TDS said it was dry sand able I went ahead and wet sanded with 180 to get it down quicker since I was going to respray anyway. It wanted to gum up my paper and it was for sure dry enough so I chalk it up to an inferior product at least for my expectations.

I sprayed a good wet coat today of urethane primer to cover my sanding scratches and make a level surface and it went on much better. Sprayed it 4:1:1 around 35psi and it went on almost like base would. TDS on it doesn’t say it can be top coated without sanding but I’m I’m not really sure why it couldn’t be? It was mixed more as a sealer than anything and I didn’t think most people wet sanded sealers down but maybe they do for metallics or tri stages. This is just solid red so wouldn’t have much effect on it if it wasn’t sanded in my opinion.

I’m worried about adhesion though so I’m going to wet sanded tomorrow with 400 and get it slicked out then hopefully shoot my red if I get enough time. Got my Luma III spray gun and Sun Pro light and I’m pretty excited to try it out. Their spray suits are pretty nice too if anyone is looking for an alternative to what they are using now. I test fitted it yesterday and it fit really well. Has padded knee cushions which is nice since it seems like I’m spraying more on my knees than standing up

I’ll update tomorrow my progress and attach a few pictures if I get the red shot. Thanks for the tips on the epoxy characteristics…if I would have sprayed it with a smaller nozzle and needle I’m not sure it would have even put any paint out at all!

i would have given my wife for a good gun with an equally GOOD light on it. i did a lot of paint work at other places, and sometimes the lighting wasn't that good. i did several big trucks at a local truck repair shop. they had a nice booth, but the lighting was poor. a gun light would have been nice.
I have found the same with some epoxy's. temps have a lot to do with it on how fast they cure up. the unmentionable and the Nason's epoxy's seem to dry sand good like the next day or so? agian temps will vary your outcome. most urathane high builds can be mixed to a sealer also.

Jay D.

Jay, do you have any experience not sanding urethane primers that were laid as sealer coats before base? I assume the sanding is not just to get it flat but to give the base something to bite into as well. I’ve never been told whether a true sealer should be sanded prior to base or not. I just know that most of what I do deserves to be wet sanded down prior to base to allow for the best layout of the base coat but didn’t know if it was technically needed for adhesion purposes or not. I’ve never sprayed a sealer per say that was meant to be used before base so I have no idea if they are sanded before applying color or not

I'll try and explain this. sealers whether they are epoxy urethane or? are basically used the same. a urethane primer used as a sealer or mixed as a sealer should go on smooth and flat and should NOT be sanded. the only time you should sand a sealer is if there is a problem that needs sanding. you can NIB it if you get some dust specks thats ok BUT be careful about doing it to soon ( it will be soft) be warned a sealer doesn't sand well until its past the recoat window its rather soft up until then. one needs to pay attention to the user sheet and note the recoat time after the sealer, they very considerably. one shouldn't try and use sealer as a substitute for a primer. in other words the sealer needs to go over a smooth surface, its not intended to fill anything but say 600 grit and finer.
i don't use a sealer that much, I'll usually start my process with epoxy or urathane high build or a combination of both. epoxy over bare metal then urathane high build on that, sometimes after the epoxy flash time or letting it dry and sand the epoxy first just depends on the job. i usually end up with a high build substrate thats sanded to 800 and shoot my topcoat on that, no sealer. i will use a sealer on items that have different colors. like a complete on a car that had a fender replaced and a couple repairs somewhere. the sealer gets the substrate all one color before the topcoat is applied, helps with color match on sensitive colors. epoxy as a sealer works good for machinery type projects it can be applied to properly prepped item then top coated with a S/S or what ever, this helps with adhesion here. HOPE THIS HELPS SOME...
Jay D..