Sanding Factory Paint

[Pete]

I'm getting ready to paint a Deuce tank that has it's original factory finish on it.
Should I strip it down to bare metal or how far should I sand the original finish down before priming or basecoating ?

Thanks ~Pete

 

[rex]

If oyu're not going crazy with a thick paintjob just sand down the original color and go.If you strip it or get to sanding through and having alot of feathedges you'll be forced to prime it.

 

[Pete]

Thanks Rex,
It's a turqoise looking blue factory job and I want to shoot it with BC25 and do a Kameleon flame on it.

 

[rex]

You'll be fine.I like to seal before painting but if you don't break through and sand it with 600-800 (preferably 800) you'll be fine without it.Just degloss the clear and don't sit in one spot long.Use a wet grey Scotchbrite (scuffy) pad for all those nooks and crannies paper won't get into but be sure to wipe of all the sanding muck off with water and dry it and do it a few times when you're done.Wax and grease remover isn't as effective to me.If I dry sand the paint I use the scuffy over the whole thing to pull the dust out of the sand scratches too.The black should cover by the second coat,if you spray with a gun that breaks the paint up great it'll go on thin and cover quickly along with drying quicker so you can get back on it to tape up.There's a tendancy to hose the color on so it covers quick but don't do it,thin 'just wet' coats are better and use the reducer for the temperature.Using a faster drying reducer will actually slow down the drying and could cause adhesion problems if way too fast.One way to force yourself to put it on thin is mix a little slower reducer with the one your using to cut the paint,you'll be thinking it'll run so you'll put it on just enough to wet out.Say it's 85 deg. and the reducer covers from 70-85.Mix it 50/50 with the 85+ reducer then thin the paint-really you add half of one to the paint and then half of the other using whatever measuring system you're using.I've heard HOK is sensitive to going too slow but in PPG in that scenario I use the 85-100deg reducer straight.