I am looking closely at finishing off the internal cavity areas of my car body. I'd like to get feedback on what other people are doing in this regard and what products they use. I found a lot of info on what layer process should be used for the external finishing but internally things are not as clear.... I have given the insides of the body panels 2 coats of PPG epoxy primer. After scuffing with a red scotchbrite I was going to apply 2 or 3 heavy coats of uPol Gravitex. This would be applied to the insides of just about anywhere I can get to (inside rear quarters, inside door skins, pillars, front fenders), most of these areas would not get any other paint applied. However, areas that get seen such as inside the rear quarter panels (in the trunk area), would get colour/clear finish on top. So please share what you found works, what is best practice and products are junk and what works for you. Thanks,

Six months is enough time for the body filler to collapse to its final size, and making it ready for block sanding. Unfortunately, I didn't take photos of this process or of the application of the second epoxy primer coat. Before the second layer paint, the full body was sanded down using 120-grit Mirka autonet mesh. The second epoxy coat was allowed two weeks to cure fully, after which the entire surface was sanded with 320-grit autonet. I sprayed the surfacer (filler primer) over this sanded layer. PPG specifies a "G6" shade of surfacer for the official color (431/A), however, I knowing my car's original color, I know that shade too dark—it made the blue visible only in direct sunlight. So, after spraying test cards, I decided to go one shade lighter (G5). This was also convenient because I didn't have to mix two shades together, I could use the off-the-shelf shade directly. I applied the surfacer using an Auarita 898-2 LVLP spray gun with a 1.8mm nozzle. I had to increase the pressure slightly to around 2 bar, as 1.6 bar didn't provide sufficient atomization for that high flow rate. Next step is glue the windscreen and back window (tomorrow, I prepared the surface with color and topcoat on windshield frame last week). Then I continue with color.

The past three days have been a bit hectic, but I’m trying to keep my promise. For now, here are the next two parts; the rest will follow as things progress. Since I know you aren't interested in the painting of suspension and brake components, I’ve skipped that part—let’s jump straight to the exterior bodywork. The car had been repainted several times over its lifespan; I counted four pair layers (base and topcoat) in total while sanding. I sanded every panel (except for the doors and bumpers, which are being painted separately) down to the bare metal or the original factory primer layer. For this, I used a Milwaukee 12V DA sander with a Mirka Autonet 120-grit abrasive mesh. Naturally, I had a dust extraction system connected while sanding; my garage is small, so I can't afford to have everything covered in dust. After the sanding was complete—and before painting—came the degreasing stage. I refuse to let water near exposed iron, so I used isopropyl alcohol for this step. The first coat was the previously mentioned epoxy primer, the same one I used on the underbody, applied with the same Auarita K-400 gun (using a 1.7mm nozzle). Then came some body filler to smooth out minor imperfections, followed by a six-month wait. More on that in the next part.

The next step after priming is to restore the interior soundproofing elements, and then to perform the factory interior coloring. The car originally received an interior paint that matched the exterior color of the body, which was restored. It is important to note that the paint did not originally receive a top coat. So painting with a base color would have been the right step. PPG offers a solution for this by strengthening the base color with a maximum of 10% hardener if necessary. However, for me, this protection I thought was not enough, so I chose an unconventional solution that has not been documented anywhere before. PPG's Deltron 880 MS topcoat is normally mixed in a 4:2:1 ratio. It uses the same hardener and thinner as Deltron BC (basecoat). The mixing ratio of the base is 1:1. However, during the topcoat mixing, it can be changed with different additives, for example, with a matting additive. In extreme cases, up to 50% additive can be mixed. I thought that if I mixed the basecoat material instead of the matting or elasticizing additive (which is based on the same chemistry), I would get a mixture that had the right color and coverage, but also retained the protective ability of the topcoat. Accordingly, I mixed the mixture of 3 parts varnish, 4 parts base, 1 part hardener, 1 part thinner and sprayed it with an Auarita 989-2 LVLP gun. I set the pressure and other parameters according to the viscosity of the topcoat. The coverage was good, the final result can be seen in the pictures below. Unfortunately, there was one place that flowed, but on such a large surface, I don't feel that only one single mistake is catastrophic.

Hi to all. I am beginner in the automotive painting world which I challenge my self to complete my project car and paint myself. I bought the Volkswagen Caddy with a light front collision damage which I replaced the front bumper, sidewings, hood and it’s a different colour which I need to paint it silver colour which I learned that is most difficult, but I don’t give up from this challenge and start to learning on Internet and on YouTube and recently joined this community to learn more about painting from the professionals like you and I hope I will get very good tips how to do my first painting job and I hope will be great. I bought the one cheap spray gun from Temu I believe is copy from DeVilbiss GTI pro lite with TE20 cap. I bought the silver colour and clearcoat. I try first paint on the damage hood. The paint come very rough, is feel like a sandpaper. I belive my paint mix was not so good as well the pressure setting was the problem. My second attempt was much better but still the base colour was more rough than the original. Is good I have test panels where I can learn and compare the colours.