[HwyStarJoe]

Hi all,

I know that prepping stripped, bare metal for primer/filling has been covered a million times here and I've read and printed out every thread for future reference. I'm almost done taking my entire car down to metal so that I can see what I'm up against as far as panel repair, and how many 55 gallon drums of Bondo I'm gonna need.

I think I've got the message when it comes to what process to follow for bare metal, what manufacturer is good, which products to use and in which order.

Here's my question:
Can I just leave certain areas alone and just worry about taking the outside of the panels down to metal, or should I strip EVERYTHING?

Here's some history to help answer that question....
My entire body and panels were previously stripped to metal and primered. Never painted. I'm taking all that primer off and some of the bondo-like fillers to see what's under them. I have no idea whether the black 'coating' on the entire car is etching primer or just plain old primer. I can probably ask the guy I got the car from. The firewall and all around the cowl, as well as the door jams have all been shot with this primer. They look great and aren't chipping or anything bad. This stuff looks like it was applied very well, and what's under it is clean.
Can I just scuff these areas and save myself some time and a LOT of pain instead of stripping them down to metal also? Like I said, I'll have to find out what this black stuff is, which should help me decide.

Sorry for the long post for such an easy question.... that's what happens when you 'cold turkey' from smoking and it's going on day 3!

Thanks in advance for any advice.



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Joe
WCA Member
1969 Wallet Crusher
- HwyStar@Rochester.rr.com
- HwyStar@CarJunky.com
My neverending project!

[MARTINSR]

Joe, first off, congrats on quiting that nasty habit! In the big picture, your car ain't dittily squat, that quiting smoking, THAT is the important stuff.

I don't belive every car needs every speck of piant and primer taken off. In your case, I am thinking two things. One is the fact that the car has already been striped. Knowing that I think I have to go with strip it all the way because you don't know that the previous guy did and how good he did it! Ignoring that, if it is epoxy primer (sounds like it) and was applyed properly, you could leave it.

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Fan of anything that is interesting and moves human beings.
1965 Buick Gran Sport Convertible
1965 Buick Skylark H/T
1948 Chevy PU with 401 Buick

[HwyStarJoe]

Hi Martinsr,
Well, the Camaro is 50% of the reason I'm quitting. My 3 year old son is the other. I'll save $150 a month by quitting. $75 of which goes STRAIGHT to the Camaro, the other half to bills. And I'll be able to chase my kid around the yard without falling on my face drooling.

I just called the guy I bought the car from to ask him what the stuff is that he applied to the metal. I'm going to have to wait until January 2003 for him to return my call because he's been deployed to The Big Sandbox till then.

Is there a way to tell what it is? What charactoristics of etching primer as opposed to surfacer are there that might tell me what type of coating it is? It's on with a nice thick coat, I know that for sure, and there are no spots or areas which have rusted through this coating. It sat outside in the weather for a long time and the only areas of the body that have surface rust are the bare areas. This stuff held up nice, whatever it is.

[ochrisl]

Correct me if i'm wrong but if you sand epoxy it should be a little gummy and clog the paper easy.I would rub some laquer thinner on it to rule out laquer prime.I would ask the guy,thats probably the easiest.

[HwyStarJoe]

Ochrisl
It doesn't gum up the sand paper. It turns to dust. So that rules out epoxy. Must just be regular old primer then.