I have a question for you paint guys. My Maverick has a pretty good body, but there is some slight rust on the rear quarters and it is wanting to start of the bottom of the doors. I would like to start reapairing the damage and I am wondering if I can drive with exposed primer or not. I drive my Maverick daily and have to park it outside, so would the rain and moisture not be good for primer?
ordinary primer is not meant to be an outside covering. I have seen epoxy primer hold up for an extended time. First of all you need to kill the rust or cut out the bad places and replace with good metal.
That's what I was planning on doing, but I wasn't sure what to cover it with. Does this epoxy primer come in spray cans, or do you need to spray it with a gun?
i wouldnt put it in primer unless you plan on taking it in for paint very soon. if you want to just patch a few spots now i would just spray some paint ovr the exposd steel when your done and then sand it all down when your ready for primer/paint. i wouldnt expose the primer to the elements if I wantd a professional paint jop sprayed on it my car's in primer now but i just sprayed it over the original paint to keep some protection for th stel underneath. i'd never have a final paint coat put on over that though. it does tend to fade prtty quickly if i get cought in the rain but i was just trying to get the "flat" look rather then the puke yellow that was on it
the other option is to do the metal wash. I think eastwood has it too. You mix with with some parts water and it protects the metal for a while. You just wash the metal with it and let it air dry. That way you don't waste the primer and don't have to take it off later or even worse, top coat it to find out some water crept under it.
Clean up the steel where you need to repair it(grind off paint and rust scale)If the steel is clean after grinding(no rust/discoloration/or pits/holes in the steel)You dont need to replace it.If it has any of the above after a thorough grinding,cut it out.You can use eastwoods rust neutralizer(wash) then top coat it with a good epoxy primer.It will hold up for a good while but,its soft any nicks,chips etc... will allow rust to form again if it cuts the surface of the rust neutralizer as well.Best bet,Do this. then plan a weekend to prep and paint.Looks like you only need to do the white right??Its a solid color,you could do a spot repair and touch up the areas with lacquer paint then just color sand and rub it out.I know it aint as easey as it sounds(especially if you have never done it before)But spot panel repair on a simple color done down low on the car can be made to look pretty good even if your not too experienced with the whole paint thing.You will need a spray gun or small touch up gun a compressor/regulator and some time where you can work undisturbed.For a short on experience person with the time to devote to it and the tools.You could probably do it in 2 weekends provided you dont have to cut out any steel and make patches to weld in.If you do have too, well I would save it untill you can lay it up for a while or do one patch at a time and do the whole process on each one individually.Been there done that with a daily driver.Its hard to do when you rely on the thing for daily transportation.Plan it out well,time materials etc...Good luck man,hope it works out for you.
im pretty sure theres nothing wrong with primer as your only line of defense against the weather...im no expert on paint or anything so im not the most of crdible sources...im just speaking that my whole car is primered right now and has been since for about a year give or take a month and the primer has held up just fine for me so far...i can wash the dirt off with soap and water and nothing to fear...so as far as primer in small spots im sure its ok...just saying again speaking on personal expierence everyones expierence is different.
The new epoxy primers will stand up to about anything. I would not be affraid to run it on a daily for years. Get the good stuff and yes you do need to spray it through a gun. As stated it is a little softer than paint but as far as the elements it will protect the metal. Old laquer primers were porous and let moister in but with the new primers they are a sealer also. I have seen guys tint their primers and run them for years as a suade finish.
