Here's my dilema... My '32 hiboy is getting close to paint time, but funds are tight with my son getting married this summer & I do want to drive the car this year.
My painter says he can do the necessary prep work & put it in primer for (what I think is reasonable $$), but going for final paint/perfection would add quite a bit to the cost. Has anybody gone this route of primer first, assemble the car & drive (work out any bugs) and then later tear it apart for final finish paint? OR, somehow try to find the $$'s, avoid some extra work & go all the way now??

Any experiences of suggestions welcome, Ed

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Hotrods forever...

That's pretty common, I've had my fair share of projects that went with just primer for years until I was ready to paint.
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"Do you consider yourself a disciplined guy? Do you get up every day and `go to work'?" "Well, yeah. I try to get up every day."

Beatnik, i'm kinda leaning toward primer for now. Hey, with the WW's & chrome steelies it may be the better way!
Still have to decide on the tint...
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Hotrods forever...

Go primer this year....1. You'll look cool with the real traditional look 2. If you have alot of bodywork, this'll give it time to do what it's gonna do as far as cracks and such once ya get it out and slide it around the streets a while and it flexes...If you decide to paint and want to keep the flat black look, ditch the shiney paint and flattner deal...aint worth the troubles, and go on down to the nearest John Deere farm tractor dealer, pick up a gallon or so of JD "Blitz Black" $25 a gallon...GREAT product. If you do get a boo boo down the road you can give it the rattle can treatment and it'll blend right in.

Best of luck
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NSRA, DSRA- Lower Susquehanna Chapter, Wannabe freelance automotive Artist..Delivery35's illegitimate Son..I think, EdCroozers blood Nephew..somehow or another, JW's Great Great Grandson, and MrWillys younger brother from another mother.

Grant is right about the John Deere Blitz Black BUT!!!!!!
When it comes time to paint the car you'll be stripping it off. It doesn't hold paint worth a darn. I know first hand.
Heck I knew it the first time I used it. Chance I was willing to take but think about it before you jump on the band wagaon.
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KY State Dir. For Kustoms Of America

Still worth it.....better than having water seep through your average primers of today.

I know I'd use it again and again (and plan on it)...IF I felt a color change was in order I'd take the extra step.
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NSRA, DSRA- Lower Susquehanna Chapter, Wannabe freelance automotive Artist..Delivery35's illegitimate Son..I think, EdCroozers blood Nephew..somehow or another, JW's Great Great Grandson, and MrWillys younger brother from another mother.

What is this "Blitz Black" John Deer stuff? A primer or a paint? Is it flat or a satin look? You've peeked my interest, not that I'll need it anytime soon.
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Please, keep restoring those cars to stock... So that someday my grandkids will still know what it feels like to cut one up and build a hot rod!

PRIME SUSPECT !
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"Big Al" Liebmann

Chief Legal Council & Charter Member: Dipstick Street Rod Association
Technical Advisor - Barris/Kind Chrysler City Coup'e Kustom

Illegitimate Son of Ed Croozer & Mr. Willys ....

JD "Blitz Black" is a flat paint JD uses to paint parts and pieces of their farm implaments (flat black fenders, chassis, engines ect..)

I had my previous ride ('48 F-1 panel) painted this flat black with traditional yellow to orange to red laquer flames to keep the nostalgia retro-rod traditional look. Knew primer just wasn't gonna cut it (draws moisture and I'd be doing bodywork weekly) and didn't wanna give it the Krylon rattle bath, so one day during the construction I stopped over my buddys shop that does all my paint work and he turned me on to the stuff. $25 a gallon....You can pick it up at the local JD dealer. And while your at it they sell it in spray cans if you ever need it for a minor fix and dont want to rip out the spray guns. Water beads right off and ironically, the more ya rub on it (drying it after a bath) it gets a slight shine to it. If ya wanna keep it as dull as possible hit it with light steel wool.

Make sure ya thin it out a little in the gun....thick stuff!
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NSRA, DSRA- Lower Susquehanna Chapter, Wannabe freelance automotive Artist..Delivery35's illegitimate Son..I think, EdCroozers blood Nephew..somehow or another, JW's Great Great Grandson, and MrWillys younger brother from another mother.

Get a gun and do it yourself. If you fail the first four times it's still cheaper than paying someone else.
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Skip http://photo.starblvd.net/skipper

My '48 was grey primer for 3 years. Last year I decided it needed upgrading. Now it is a different shade of grey primer. It will probably stay that way for the rest of it's life.
I say go for it.
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Boyd who?
1948 Chevy 1/2 ton (driver)
Some people march to a different drummer. I like to polka.

Go with the flat look, you will not cry or freak when you get a ding, chip or hit a dog, like I did last year, I wish mine still had the flat look. Cost a lot to repaint, cost a lot to touch up etc. I had planned to take my 32 driver down next winter and repaint, now I plan on flat, to heck with taking it apart again. Nice paint jobs are for show cars and cars driven every blue moon, not road hogs. Just my $.02
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Say what you mean and mean what you say. Be careful what you ask for, you may get it!

32hiboy,
If you decide to spray just primer put a couple coats of clear with flatning agent over the primer, As primer is pourus & will let moistuer penetrate to the metal & when you paint over it later , you will in time see small little blisters comming up through the paint caused by rusting!
Primer has no UV protection, & neither does the DP or DPLF Epoxy primers that everyone uses!
I know guys have done this for years but I have been an Automotive Paint Tech for 27 years, and have seen the problems this causes, without some type of top coat!

SprayTech

Thanks spraytech, I thought you needed to use some type of a sealer/topcoat when leaving a car in primer, because primer does absorb moisture, but not being as expereinced, I wasn't sure what product/options where available. I've expereience the blisteres, this may even be a bigger issue on a glass car.

