Paint Procedures

Paint Procedures for New and Used Parts:

The engineers at EMS Automotive are always concerned about proper installation and greater customer satisfaction. For many years our customer service counter has fielded questions about paint procedures. Well, we are not painters and know little about painting cars. But, as engineers we can and do know how to consult with other companies on technical subjects.

We went to all the major automotive paint companies for technical answers to the questions on painting. These were your questions to our customer service reps. You have seen their big displays at all the major car shows. The EMS Automotive engineers had extended conversations with the big paint companies telling them the concern we have for our customers. Their response was shocking. Practically, all of them did not care about the ultimate customer, except for one, The Sherwin-Williams Company.

The Sherwin-Williams Automotive Paint Company provided the following overview of the proper paint procedure for the listed base materials. Each base material will require it's own preparation procedure. These procedures are not the last word or a cast-in-concrete listing of all procedures and available paint products, but it is intended as an overview so you, the car owner, can speak with some knowledge to the paint salesmen or your body shop painter.

The idea behind this topic is just to help out the collector car owner get the best paint job with out being ripped off by a "sell only what we got" salesman or "I have not updated my procedures in 20 years" painter.

To locate your local Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes paint store call: 1-800-SW-ULTRA (1-800-798-5872)

FYI: Believe it or not the Sherwin-Williams Paint Company did not pay a fee for this space, they just have a genuine concern for the car owner that the other paint companies refused to provide.

Paint Procedure for New Metal:

1. Test for primer solubility, apply lacquer thinner to primer. If primer softens, remove the factory primer from adjacent parts.
2. Clean new parts with Sherwin-Williams SC155, SC156 or SC158 Surface Cleaner.
3. Scuff sand adjacent areas with gray nylon scuff pad and SW Cleaners 155, 156 or 158.
4. After sanding reclean entire area to be painted with Sherwin-Williams Cleaner SC155, 156 or 158 Surface Cleaner and a new clean cloth.
5. Apply Sherwin-Williams P30 Spectra Seal or S56, S57 or S58 Ultra Shade Sealers, or S65 Basecoat transparent Adhesion Promoter, or Ultra High Fill HS Primer or P23 Ultra Shade Low V.O.C. Sealer. Follow mixing instructions closely.
6. Apply basecoat Sherwin-Williams Ultra 7000 mixed 1:1 with RHF Base Coat Stabilizer or Base Coat BSC65-95 series with 16:1 UH904 Hardener.
7. Apply any Sherwin-Williams 900 series Clearcoat closely following all mixing and application instructions.

Paint Procedure for Aluminum Parts:

1. Test for primer solubility, apply lacquer thinner to primer. If primer softens, remove the factory primer from adjacent parts, or re-prime the complete panel.
2. All body work must be finished with 180 grit sandpaper.
3. For repair work, feather edge repair area with 220 grit sandpaper followed by 320 grit then 400 grit. Do not mix sandpaper with aluminum and steel repair, contamination of surface will result.
4. Start bare aluminum with Sherwin-Williams E2G970 Etching Primer. This step may be skipped if using SW NP75 Primer Surfacer.
5. Apply Sherwin-Williams Spectra Prime P30, NP75 Ultra-Fill HS Primer or NP2100 Low V.O.C. Primer. Make sure that primer does not extend past the 400 grit sanding area.
6. Allow to air dry or short wave infrared heat as per primer directions. After curing, apply a dry guide coat before block sanding (3M05861).
7. Block sand with 400 grit and reapply guide coat.
8. Block sand with 600 grit.
9. Apply (any color) Ultra 7000 Base Coat.

