Suzuki Club UK

Hi all, so now getting really confused about paints and primers, the chassis is 70% good so will be using a small sand blaster on a little compresser to get rid of the small amout of rust on the rear end of it, then primer, unsure what to use as the front will be just cleaned well and sanded not striped completely, should I go with etching primer where I go to bare metal, then normal primer over it all? Will it take to the original waxoyl? Would then like to go with something like the Upol gravitex. The last one I did got completely blasted so didn't worry about reactions between paints. Thanks

Or is it really Worth completely stripping down?

Suzuki didn't waxoil the chassis, it's a zinc based primer and then cellulose paint over the top.

Etch prime any bare metal and then you'll need to flat back any existing paint to get a good key. Tbh if you want results that will last it's best to give the whole chassis a light blasting, you don't need to remove all the existing paint, you just need to make sure that any new paint has a good key to stick to.

If it's been waxoiled then that it will need to be stripped, You cannot paint over waxoil.

TBH, you are probably going to use a real load of shot trying to get rid of the rust like that, so unless you have access to a large, free supply of shot, you'd be far quicker and save a lot of cash if you use a twisted wire brush on a an angle grinder. Just use the mini blaster for area's that the wire brush won't get into. Don't expect the same results that you would get from a professional shot blasters either, they use pressures significantly higher than those dinky pressor's can produce and in far great volumes too!

There is no secret to paint, but it should be only applied to a clean base, free from any sort of of contaminants and with a surface thats been 'keyed' to accept paint and give a good grip to the primer coat(s). You can expect to part with at least £50 - £75 (maybe a bit more) for primer etc. at a Commercial Paint Factors (if they will sell it to you), add on to that things like Paint Filters, tack cloths, mixing cups or sticks and it all begins to add up. Then you need a spray gun and compressor to put it on...... Anything with less than a 250 litre receiver and you're on a loser trying to paint bits of a car realistically speaking.

Acid Etch Primers are used on bare metal, specifically for use on stuff thats been blasted, ideally it should be applied immediately after any blasting has taken place to inhibit rust forming! Blasting has the effect of opening up the surface of metal and corrosion will start almost immediately, esp in a damp atmosphere!

Two pack primers are a bit of a misnomer, as they are actually made up of three constituents; the paint, the thinners, the activator - and must be mixed according to the manufacture's specifications. Get it wrong and all sorts of interesting things can happen - none of them good!

You can get stuff thats drys very flat (referred to in the trade nominally as 1:1) and is used mainly as an intermediary coat between heavier primers/fillers and the colour/clear coats.

4:1 is a high build primer, very thick, almost a liquid filler, applied in thick coats to build a good layer of primer which is then cut back by hand using wet 'n' dry paper and a block. Care needs to be taken with primers, as with all commercial paints, their constituents are toxic and the proper equipment is essential to maintain good health.

Note: there is nothing, and I mean nothing, that you can buy over the counter from the likes of Halfords etc in an aerosol can that is remotely fuel, hydraulic fluid or even scratch proof these days! Even good old Hammerite has had its components change to make it environmentally friendly! Now you can scrape it off with a blunt spoon, before it was pretty much immune to anything :(

I suggest that before you proceed with any painting that you steam clean the chassis etc. It will reveal any nasties, blow corrosion off as well as old paint and waxol etc. If it really is in reasonable condition as you say, then you could 'scat' over it with a wire brush/angle grinder and then prime and paint it all! I intend to use 'Load Bed Paint' on my chassis etc. Its proved its toughness to me over the years.

Hope this helps. Regards Lin.

Hi all, not much happening to the Zuk at the moment been getting on with the work on the house, quick question anyone used this? https://www.ebay.fr/itm/Etch-Primer-Pro ... 1438.l2650
Is it any good?
Thanks

Been using it on mine, seems to be doing the job