I intent to apply a sealer before my base coat. My question is should I apply an epoxy sealer or a urethane. I know the epoxy is best if I have any burn throughs in the primer. However with modern technology is it acceptable to use a urethane sealer if it is rated dtm? I’ve seen a lot of arguments against any urethane with a dtm label.

Just curious what you guys and gals all think of what the most important skill is an automotive painting?

A friend of mine on the other side of Finland is doing a nut-and-bolt restoration of an early ‘70s Opel Diplomat. He chose to paint the car with Tikkurila Temadur 90, an industrial 2K polyurethane that’s a single-stage silver metallic. He’s not happy with the result, mainly because of tiger striping. From what I’ve been able to find, he used a generic, inexpensive thinner that appears to have been a fast thinner. He also sprayed the car with a sub-$100 bottom-feed spray gun (probably not ideal! 🤣). He knows I’ve been trying to learn automotive painting and has invited me to respray the car. I plan to use an Iwata WS-400 Series 2.1 Clear gun with either a 1.3 HD or 1.4 HD setup. I’ll spray a number of test panels in my shop before driving over to paint the car. I’ve already picked up some slow thinner for the test panels, as I think it may help reduce tiger striping, especially since it’s a relatively large car. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I’ve only sprayed one complete car before, and that was more than 30 years ago. The doors will be installed, but the hood, trunk lid, and sunroof will be sprayed separately on stands.

While I have been working to learn autobody for several year’s now, this work is something I do at home and take great pleasure in doing. Finding a starting point was not easy to do as the pros in my corner of the world act as if this should be a secret with no newcomers allowed, so in-person conversations don’t happen. I am grateful to find forums and site like this to interact with and learn my mistakes from. This ford truck has been my first commitment to a full frame off restoration. This has been a 2-1/2yr endeavor to this point as all the work has been by my hand. If I could not purchase what I needed I fabricated it. I am very proud of this truck but I do realize that because I was so lacking in knowledge this paint job will eventually fail. After some time practicing the Chevy truck was the first time blending the hood into the fender for a color match. The bed was my first bed-liner spray. Thank you for opportunity to learn and a place to communicate with others learning. I am currently working a obs Chevy. I am taking this one to bare steel replacing the rusted areas or sanding out the rust then covering in epoxy for I start any filler work. I’m driven to step up my game on this one and do it properly.