Like everything else, getting my car ready for paint took 1000 time longer than I thought…go figure. Well it’s finally ready to go. My concern now is that the high temperature is mid to upper 70’s and dropping down to the 50s at night.
Using PPG epoxy primer with DuPont Nason color and clear.
Is there something extra I should do or be aware of?
Just curious and looking for some good advice from those that know. After months and months of sanding/body work/mods/more sanding, I don’t want to waste the paint or clear by screwing it up and end up having to sand it all down to original primer/top coat….again.
Thanks!

The primer will dryin the same time (it is chemically activated), the base , using medium reducer, will be dry in about 15 minutes. The Clear WILL take a little longer than if it was 90 degrees out, dry to the touch in a few hours,& sandable overnight. (I'm speaking from experience with nason in FLORIDA).

quote Originally posted by DLCLK87GT: Like everything else, getting my car ready for paint took 1000 time longer than I thought…go figure.

It ain't easy, is it?
Just use reducer (base coat)/catalyst (clear) for cooler temperatures. Should say on the can or if you didn't get one go back & get a tech sheet for the primer & paint. The epoxy primer will be fine, just give it a little longer to dry.
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

Custom Fiberglass Parts

quote Originally posted by Tha Driver: It ain't easy, is it? Custom Fiberglass Parts

Far from it!
I took off most of last week while it was in the 80’s to paint the roof and rear clip, only parts left on the car. NOT! Found some old body work that I couldn’t just leave as was…had to mess with it to make sure it was just right. Plus the typical peeling SMC around the sunroof took way longer to fix to my liking.

Anyway the MSDS I got all refer to painting with the temp @ mid 70 which is ok as long as it warms up to that again. looks like at best mid 60’s for the foreseeable future.
I don't think there was anything about cooler than that. will dbl check.

My biggest concern is that I shoot the PPG, wait a couple days for it to dry. Then wet sand it and then not have it warm up again so I can shoot the color/clear. I don’t want it sitting around in just primer for too long. MSDS says no longer than a week. My luck I shoot the primer and it starts to snow.

[This message has been edited by DLCLK87GT (edited 10-13-2011).]

The week for the PPG epoxy is to paint without sanding (I don't like to wait more than a couple days). If you have the car slick with nothing rougher than 180 dry, you can do that. If you're going to wet sand it with 400 (like I do on most cars), it make take more than a couple days to dry in cooler temps so that you can do that. It's sticky shtuff...
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

Custom Fiberglass Parts

well it seems that i have plenty of time as the weather and temp are against me. Figure i spray the PPG this weekend, it'll probably be the following weekend before i can fully wet sand it. My concern is AFTER that. How long can it sit in just primer without gettng top coated?

Also, if i spray it with...figure 2 coats of the PPG, how long before i can then top coat that with the DuPont high build primer over the areas i worked?

I don't think there is a time limit after priming with PPG epoxy, if you're going to sand it. However, I've had BAD experiences with cheaper epoxy primer drying so hard after a couple months you COULD NOT SAND IT. As in I had to use 80 grit WET on a DA just to break the surface AT ALL. I do not recall sanding the PPG epoxy primer after drying for a long time so I don't know how hard it will get.
You can shoot the high-build directly over the PPG epoxy within 20 - 30 minutes.
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

Custom Fiberglass Parts

The base color is usually pretty easy. Its the clears that dont like cold. The brands I use of clear will spray and lay on the surface looking sort of dry and orange peely. After a few minutes it levels out and smooths on its own. I dont try to spray it smooth and shiney right out of the gun unless its hot out. Dont spray very heavy when the body feels cold to touch...its easy to run at that point. BODY should be at comfortable room temp. Dont just turn on the heat and when your warm, start spraying. Once its on the car and set for 15 minutes or so, it dont matter how cold it gets. That just affects how soon you can sand and buff it. I have a friend who shuts off his heat at night all winter long...even when in gets down in single digits. He just lets it dry an extra day or two. I turn my own heat down to 50* at nite in winter and sand and buff the next morning.

ok great info, basically give it more time to dry and warm up the body for a good while before shooting....thanks everybody. cant wait to post pictures.