easier way to do finish bodywork

[RICH MUISE]

I made a discovery this weekend that is going to make my life a lot easier thanks to a friend at a restoration shop. I was getting to the point where I was about to join shopratwoody's "I hate blocking" club because of the epoxy primer I was using as the base coat. My friend told me on his high end jobs he used a $300. a gallon high build direct to metal urethane primer (made by Sherman Williams) that combined the properties of epoxy and high build..and epoxy primer was just too hard to work with. Well, I sure couldn't afford 300. a gallon especially when I figure it will take 2 to 3 gallons to do a car. I found another brand at 129. a gallon and deceided to give it a try. I LOVE IT! It's made by high tech. I had to thin it a little to spray with my 1.8 primer gun, but I like it so much I think I'll invest in a 2.0 gun so I can get a smoother finish. It's like spraying a thin coat of glazing over your entire car. Sands like butter.If any of you guys are planning on some body work, I strongly recommend trying the stuff.and by the way I have discovered over the past few years that the term "straight as an arrow" does not apply to 57 fords. There is no part of this car that was ever designed to be straight..everything is blending curves. I'm going to cut down the 30" durablock I bought to usable sizes.

[Frankenstein57]

Sounds like what I need on my rustbucket 57, Mark

[Ford Blue blood]

I'm going to be a black hatter here.....the easy to sand high build is really good - but - easy to sand , easy to chip.  Put a thin coat of epoxy on the car, let it cure then come back with a build coat of urethane and work from there.  There are no short cuts.....no way to get around sore arms......no way around the long board....if you want it nice you'll pay.

[shopratwoody]

You WILL get to know your longboard no matter what you use
Have fun....it's worth it down the line

[RICH MUISE]

Fordblueblood: You are 100% correct...I misspoke on my first post. My car already has the basecoat of epoxy primer on it waiting for the "final finish work". Not being a bodyman pro, it takes me forever to get it perfect as I can. I can get it real close on the initial fill work, but I need the primer coats to pick out all the high and lows, and it usually takes me 3 or 4 shots to get it right, and I was trying to get most of it with the epoxy primer, thus my frustration.Epoxy primer should always be the first coat as it seals the metal and body filler, and gives enough strength to use glazing where needed to eliminate low spots. Most high build primers cannot be used over bare metal, so I was always going back over the bare spots that showed up after blocking with another coat of epoxy. That's where my problem was coming in. Epoxy primers aren't that thick, and it seems I was always ending up with another bare spot. The urethane primer  was talking about can be used over bare metal, so once I get the initial bodywork done and a good coat of epoxy primer over it and blocked to the point where a high build primer will take care of the rest, I feel comfortable with shooting the panel with the urethane high build not worrying about the minor bare spots it'll be covering.
I'm also not sure about primer hardness necessarily being a factor in chipping. I think it's more about adhesion and sealing...after all, over this goes the sealer, paint and clearcoat so your probably going to end up with a chip anyway. With most materials, I always equate hardness with brittleness and I just don't know if primers fall into that category or not.  Rich(novice who reads and listens alot).