Is this normal? And is this ok?

[SMYDA]

BTW....You never said anything about the razor blade method.....

My experience with this method is it generally only works on Lacquer Base paint jobs.
I stripped the entire front of our car with a blade because it had been RE-painted
and the front clip had been primed with a Lacquer Primer.
It all pealed off till I hit the original paint then I "had" to sand to remove the original BC/CC job.

The hood I took to the shop and used a HOG.

If you use modern materials and the car is prep properly you should not be
able to strip the paint with a blade.

 

[enkeivette]

Thanks for the tips about sanding, I will continue to hold the sander flat in that case.

I just realized that I'm not going to be able to spray the car with epoxy primer (at least not with a gun) before the body work. I need to get the car completely ready before I take it to get sprayed, primer and paint.

Is this going to be a big deal? Doing glass work without the epoxy primer sprayed first?

 

[Belgian1979vette]

Gray coat ? Any idea what it was ?

That's what I was thinking, just the very top layer of the smc. It's very thin so you sand through it easily.

Look back at the 3 assembly line photos I posted.
Photo #2 shows the Gray Coat which is not present in Photo #1.
This is NOT a layer of SMC but some form of primer or sealer.
Which.......I honestly don't know.

SMC is Sheet "MOLDED" Compound ..........that Gray Coat was Sprayed on.

Good input with the pictures. You do not see the bonding lines anymore. Kind of strange, since I didn't find this "coat" on the bonding lines of my 79. Makes me wonder if they changed the primers somewhere after 79. These bodies are clearly 80's and up.

 

[MYBAD79]

I just realized that I'm not going to be able to spray the car with epoxy primer (at least not with a gun) before the body work. I need to get the car completely ready before I take it to get sprayed, primer and paint.

Is this going to be a big deal? Doing glass work without the epoxy primer sprayed first?

For primer (high built, urethane or epoxy) you only need a $30 gun off Ebay, HarborFreight is pretty cheap too. I am using a $30 gun for over two years now, for primer it's perfect with a 2mm tip.
They have a 6gal compressor for $140 at homedepot, that would be good enough for shooting primer... not a entire car of course but for a panel it'll be fine.

Another (very cheap) option is to simply brush or roll the primer - I have done this many times when I wanted to "seal" a panel prior to applying filler. Many times I just didn't want to start the compressor and get the tools dirty for a small area that needed additional primer. If you sand it afterwards anyways then it doesn't matter if you apply the primer with a brush, it sure is ugly but it works.....

 

[TimAT]

One other way to get the waves gone is spray a rattle can guide coat. Use a color that really contrasts with the base. Spray a light coat and then sand away. The guide coat will sand off the high spots first and knock them down until the low spots start to go.

 

[SMYDA]

I just realized that I'm not going to be able to spray the car with epoxy primer (at least not with a gun) before the body work. I need to get the car completely ready before I take it to get sprayed, primer and paint.

Is this going to be a big deal? Doing glass work without the epoxy primer sprayed first?

MYBAD79 made a good point about roll on primers. I personally have not used any.
But have talked with several techs who have. Their comments where.....they do
tend to be a "High Build" primer....more so than the spray on......and a little tougher
to sand. A good option if you do not have spray equipment......zero overspray problems.

Once again I will stress..........TECH INFO.........make sure your product line of choice is compatible.
I'm sure most here are probably not aware of the Tech Info that is available if you just know to ask.
Never be to quick to trust the salesperson.....see it in writing.

I'll be the first to tell you, "I don't have all the answers" ..... BUT one thing I
have learned, ........................and that's where to get them.......

 

[MYBAD79]

I brushed the "spray on" urethane as well as epoxy primers, not a primer that was designed to be rolled or brushed - as long as you don't try to build it really thick it's ok. I added a little reducer and brushed it on very thin/light.... it's being sanded afterwards anyways...