Can I just use primered finished fender?

[harryhk]

Dear All:

I just ordered a primered finished driver side fender to replace. The color is black and is very close to my car's color. The primered color is very smooth. I am wondering if I could just use that fender directly without apply the color coat and clear coat on it.

Thanks a lot,
harry.

[CivicSpoon]

You can, but it's not a good idea. That coating is pretty thin. If you drive the car in the winter, it will be rusted by next spring. I'm unfortunately aware of how much salt NY likes to use on the roads. The coating protects them while they sit in a warehouse, to be shipped out, and during shipping. But rain, sun, dirt, grime, and road salt, will destroy that coating, or at least bypass that coating.

So you can get away with it, but depending on how long you drive with it like that, you'll either damage them or you'll just make more work for the painter, when you do get them painted.

[harryhk]

Thank you so much for the reply. I will paint it when I confirm that it fits. The winter in NY is terrible.

I am kind of new to the paint but I want to do it by myself. What's the normal procedure? Is using a spray paint enough?

Also, I have some lost paint on my hood. I want to paint it too. The area is about 20% of the hood. I didn't see the rust but I could see the primer paint on those rust area. Could you give me some advice in doing that? Should I use a sand paper to take all the color paint layer off and leave only the primer layer and paint? Or could I directly paint on the hood?

Thank you very much,
I really appreciate your answer.

Originally Posted by CivicSpoon

You can, but it's not a good idea. That coating is pretty thin. If you drive the car in the winter, it will be rusted by next spring. I'm unfortunately aware of how much salt NY likes to use on the roads. The coating protects them while they sit in a warehouse, to be shipped out, and during shipping. But rain, sun, dirt, grime, and road salt, will destroy that coating, or at least bypass that coating.

So you can get away with it, but depending on how long you drive with it like that, you'll either damage them or you'll just make more work for the painter, when you do get them painted.

[jeffcoslacker]

Proper way to paint a repair panel is to paint before installing it...that way you get all the way around the edges, etc.

If you have flats that are peeling, the only sure-fire repair is to strip it to metal and start over...they peel because of a failure to bond/cure properly. If you try to feather the bad spots, it'll show through the new paint and will just begin to peel around the edges as before.

You might check with Certa-Fit to see how much a new hood is, and paint it along with your new fender....in some cases a new panel is cheaper ultimately than the expense and aggravation of stripping an old one...

[harryhk]

Thank you very much for the reply. By stripping the the paint, do you mean strip the bad spots as well as the good spots?

There are some area losing paints on my hood and some area are fine. Do I need to strip all the paints on the hood to metal, or just the bad spots which lost paints?

Thanks a lot.

Originally Posted by jeffcoslacker

Proper way to paint a repair panel is to paint before installing it...that way you get all the way around the edges, etc.

If you have flats that are peeling, the only sure-fire repair is to strip it to metal and start over...they peel because of a failure to bond/cure properly. If you try to feather the bad spots, it'll show through the new paint and will just begin to peel around the edges as before.

You might check with Certa-Fit to see how much a new hood is, and paint it along with your new fender....in some cases a new panel is cheaper ultimately than the expense and aggravation of stripping an old one...

[jeffcoslacker]

Strip the entire panel back down to metal is the only way a peeler won't come back and start peeling under the new paint again.

If the top surfaces of the fenders or quarters are involved too, body shops will sometimes strip them down to the pinstripe line (beltline) and repaint the whole top half of the car, blend the new into the old on the sides, then re-stripe, which kind of helps conceal the break where they stopped stripping old paint. The paint below the beltline is usually in better condition, glossier and unweathered, so the new paint blends well with it most times.

If you go the strip route, I recommend a product called Klean-Strip Aircraft Remover, you can get it at most parts stores. It comes in spray or a liquid/gel form. The gel is better for big jobs. You just brush it on and let it work, the old paint and primer will begin to curl up and flake off. You can help it along with a plastic scraper or whatever, it comes off very easily. Usually only a couple of applications are required to take it all the way down to metal. It's nasty stuff though, be sure to follow the directions....sure save a lotta time compared to trying to grind or sand an old paint job off a whole panel...