I just got back from a two-day paint training session that I helped organize. The class was held at PPG's South Windsor, Connecticut training facility and was attended by 8 car nuts, including three GT40 builders and the owner of an ERA GT. It was two full days which included a fair amount of hands-on spray application time with a number of different products. The $100/day course fee even included donuts and coffee in the morning, a nice lunch, and sodas/drinks. It was, by far, the best $200 I've spent on my GT40 to date.
Our instructor, Jeff Sommers, was very knowledgeable and, of course, he was a car nut himself. This course was customized to our needs, many questions were asked and answered, many stories were told, many discussions went off on tangents, but we all enjoyed it immensely. The course was a variant of PPG's Certification 21 training, with lots of emphasis on both fiberglass prep and paint as well as steel-bodied muscle-car restoration and finishing, while auto-body-technician stuff like blending and paint matching was de-emphasized. We were provided with the opportunity to use PPG metal prep products, self-etching primers, surfacers, sealers, single-stage acrylic urethane, basecoat, and clearcoat. Jeff also demonstrated a wide array of other products, from nifty sanding blocks to UV-activated primer that dries in two minutes. I brought in two nostril panels from my GT40 that I thought were ready for priming and Jeff laid a sanding block to them and showed me how wrong I was - we got a lesson in figerglass prep right then and there.
There was also good car-guy stuff – we went and raced go-karts after yesterday’s session then drank beer and ate chicken wings and burgers and engaged in some serious banch racing. A great group of guys!
I would highly recommend that you seek out similar training if you want to paint your own GT40. I'm not an artisan and it’s been 25 years since I’ve sprayed a car, but I am now confident that I can paint my car and achieve very good results.
Anyway, in keeping with the title of this thread, I thought it would be a good idea to put some of the stuff we learned down in writing while it’s still fresh in my mind. One thing I found to be helpful was Jeff’s willingness to tell us specific product types to use. All the paint products we used were from PPG’s Deltron line, and Jeff’s recommendations were geared toward amateurs with an eye toward ease of use and forgiveness of the various products.
Let me start by laying out, in order of application, the Deltron products that Jeff recommended. Then I’ll just throw out some random thoughts that we picked up. OK, here we go…
PREP
PRIMER (primer refers to coating of bare metal)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The above applies to metal prep and priming, below applies to both metal and fiberglass filling and finishing
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BODY FILLER
PRIMER/FILLER
SURFACER / SEALER
BASECOAT
CLEARCOAT
Some random notes and observations:
That's all for now. Thanks for reading.
Our instructor, Jeff Sommers, was very knowledgeable and, of course, he was a car nut himself. This course was customized to our needs, many questions were asked and answered, many stories were told, many discussions went off on tangents, but we all enjoyed it immensely. The course was a variant of PPG's Certification 21 training, with lots of emphasis on both fiberglass prep and paint as well as steel-bodied muscle-car restoration and finishing, while auto-body-technician stuff like blending and paint matching was de-emphasized. We were provided with the opportunity to use PPG metal prep products, self-etching primers, surfacers, sealers, single-stage acrylic urethane, basecoat, and clearcoat. Jeff also demonstrated a wide array of other products, from nifty sanding blocks to UV-activated primer that dries in two minutes. I brought in two nostril panels from my GT40 that I thought were ready for priming and Jeff laid a sanding block to them and showed me how wrong I was - we got a lesson in figerglass prep right then and there.
There was also good car-guy stuff – we went and raced go-karts after yesterday’s session then drank beer and ate chicken wings and burgers and engaged in some serious banch racing. A great group of guys!
I would highly recommend that you seek out similar training if you want to paint your own GT40. I'm not an artisan and it’s been 25 years since I’ve sprayed a car, but I am now confident that I can paint my car and achieve very good results.
Anyway, in keeping with the title of this thread, I thought it would be a good idea to put some of the stuff we learned down in writing while it’s still fresh in my mind. One thing I found to be helpful was Jeff’s willingness to tell us specific product types to use. All the paint products we used were from PPG’s Deltron line, and Jeff’s recommendations were geared toward amateurs with an eye toward ease of use and forgiveness of the various products.
