550 Build for the girlfriend - Need help w/ paint!!

[madscientist]

try 220 or 360 for the epoxy primer.

 

[grezzmky]

Man,that is a sweet a$$ paint job from your pics! Be hard to take that one out and abuse.Tell me what l'm doing wrong, since you wrote this above? Not smart a$$in ya either...

There is a lot more to it then just the grit you are sanding with. You need to paint within a MAX of 24 hours of sanding. This makes sure to pores or still open in the substrate. On nice paint jobs I do NOT use a sealer. It just adds to the texture (orange peel). Every coat of paint adds orange peel no matter how good of a painter you are. Sealer is also very thick, hence why you are able to fill those 180 scratches with it. However after sitting in the sun and getting hot a couple times the epoxy is gonna shrink into those scratches and you will see them again. Sealer is used when proper prep is not done. It has its place, like say you are ready to paint and find a small dent or scratch or something that you have to put some filler in. You could fix it and get away with out re priming by sealing it in the booth. People will say that you use sealer to get a uniform color over a panel. color will cover the primer. If you are worried about using too much expensive paint put a couple coats of white or black or some old paint of a similar color you have. If you have your surface sanded smooth with 400-600 and paint it right away it will stick and have WAY less orange peel.