A few painting questions?

[bentpshrods]

   I have a couple of questions for you painters. Last summer I striped my car to bare metal--did my filler work--put on 2 coats of epoxy primer--then 2 to 3 coats of PPG high build primer. I then had to leave it till now to start block sanding it. This is my first attempt at any kind of bodywork so I am a complete rookie here.  Should I clean the  primer with any kind of degreaser before starting to block it to get the stuff off from sitting all winter or will this react with the primer. What grit sandpaper should I start with. I will put a guide coat on first.  I have some 180 then 220. After this would you go to a wet sanding of 400 to 600 before putting on the base coat or do you need a few more grits (?) to reduce any scratch marks .  Thanks--any tips will be a big help.  Doug

[elitecustombody]

just blow it off and wipe it down with a clean rag,no need for any cleaners, sounds like you have it down, 180 is fine to start with, I usually start with 120 and go up to 320-400 depending on the color ,if it's light metallics I go up to 600,anything finer and you'll be taking a chance of easy chipping paint, try to use as much of long boards as possible to achieve arrow straight body

[72bluNblu]

First off, what grit were you using before you primed it? Did you sand between coats? Typically I'm up to 220 before I primer, paint will tend to shrink over time, so sand scratches that were "gone" when you primered can re-appear down the road, so I try to have it fairly smooth even before primer.

As for now, I'd just wash it off with soap and water (not car wash soap, a lot of these contain waxes), you're going to be wet sanding once you get above 180 anyway right? If its really greasy, I might use a wax and grease remover (from the paint shop) on it. I usually start with 120/180 after my first prime for a quick knock down, then move up to 220 before the second coat of primer. I might start with 220 after the second coat of primer, but after another quick knock down I go to 320/360. Depending on how things go I usually finish after 2-3 coats of primer, and will finish the last coat with 400-600 before going to topcoat.