Mark asked for any painters to chime in so here goes. I have been painting
planes and cars for many years now and have a little experience. Most
automotive paint systems are now acrylic urethane, urethane or a polyurethane
that are very good UV protectant paints. I recommend to stay away from your
lacquers and synthetics. Yes many lacquer primers are cheap but do not do
anywhere near the job of a good 2K (means 2 part) primer. Most of these 2K
primers are heavy build (good for final sanding before sealer) and hold very
well. They are also UV protective. Price for a gallon kit (one gallon primer
- one quart activator) is normally about 65.00. One gallon should do most of
the KR if your bodywork is smooth. I use a filler called Basecoat made by USC
for my "bondo" heavy filler and then finish with a filler called "Icing" also
by USC. These sand very easily and hold up well. On large surfaces you can
use a polyester spray ( take a gun with a 2.0 tip or larger) and sand down. A
polyester spray is also know as "sprayable bondo". It costs about 35.00 for a
quart. I normally use this on large flat surfaces that have to be very smooth.
It sand easily (using 18" block) After this stage you can go directly to a
2K primer, sand and then I usually mix 1/2 2Kprimer and 1/2 paint color to make
a tinted sealer that is wet sandable before shooting topcoat. As far as top
coats, any good acrylic Urethane should hold up well, or an acrylic enamel with
a couple coats of urethane clear on top. Urethane clears are great - 75.00 a
gallon or so - easy to color sand and buff. I use Nason/Transstar/Dupont/Imron
and all seem to do well. The biggest problem I have had is with Imron's
Urethane paints.... They are expensive and near impossible to make any repairs
to without reshooting and entire section. They dont color sand and buff well
at all. For ease of maintenance use Nason, Transstar, and others that are
acrylic urethane.
Now, I do have a 18 X 25 downdraft paint booth with 10 foot ceilings that I
use for my car restorations. I told Art Bruce that since he is a local guy
once he gets to the finishing stage I can make my shop available for him - or
others if interested - to come finish wings / fuse and paint them here. I can
also make my services available if you want me to do it as part of my business.
Just a suggestion. I know it is hard to find a paint booth to do this work at
sometimes - most shops arent interested in helping broke KR builders paint.
I hope this helps - any more questions - just ask. I dont claim to know it
all. The paint business is like computers - it changes very quickly and is
hard to keep up at times. That is why I enjoy antiques I guess.
Happy Building - Bill