Let me start by laying out, in order of application, the Deltron products that Jeff recommended. Then I’ll just throw out some random thoughts that we picked up. OK, here we go…
PREP
- DX Cleaners
- DX330 solvent based (OK on metal and gelcoat, but DON'T use on raw fiberglass)
- DX 394 water based (OK on metal and gelcoat, but DON'T use on raw fiberglass)
- DX103 alcohol-based (this is the stuff to use if you've sanded through gelcoat anywhere)
- DX metal treatments
- DX 579 metal prep (cut w/ water for aluminum)
- DX520 metal conditioner (use after DX579)
- DX533 aluminum conditioner
- DX503 aluminum conditioner (alodine)
- DX501 (clear version of DX503)
PRIMER (primer refers to coating of bare metal)
- DPX171 self-etching primer - best for sheet metal
- DPLF epoxy primer - 6 colors, best for castings, forgings (don't apply over DPX171)
- NCP270 (red) or NCP271 (gray) corrosion-resistant primer - apply over sanded original finishes or over primed or properly treated bare metal
- Block to 100 grit
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The above applies to metal prep and priming, below applies to both metal and fiberglass filling and finishing
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BODY FILLER
- 3M Rage lightweight body filler
- Marson Platinum body filler (smoother texture, flows easily for finish filling)
- Finish to 100 grit
PRIMER/FILLER
- MX241 - ideal for fiberglass bodies; "liquid bondo". Being replaced by MP243.
- Finish to 220 grit
SURFACER / SEALER
- DPS3051 V-Prime acrylic urethane surfacer (DPS3051=white, 3055=gray, 3057=dk gray; do not use body filler over this)
- DAS2021 acrylic urethane sealer (DAS 3021=white, 3025=gray, 3027=dk gray)
- Finish to 400-600 grit
or
- K93 tintable primer surfacer/sealer (use DMC base, not DMD)
- Finish to 400-600 grit
or
- NCP271 (OK to use body filler over NCP271)
- Finish to 400-600 grit
BASECOAT
- Deltron 2000 DBC basecoat
- DT885 is the normal recommended reducer
- add 1.5 oz DX57 activator per qt
- apply 2-3 coats until hiding is achieved, 10 minutes between coats
CLEARCOAT
- DCU2002 Concept high-solids polyurethane clear
- Mix 4 DCU2002 to 1 DT reducer to 1 DCX61 hardener
- apply 2+ wet coats, allow 15 minutes between coats
Some random notes and observations:
- These urethan paints are MUCH better quality and longer-lasting than OEM paint.
- I'm going to prep the inside (bottom) of my front and rear clip with DX103 and paint with black DPLF epoxy primer.
- I'm going to put together a group purchase for AFS sanding blocks. Really nifty. PM me if interested.
- Spray isocyanate paints with supplied air or with respirator ONLY IF properly fit and fit tested.
- Get a good spray gun.
- Spray 6"-8" from surface keeping gun perpendicular to work and using 50% overlap between passes.
- Learn how to test your gun and evaluate the spray pattern and adjust as necessary.
- Understand the proper gun setup parameters for each product you spray. Fluid tips from 1.3 to 1.8 mm for products listed above. PPG provides technical data for a variety of guns.
- Use 5/16" fitting at gun; 3/8" air line for HVLP.
- NEVER USE WAX & GREASE REMOVER ON RAW FIBERGLASS!!!
- Polished aluminum panels can be clear coated by using a product called Matthews Spray Bond with equal parts DT reducer, stirring, applying one wet coat, letting solvents flash off for 15 minutes, and applying clear coat.
- The term "primer" technically applies to coating over bare metal.
- 3M makes a nice system that allows upside-down spraying out of an HVLP gun called PPS.
- Pearl coats require "walking the side," as individually-pearled panels will look different from one another.
- PPG makes a product called Aquapel that is 10X better than Rain-X.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading.
