Correct Primer Over Lacquer

[Mike M.]

I am going to paint my '65 Coupe. Some of the paint on the car I believe is original. All of it seems to be acrylic lacquer. I am probably going to paint the car with a base coat/clear coat paint, seeing to it that I try to get the correct appearance as best as possible in areas such as door jambs, hood surround, etc. using a flattening agent.

My question is as regards the proper primer to use over this original paint. I am not going to strip the car. That in mind should a urethane primer cause any problems after being sprayed over this lacquer paint? How about problems with a product such as Slick Sand (a sprayable polyester)? Thanks for any thoughts on this. Color is Goldenrod Yellow. Mike

[Adam S.]

Re: Correct Primer Over Lacquer

Epoxey primer will seal most of it or a good quality sealer will work if paint is stable, if not sure just e-prime it , I did that on a car once & had no problems.......i am sure others will chime in with reck-o's

[Wayne W.]

Re: Correct Primer Over Lacquer

None of the modern primers should be a problem over old lacquer, epoxy or urethane, however, why take the chance on having overshoot problems. This stuff is damn expensive, and there are always unknowns with overshoots.

[Gene M.]

Re: Correct Primer Over Lacquer

not a good idea to put urethane over lacquer. strip it and start clean.

[Michael F.]

Re: Correct Primer Over Lacquer

so you can spray lacquer over basecoat/clear but not bc/cc over lacquer...that is because lacquer vents gases or whatever, is that right??

[Bruce B.]

Re: Correct Primer Over Lacquer

If you want a quality long lasting job, remove the old paint.

All paints and clear loose solvent in the drying / cure process.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Correct Primer Over Lacquer

Color is Goldenrod Yellow. Mike

FYI it's actually Goldwood Yellow.

[Dick W.]

Re: Correct Primer Over Lacquer

No painter or paint manufacturer will stand behind their work/materials when you apply modern materials over archaic materials.

[Dan P.]

Re: Correct Primer Over Lacquer

If your Lacquer is cracked the cracks will show up in the new paint .You can not spot primer Urethene over lacquer.When the sun hits it you will be able to see all the edges of the Lacquer prime.It swells up.You will have to prime the the whole car and make sure you have no break throughs.I was in the Body and paint business when the Urethens came out .This is from experience and several cars that had to be redone.I would strip the car and not consider anything else.

[Mike M.]

Re: Correct Primer Over Lacquer

Ok. I'll strip it. Thanks for the advice. I was just trying to cheap out on the work.
Mike

[Michael D.]

Re: Correct Primer Over Lacquer

...I was just trying to cheap out on the work...

There is no free lunch.

[Terry M.]

Re: Correct Primer Over Lacquer

There is no free lunch.

That quotation has a VERY interesting history:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_ain't_no_such_thing_as_a_free_lunch

Until now I thought of Milton Friedman as the originator. Thank you for helping me learn something today.

[Bruce B.]

Re: Correct Primer Over Lacquer

In reality there is a free lunch, also a free breakfast and dinner.

But lets not go there....

[Norris W.]

Re: Correct Primer Over Lacquer

In reality there is a free lunch, also a free breakfast and dinner.

But lets not go there....

And free cell phones too


But back to the Corvette topic, when I bought my first '63 coupe in about 1974 I was asking the advice from an old Corvette restorer and he made a comment that I've always remembered: "It's too late to do it any way but right".

[Paul J.]

Re: Correct Primer Over Lacquer

Mike, I'm working on a 64 that has 5 paint jobs on it. I believe that all of them except the last one was lacquer. The last one is enamal and was done in 1974. There is definitely lesser adhesion between the primer for the enamal and the last lacquer coats. However, the paint has held up well. This is probably because the finishes then were much more compatable than today. The biggest problem was shrinkage, and cracks and sanding scratches reflecting into the upper coats. There is also obviously loss of definition on style lines.

I have learned a lot since then and I would never do this again. The car was only a driver, but this is not the way to paint a car, especially a Corvette. You should strip the paint off the car, and stay away from "Earl Scheib".

Paul

P.S. We won't get into the fact that the artwork on the hood was clear coated with lacquer, and has held up very well. This was over the enamal. I had someone else do that and he told me you aren't supposed to do that, but don't tell anybody.