Paint Procedure for Repaired Steel Metal Part Refinishing:

1. Test for primer solubility, apply lacquer thinner to primer. If primer softens, remove the factory primer from adjacent parts, or re-prime the complete panel.
2. All body work must be finished with 220 grit sandpaper.
3. For repair work, feather edge repair area with 220 grit sandpaper followed by 320 grit then 400 grit. Do not mix sandpaper with aluminum and steel repair, contamination of surface will result.
4. Start bare aluminum with Sherwin-Williams E2G970 Etching Primer. This step may be skipped if using SW NP75 Primer Surfacer.
5. Apply Sherwin-Williams Spectra Prime P30, NP75 Ultra-Fill HS Primer or NP2100 Low V.O.C. Primer. Make sure that primer does not extend past the 400 grit sanding area.
6. Allow to air dry or short wave infrared heat as per primer directions. After curing, apply a dry guide coat before block sanding (3M05861)
7. Block sand with 400 grit and reapply guide coat.
8. Block sand with 600 grit.
9. Apply Ultra 7000 Base Coat.

Paint Procedure for SMC or Fiberglass New Parts:

1. Wash parts with soap and water, pH neutral soap is best.
2. Rinse well and let dry.
3. Solvent clean with Sherwin-Williams SC156.
4. Rinse with de-ionized water and let dry.
5. Sand 400, 500, 600 grit sand paper or 220, 240, 320 fleet on random orbital sander.
6. Clean panel with Sherwin-Williams SC159 Cleaner.
7. Tack wipe.
8. Apply Primer Sealer (P30 Spectra Seal).
9. Apply Ultra 7000 Base Coat, follow with any 900 series Ultra 7000 Clear Coat.

note: Do not clean parts with lacquer thinner and avoid over saturation with other cleaner products, be careful not to sand away details in soft plastic parts.

Paint Procedure for Carbon Fiber New Parts:

1. Sand panel with 320 or 400 grit sand paper.
2. Clean with compressed air (wear safety glasses!!).
3. Solvent clean with Sherwin-Williams SC158 or SC159 Cleaner.
4. Apply 3-4 coats of Sherwin-Williams P30 Primer Surfacer mixed with 4:1 with Sherwin-Williams AS9 Reducer and H38 Hardener.
5. Allow to dry 45 minutes minimum.
6. Sand with 400-600 grit, re-prime if needed (2 mils of primer thickness required for carbon fiber).
7. Apply Sherwin-Williams Ultra 7000 Basecoat mixed 1:1 with RHF series Basecoat Stabilizer or BCS65-95 series mixed 16:1 with UH904 Hardener.
8. Apply Sherwin-Williams 900 series Clearcoat following all mixing and application instructions.

Paint Procedure for Unprimed Plastic Parts:

1. Scrub all surfaces front and back with Sherwin-Williams SC155 Low V.O.C. Cleaner and a gold nylon pad to remove any soluble mold release agents. Rinse and wipe dry. Scrub again with Sherwin-Williams SC159 Plastic Parts Cleaner/Antistatic Agent, and a gold nylon scuff pad to remove any solvent based mold agents. Note: you must do both cleaning operations!!
2. Preform a sanding test on back side of part, using 600 grit sandpaper. Sand a small area, if the part is powdery, proceed to step 2A. If the part loads up or is gummy proceed to step 3.
3. A Gray scuff pad with Sherwin-Williams USP90 Liquid Scuffing Gel, paying close attention to the fine details of the plastic parts. Rinse off part with water, dry very good. Proceed to step 4.
4. Scuff with a gold nylon pad and with Sherwin-Williams USP90 Liquid Scuffing Gel, paying close attention to the fine details of the plastic parts. Rinse off part with water, dry very good. Proceed to step 4.
5. Clean plastic part again with Sherwin-Williams SC159 Plastic Parts Cleaner and a gold scuff pad. Dry excess material and reapply with clean cloth SC159 Plastic Parts Cleaner/Static Remover. Wipe part dry.
6. Tack part with clean tack cloth. Apply 1 medium coat of Sherwin-Williams UP07226 Clear or UP07227 Gray Plastic Adhesion Promoter to bare plastic. Wait 10 minutes to flash dry.
7. Apply Sherwin-Williams Ultra 7000 Basecoat mixed 1:1 with RHF series Basecoat Stabilizer or BCS65-95 series mixed 16:1 with UH904 Hardener.
8. Apply Sherwin-Williams 900 series Clearcoat following all mixing and application instructions. A flex agent is not required for hard plastic parts. Use Sherwin-Williams Flex Agent for plastic parts that are flexible.