Painting Hummer in Saudi Arabia

Hi All, I have been reading a lot on this forum about Painting. I have just purchased a 93 Hummer Civilian Model and plan on shipping it back with me to the U.S. But I need to paint it while I'm here.

All PPG products are available and will be used. Standard BC/CC.

The Hummer is part Fiberglass (Hood), Steel (body) and Aluminum (Doors and Bed). There is some rust on the Steel that needs to be removed and welded. And there are a couple of places that the paint has chipped from the Aluminum. So the exposed aluminum has oxidized.

Professional painter will be repairing and spraying in an real spray booth. But I want to know it's being done right. Here is Saudi, the Arabs are a trading culture, so warrantees are not well recognized. Once you take it, it's yours - even if the paint peels six months later. Temperature in the summer is approx. 115-120 F.

Now for the questions:

1. On the welded repairs, my assumption is... the repair should be etched and bondo/skimmed and primed. Or, should it be primed before bondo?

2. Etching Primers...I assume you must use a different etching primer on the Aluminum and Steel, or do you use a chemical etcher (for the specific metal) and prime with the same primer.

3. Hi-Build Primer... Once the bare spots are primed as above, can one kind of Hi-build primer be used?

4. Color Sand... I plan on color sanding, with rattle can, after the hi-build. Do I need to prime again afterwards, can I used pretty much any kind of rattle can (enamel or Krylon)?

5. Will the heat be a factor?

Lastly and this is as important as the others,
I plan on buying all the products myself, so I know what goes on the vehicle. Know I will be using PPG Deltron BC/CC and the Temp is 115+, what are all the product that I need (with PPG #, if not asking too much)

Etching
Etching Primer
Hi-Build Primer
Regular Primer?
Base
Clear
Reducers
etc.

Thanks immensely for All your Help,

Scott
AKA, The Desert Rat - Team America

1. On the welded repairs, my assumption is... the repair should be etched and bondo/skimmed and primed. Or, should it be primed before bondo?

Answer to ? 1: You can spray PPG's DPLF - Primer sealer over your welded and grinded body repair first , then continue to do your bondo/plastic work over the DPLF.( with a light scuffing of the sealer before applying the bondo.
Making sure you wipe with PPG's DX 330 or DX 440 wax and grease remover for a clean surface , before spray of the DPLF sealer.

2. Etching Primers...I assume you must use a different etching primer on the Aluminum and Steel, or do you use a chemical etcher (for the specific metal) and prime with the same primer.

Answer to ? 2: Using PPG's DPLF Sealer ( comes in several colors of your choice ) is all you will need for a quality Sealer for all substraits.
But you will need to use PPG's DX 503 Aluminum Conditioner on the bare aluminum !


3. Hi-Build Primer... Once the bare spots are primed as above, can one kind of Hi-build primer be used?

Answer to ? 3 : Use PPG's K-36 or NCP 271 corrosion resistant primer for using over all your repairs, these are both High solid/ High build primers. They also sand easy , but will need retarders or slow reducers as they have
a quick pot life. Meaning they will harden in your gun if let sit in high temps.

4. Color Sand... I plan on color sanding, with rattle can, after the hi-build. Do I need to prime again afterwards, can I used pretty much any kind of rattle can (enamel or Krylon)?
Answer to ? 4 : Stick with PPG products as they are designed to be all compatiable with each other, rattle can products will never give you good results! Use the primers I mentioned above !

5. Will the heat be a factor?
Answer to ? 5 : Heat will be a big factor as with each 10 deg. increase above the recommended spray temp looses about 10-15 degrees of how long a product stays useable.

Lastly and this is as important as the others,
I plan on buying all the products myself, so I know what goes on the vehicle. Know I will be using PPG Deltron BC/CC and the Temp is 115+, what are all the product that I need (with PPG #, if not asking too much)

If you use PPG's DBU base , it will dry alot faster even using the slower reducers in hot weather , as the reducer is a reactive reducer , it acts liks a hardner. It will eventually turn to Jello when it kicks .
If you are going to use PPG's DBU you will have a easier time with spraying as it lays wetter a while longer and doesnt use a reactive reducer for spraying .

PPG has a couple of clears DCU 2002 or DCU 2055 you might check with where you are buying the PPG products for which clear will work best for you , I think they also have an extender that you can add to the clear to make it last longer / make it dry slower while spraying in higher heats.
I use PPG's Global Clear over my DBU at work , and havent sprayed or kept up with the DCU line of clears.

Etching
Etching Primer : PPG's DPLF Primer sealer for bare steel and conditioned and preped aluminum.
This is also a excellent sealer to spray over every panel before spraying color and clear, so
You only need 1 sealer.
Hi-Build Primer : Use K-36 or NCP 271 Fast build and easy sanding .
Regular Primer? : Dont need any other primers if using 1 of the above mentioned.
Base : PPG's DBU with a slow drying reducer
Clear : DCU 2002 or DCU 2055
Reducers The DBC base and DCU Clears use the same DT reducers .
etc.
You can go here and look around PPG's site for these products I mentioned , to enlighten your self on the Deltron line.

http://www.ppg.com/cr-refinish/phase1/frmHome.asp

SprayTech

SprayTech:

Thanks for all the info. Just what I needed and was trying to find. I had gone to the PPG website earlier, but I really didn't know what products to look for...and they have many.

One final thing... When you replied about the base

"If you use PPG's DBU base , it will dry alot faster even using the slower reducers in hot weather , as the reducer is a reactive reducer , it acts liks a hardner. It will eventually turn to Jello when it kicks .
If you are going to use PPG's DBU you will have a easier time with spraying as it lays wetter a while longer and doesnt use a reactive reducer for spraying."

Did you mean to say DBC as the easier one? Sort of conflicting statement, the way its written.

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge. It's people like you that keep forums going. My expertize is in computers, Audio/Visual & Construction... So I share my knowledge on those forums. Thanks again

Scott

mcneilms,
I didnt proof read my post very good did I ?, and yes I ment to say DBC would be an easier Base to use. Plus only having to buy one type reducer for base and clear application will be a cheaper way to go , but not by much .

And you are welcome

SprayTech