I'm leaving my oem hardtop with a guy I know who is going to color mach it to the car paint - going from b.b. to s.s. . I asked him if he is going to prime the hardtop before painting and he says that it's not necessary, it's just a waste according to him. He says if the hood needed body work he would prime it but he just wants to give it a really good sanding, then paint and clear. I've had him paint a few vehicles for me wiith good results, he does great paint work. He recently painted my front fender on the s2k, that had some dings on it and he primed it before painting, which turned out reallly well.

Any advice on this ? thanks for reading.

 

If he's done good work for you previously, I would imagine that there's no hazard in trusting his judgment.

In my experience, as limited as that might be, whenever anything is to be painted, it would need proper preperation. Wether that be sanding, filling and them priming or just a combonation of those, I couldn't tell you.

-Ken

 

thanks for the reply, he did a great job on my front fender, though he primed it due to the imperfections. The hardtop is in perfect condition other than the colour, and he said he would give it a good sanding. I just don't know if that is proper or not , he's been in the paint business for many years though so he should know about this stuff.

 

Your painter is right. IT is not necessary to prime your hardtop unless you have body work/deep scratches that need to be repaired before it gets painted. Even if your hardtop had repairs done to it prior to paint, your painter would only spot prime the area that was repaired(he would not need to prime your whole hardtop). Usually if your paint is in great shape (ie. no deep scratches/chips/dents) then your prep/painter would just have to prep for paint. Im sure you're in good hands.

 

the glass had to come off my oem hardtop to paint it. i was scared but it came out great

 

thanks for the additonal replies, that is reassuring to know. So I guess he is correct in what he recommends. My hardtop is in mint condition, not even a scratch on it, so I guess it doesn't need much in way of touch up repairs. So it looks like a good sanding and prep should be sufficient. Thanks very much for the replies and taking the time to read my concerns.