when i sand my factory paint, how far would i need to go? i was thinking about sanding the clear coat and the top layer of paint....

 

You don't need to sand off the clearcoat. Sand until there is no gloss and no texture left and the primer will stick fine. Just make sure you get the edges really well.

 

my 2 cents here... ( new guy 2 cents lol ) 400 grit is too fine for primer to stick too well. i would at least use 220 wet and do the whole car with that and a red Scotchbrite pad. masking is key as well. laquer primer in my experience sucks. get a primer that will require a hardener with it. ( PCL Polyprimer is a fav of mine and isnt hard on the wallet... $60 or so a gallon.. not really for flexible parts like bumpers though ) my first gun was also an HVLP Harbor Freight gun and well i still have it and it still works as well. for heavy duty primering i use my Sharpe Cobalt HVLP. it has a 2.3mm tip on it ( auto body guys know... that gun doesnt **** around lol ). it was about $130 on Ebay. the Harbor freight one is about $50. i spray primer at about 30 psi as well. so i agree with that above. well....... thats a start to doing it.... have fun. i love painting

 

2.3 mm Thats a big tip. That's ideal for primer surfacer. Is that what you use it for?

 

yup. in fact that gun really isnt good for anything else lol. but DAMN will it get material on a car and with a tip that big and the pressure down very little overspray. love that gun.

 

I'll look into one of those. Right now I'm using an old old satajet with a 1.3 and it doesn't fill as well. I wonder what would happen if you tried to spray clear with that cobalt? Probably have some crazy bad orange peel.

 

it gives crazy peel with even the primer lol. but well.. ill put it this way.. i put 2 coats of primer on the hood of a 65 Mustang i was going to block out... i used almost an entire quart on that ALONE. puts alot on but gives plenty of meat to block out. i was dry blocking with 100 grit and it still took a while to break through. that gun rocks. try Ebay to get one.. its often cheaper than a jobber. i saved about $50 that way and the gun was brand new. i have a 1.3mm Sata KLC-B that i use for a basecoat gun ( technically its a primer gun but damn it works good ). i have my 1.4mm Harbor Freight gun thats regulated to minimal primer work and nothing else... my 2.3mm bad boy Cobalt and my 1.2mm Sharpe Cobalt that i use for clearcoats. yes a 1.2 and a 2.3 are in my stable... i run both extremes with the tip sizes for full sized guns lol.

 

SUPER LAUBO,
Be carefull though. My friend primed his car himself, then when it came time to bring it to get painted, when he got out of the car, they looked at it, and said "that all has to come off". Just thought id let you know

 

Be real careful!!! Today's clearcoat paints do not like the easy to sand laquer primer. Most shops use an epoxy type of primer that is meant to be topcoated within 24 hours.

 

:werd:

That's what I was trying to tell him but I think he just wants it primered for now. Otherwise the bc/cc would have to be sprayed directly after the primer sealer.

I don't think anyone used laquer primer anymore, do they