Another good point is the road grime/oils are an issue as they will also be absorbed by the primer, and it does double up the work.
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I am interested in anything about revolt, disorder, chaos, especially activity that seems to have no meaning.

If you don't have the bugs worked out of it yet, I would paint it later.
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Mike J
Unchartered DSRA Member
If it ain't broke, fix it anyway...

Well, if you're looking at putting shiney paint on it soon down the road, maybe do the chassis all the way in whatever color you're going to do it eventually and primer the body! Then drive the wheels off it for the summer! Nobody's going to chuck shit at you for doing it that way, at least nobody that counts! Hot rods are to drive, and hot rodders will understand and probaly give you a "Goodonyuh!" for getting it on the road!

Primer is definitly a cool look, But the primer will be useless as a base when road oils and grime work their way into the primer. When you are ready for paint, you will have to strip it down and prime again so the new paint will adhere to the fresh primer. So if you don`t mind doing it twice, Enjoy it now and work a little harder later.
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The "New" and Unimproved edcroozer... Charter D.S.R.A. member, WPoC member, Gimmeheadtilimdead member, and general pain in the neck to the needy. Possible daddy of Mr.Willys, Grandson of J.W. and Al Leibmann`s NY connection.

I agree with chopped's comments to do it yourself. I know it sounds intimidating, but with today's two-stage paint systems (color & clear) you can fix nearly every problem with color sanding. The color coat goes on nearly dry, with hardly even a chance of any runs or sags. And if you put 4-5 coats of clear over it, there's plenty of clear material to wet-sand out runs, pin holes, dust, or sags. Sure it takes time -- that's why your painter is getting the big bucks -- but there's nothing quite so satisfying.

I know because I did this myself. I started just by painting the bottom of the body, figuring that then the painter wouldn't have to rotate the body to paint the underside. But that was so fun I did the rest of the car myself too. I just used a $50 Harbor Freight HVLP gravity-fed gun and lots of time for prep work and post sanding/polishing. The painting part goes fast and it's an amazing experience.

I'm not here to tell you that it ended up looking like a $5000 paint job, but it looks better than good and at the shows when I tell folks I painted it myself in my garage, they are amazed. I am too.
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This space intentionally left blank.

Well-Here's another 2 cents worth, All you have to do is prime it with a good grade of epoxy primer (PPG DP series is one) you don't have to worry about water, road crap or anything else soaking into it. When you are ready to top coat it, all you have to do is sand it.
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Digger
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DSRA Member, GoodGuys, NHRA, Metalshapers assc.

I threw it away yesterday, now I have to go buy one
Just when you think you have won the Rat Race along come faster rats

Paint won't make it any faster!
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Check 'em fluids with your Dipstick

Product of experiment gone wrong in Ed's garage, adopted by Al, heir to Grant's fortunes, idolize Bruce

Preach on brother'n!! Thats my boy!! lol Now I gotta scrape my ride and give it the JD Flat Black treatment.
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NSRA, DSRA- Lower Susquehanna Chapter, Wannabe freelance automotive Artist..Delivery35's illegitimate Son..I think, EdCroozers blood Nephew..somehow or another, JW's Great Great Grandson, and MrWillys younger brother from another mother.

dumb question...do you use primer under the jd blitz black? Def. sounds like soemthing Im gonna do for a while bc i change body mod ideas daily
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Resident Youngin'

Yep...I used the yellow colored primer (cant think of the name of it right now to save my life. Or you could use a gray or plain black, depending on what shade you want the black (jet black or on the light side.)
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NSRA, DSRA- Lower Susquehanna Chapter, Wannabe freelance automotive Artist..Delivery35's illegitimate Son..I think, EdCroozers blood Nephew..somehow or another, JW's Great Great Grandson, and MrWillys younger brother from another mother.

WOW! Overwhelmed by the responses, but I guess I should be used to it, afterall this is SRS....what a site!
This settles it, primer for awhile at least is what I'll do & thanks for the tech tips on how to do it right i.e. the clear over the primer for UV protection. My paint guy uses Sikkens & he showed me color charts for pre-tinted primers( i'm leaning toward a nice med/dark blue.

Thanks again, Ed



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Hotrods forever...

good choice!

matt black is all the rage here too! I have a mate with a 1928 roadster, and even tho the back section was fibreglass, he put some red oxide 'rust repair' patches on it!!
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thunderbirds are go

Primered rods/customs look ace, but it depends on what you want from your car. Is it gonna be driven a lot, or just a weekend typa car? Will you be selling it after a short period of Time? You dont have to spend big to get a nice glossy finish, just dont get too fancy. I would recomend having a go yourself and if it doesnt work out, rub her back and try again!
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Sean hammond,
'32 Ford Nut

"Attitude" ain't shiny!

Some of us think outside the box. Attitude AND shine. Those who can paint....Do, Those who can`t...Prime.
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WPoC

Dont ya mean attitude, eye blinding colors AND shine, Ed? LOL
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NSRA, DSRA- Lower Susquehanna Chapter, Wannabe freelance hot rod/custom car Artist..Delivery35's illegitimate Son..I think, EdCroozers blood Nephew..somehow or another, JW's Great Great Grandson, and MrWillys younger brother from another mother.

Ed,

I am building a 32 higboy myself. This morning we sprayed the frame, gas tank, and grille shell with blitz black over epoxy primer. Took some oictures but there was a lot of haze in the air and they did not turn out too good. I will take more in the morning. Took about two quarts. Think the body will take another three or four. Blitz Black looks good. Like any paint, the better job you do prepping the better the finish. My motor, transmission, suspension and wheels are Chevy orange. It is going to look like a real hot rod!

E-mail me if you want pictures.

Steve
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An Old California Rodder
Hiding Out in the Ozarks