Spraying primer over paint

[Slammed70]

Well, I FINALLY quit my dead end job that Ive hated since day one.

So now I got the time to work on my truck and make it decent to drive again.

Hopefully tomarrow my roll pan will be in and I can throw it at my truck.

This is my question, my truck is isnt really painted. It got like....one coat of some semi-glossy white primer stuff on it. Im not sure what it is, but Im pretty damned sure its not paint. But when I go to lay down the primer over the new pan and the welds, should I take my handy scuff pad and take the shiny off where Im gonna blend the primer into the paint stuff?

Ive never painted before, so any tips on this would be helpful. I dont plan on painting my truck for another year or so. So naturally this has to last a while, and I would like for it to look fairly decent....and not like Earl Shyys went over it with a rattle can.

Thanks,
Mitch

[BigSky71]

Yes, you definitely need to take all the shine out of the old surface and create enough scratch for the new primer to stick to.

One thing to keep in mind, if you have been waxing this truck and/or spraying armor all type products on the tires, you need to clean all those silicone products off the truck before your start sanding. If you don't you will just grind the waxes and silicones right into the surface and create yourself many problems later. A good wax & grease remover will do it, and I suggest something from the auto paint store, not laquer thinner.

[Slammed70]

Im sure my fathers got some degreaser stuff laying around the garage somewere.

So I should just lay the primer up to where I took off the shiny? Or should I overlap it either way a bit?

[LockDoc]

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I don't think I would use any old degreaser. Make sure it is for automotive painting prep.

Just make sure the new primer doesn't overlap any shiney stuff.

LockDoc

[masterbeavis]

Heh, where to begin... Without knowing what you have down already, I would recommend sanding all that crap off, down to, oh, as far as you can go. New paints sometimes are not really compatible with old paints, in some instances. Your new paint job is only going to be as good as your prep, and the adhesion is only going to be as strong as your weakest layer of paint. Sand that crap off. Do a google search on prepping a car for paint, and read read read. Prep is the key to a good paint job. This is why a good paint job costs thousands of dollars. Earl Scheib "I'll paint any car for $99.95" paintjobs involve minimal masking,and NO sanding whatsoever. Yes they look like crap if the old paint was rough.

stay out of your dads woodworking sandpaper stock pile. (No 50 grit for finish sanding!! LOL) The rougher you go, the harder it is to get them sanding scratches to go away. Find yourself an orbital sander, and some sanding blocks. When you spray your primer on, unless you plan on painting it immediately, I would recommend you use a primer sealer. Normal primer will wick moisture, and will rust. The sealer will buy you more time.

I would go to an automotive paint supply store. If they are cool people, they will give you a brief rundown on what you need to do to get good results. Stuff is expensive there, hold onto your wallet.