Painting the beast

[ocsddep]

My truck has a horrible paint job and most of it is peeling. Previous owner says this is original paint, but I highly doubt it. Today, I had to remove the front vent to install new seals, and decided to paint one of them. See the pics. I followed someone's advice here and used Krylon Almond 7770. I sanded first with 220, then I put 3 coats of primer, sanded with a 400 and painted 2 coats of Almond. For some reason, I am not sure the paint is sticking really well. Is there another step that I am missing? Should I be using a special etcher first? I am not an expert by any means, but I figured if I can make it look 50% better, at least my wife may let me keep it :)
My hope is that I tackle this one panel at a time and by spring, I will have it all done. Has anyone tried this? Any advice is appreciated.69966997

[Partsman]

I'm painting mine too, but I'm using Rustoleum. I etch primed mine before hitting it with the paint. Krylon and Rustoleum, or even regular auto paints wont stick to the birmabright. So it may be worth the extra effort for you to invest in a bit of etch primer.

[ocsddep]

Is there a process to etch prime? My can of primer says on it that it is an etcher/primer. The first primer I used, came right off.

[Skeeball]

Ray:
I am painting my IIa but, since I have all the body panels off I am spraying it using an HVLP Turbine set up.
FIRST and do NOT skip this step you need to clean the surface with a commercial auto body wax remover/cleaner/degreaser. AND DO NOT use mineral spirits or the like to cleajn it!!! you will be sorry later trust me.. wipe it on and with a clean rag rub it off, otherwise all you are doing is moving the dirst/wax etc around
ANY bare aluminum needs to be etch-primed..There are several products for this You can use a POR-15 metal ready which comes in spraybottle quarts and is available at NAPA or direct from POR-15..You could also use SEM alumaprep which is similar and available thru autobody supply shops. If you want you could also use VINEGAR...as with the other stuff above you spray it on let it set WET for about aq half hour wash with water ( NO SOAP just water) let it dry WELL then use your primer over that..
I have not used vinegar but it is pretty close to the same thing from what I am told..The other products dont stink so thats an advantage..
Use 400 grit to go over anything that has paint already on it...2 coats of primer wet sand with 400 clean with water dry well...shoot your color 2 coats minimum..
thats pretty much it in a nutshell...
oh and I would suggest using a nozzle with a fan type spray pattern if you are using rattle cans..If you want to use a genuine land Rover color and still want spray cans most local auto paint supply places can put what you want in spray cans but it will be around $ 20/can
Hope some of that helps
good luck with your project
Steve

[thixon]

You can get etching primer in buzz bomb cans at your local auto body paint shop. As an alternative, I'd recommend using a good epoxy primer instead of an etching primer. Its more expensive, but worth it. Don't forget to wear a respirator.

[ocsddep]

Thanks Steve! Very helpful info. This will make my job a lot easier.

[Partsman]

Yep, they about covered it.

[disco2hse]

For smaller areas, for example if you are touching up spots with etch primer before applying filler primer, I use one of these (http://www.formula.co.nz/products.cfm?mc=29&CategoryID=37) [<--follow the link]. You can have your lacquer colour matched by the 2 litre tin and just decant as much as you need into the spray can. They take about 250ml comfortably and that covers about 5m².

http://www.formula.co.nz/prodImage/CJS120%2Ejpg

Oh yeah, if your paint is not adhering in certain parts, it is because you have impurities on the surface. I always use Wax and Grease Remover (http://www.resene.co.nz/automotive/technical/Wax_&_Grease_Remover_TDS.pdf) [<-- follow the link] before applying any coating. The process is basically, wipe on wipe off. That is, wipe it onto the surface and waxes and greases precipitate out, leaving a white film. This must the wiped off with a clean lint free cloth.

It is pretty smelly stuff and you should wear eye and breathing protection when using it or any other paint or preparation materials, especially if you are using 2 pot paints that produce cyanides.

[Boston]

Steve great info to read as I'm about to go down that road.