01/30/2024
🚨 Restoration Tech Tip 🚨
Not All Primers Are Created Equal
In a Restoration vs Repair it’s important to know a few things that separates the two when using primers.
A restoration is a preservation and will have epoxy used vs a 2k or 1 k primer. Once your bare metal work is done, or even directly after the metal is taken down to its exposed and naked self, epoxy is put onto the bare metal to protect the surface from any damage from moisture in the air and on your hands. Yes, your hands sweat and when you touch the bare metal, if given a day or so, it will leave a hand print.
Why Epoxy? Epoxy is the ONLY way to form a barrier over your bare metal to completely protect it during the rest of your body and metal work. ALL OTHER PRIMERS ARE POROUS AND WONT PROTECT IT FROM THE ELEMENTS LONG TERM. Self Etched is porous, but will protect temporarily and you have to paint over self etch with a 2k or 1k primer. THOSE primers are porous and will allow moisture in over time. Paint is porous: your base coat and clear coat or single stage are POROUS . They do not provide a long term protective barrier. Over time moisture will pe*****te the surface of your paint job as all your top levels ARE POROUS.
In the restoration world we use epoxy from start to finish to preserve our work, but also to protect your investment. It protects the bare metal, and locks in any and all body work done from start to finish. Body filler is also POROUS. So if you’re not using the right preservation products, your paint and body work will break down over time.
Here you see black epoxy used to cover the bare metal and mimic a factory E-Coat. We use a black only in the beginning stages of our body work to allow us to see it when we are doing body work shaping and sanding the rest of the process. Any and all other coats will be gray. This is our personal preference but we feel gives us the best representation of a factory finish for this Scout II.
Then you apply a seam sealer as seen to provide protection, but also to mimic the factory protection used to properly “restore” the vehicle back to its original state.
Our Epoxy we use is a hybrid epoxy. It can be used as an epoxy coating from the start of your restoration, and a sealer all the way to the finish line. It’s the only primer we use from beginning to end to provide long term preservation.
In a restoration some folks will cut corners by “saving money” and use inferior products that will not protect the same or provide the same long term benefits. It will get the job done, but is a “repair” vs a “restoration”.
Restorations are preservations. Repairs are re-conditioned jobs. Both are what your budget can afford, and both are COMPLETELY different processes and products used.
It’s important to know so when you inspect a restored vehicle to purchase or sell, you are communicating and understanding this properly. There is a difference in the work and price.
Enjoy your projects. I hope this helps to separate the terms and guide you along as a buyer and seller.
🤘🏼 Keep On SCOUT’N On 🤙🏼
👉🏻gowithjoeadventures.com👈🏼