how much primer?

[yak67]

just wondering, thinking about taking the plunge and trying some paint and body work on my own. is a gallon enough? or way too much? And then the same for paint, the same amount as primer or more, or less?

thanks

 

[jdrambo]

last time i painted a car i used about 1/2 gallon of primer, but i use a standard gun not an hvlp, i save that for the top coat

 

[Steve]

Depends entirely on how much you're primering or painting. Usually you don't need to prime the entire thing to paint it, just where you've done body work. I would buy a quart of primer to start and then another quart if you need it. As for paint, how much are you painting? (the whole vehicle? interior too?) What color? (yes, it matters). A gallon is almost assuredly too much, and with the price of auto paint you don't want too much that you have to throw away.

 

[yak67]

looking to primer and paint the whole outside, no hardtop, no interior, it's got bed liner...

 

[Steve]

looking to primer and paint the whole outside, no hardtop, no interior, it's got bed liner...

You didn't answer the color question, but here's what I'd do. Get two quarts of primer surfacer. Since that gets thinned 1:1 you'll have a gallon of sprayable primer. That should be more than enough.

Get 3 quarts of color (I'm assuming you're doing single stage, not basecoat/clearcoat). Since that typically gets reduced ~4:3 you will have ~5 quarts of sprayable paint, which is more than enough for two coats, and probably enough for three.

 

[yak67]

doh! forgot the color, I'm thinking some sort of blue

 

[allenfahey]

doh! forgot the color, I'm thinking some sort of blue

2 quarts of primer is more than enough. Most primers are mixed 4:1 or 3:1 with hardner. You can reduce it too but fills better without it.
What brand of paint are you using? PPG is mixed 1:1 but doesn't cover as good as Spies which is mixed at 2:1. If you are thinking about a dark blue then 2 quarts of unreduced PPG is plenty. Another tip is to use a dark grey or even a blue primer so you will get better coverage. I know PPG, Dupont, and Sherwin Williams all have different color primers and Speis has a tintable primer.