Things You'll Need for Prepping and Painting Your Car
• Air compressor
• Paint sprayer (HVLP, LVLP, or airless)
• Orbital sander with multiple-grade sanding pads
• Hand sandpaper in grits from 120-800 for prep to finished sanding
• Solvents (acetone/Eastwood Pre) for cleaning surfaces
• Masking tape and paper
• Body filler for repairs
• Primer
• Basecoat paint
• Clearcoat
• Paint thinner and catalyst or hardener
• Respirator, eye protection
• Clean Car first with SOAP and water. Then use Tamco HR-397 Wax and Grease remover. Our high strength HR397 solvent is an excellent choice for the initial cleaning of cured paint surfaces before sanding and for cleaning bare metal. We also have a waterborne version in the HR397 water which is great for cleaning plastics.
• Sand the paint either to the bare metal, the original primer, or at least sufficiently for the new paint to adhere. Dry sand using 180-grit sandpaper to remove rust or surface damage before moving on to a 320-grit paper to remove your previous 180-grit scratches. Whichever method that you decide, follow it up using 400- to 600-grit sandpaper to sand the paint to prep the existing paint surface for the new coatings to be applied.
• How much you choose to sand is up to you, but the best results will require removing the paint down to bare metal, re-priming the surface with our HC-5310 series automotive primer, OR seal using our DTA series primer sealers (MUST READ TDS on DTA first!)
• Use Our HR-398 for final wiping duties Before painting, which will remove oil and sweat or other contaminants before applying Tamco finishes. HR-398 also helps to de-static the vehicle so you will have less dust in your paintjob!
• Then apply your finish paint. See various Tamco TDS sheets on each type of paint
• When you paint a car or parts, be sure to always sand the edges extremely well. If paint is going to lose adhesion and start peeling, it will probably start from an edge of a panel that was not sanded properly. One can also use our TOPDAWG Adhesion promotor to get to areas where you cannot sand.
Written by: Bob Barney
Tech Dep (800) 678- 1533