After priming my car I noticed that there are bands of light and dark going across the front and rear hoods. Unfortunately we ran out of primer for a third coat. Also I had trouble reaching over and getting a good 50% coverage. Any suggestions on how to remedy this or is it not a big problem? The base coat is a dark green metallic. Here's a pic:

As you said you're may not be getting a good overlap, also, if the primer is flashing really quick, the next coat doesn't have time to flow in. A slower reducer will help that.

I'd jujst wet sand it with 600 to make certain you don't have any dry spots ( this will leave a grainy look/feel ) and start laying your color on. If you have striping in the color, then you have a problem. If you're shooting a metallic, then striping will be a BIG issue and will show.

FWIW metallic blues and greens are really bad for striping

Looks like tiger stripes. Are you criss crossing your spray patterns?

criss crossing will give you a nice checkerboard pattern.

I did cross the pattern in an attempting to see if the reach was easier. Taking off the hoods would have solved this problem. I guess I will wet sand first to see what it looks like and then strip/respray if needed. I have a few parts to prime anyway...

There shouldn't be any need to strip and respray. If you have 2+ coats on it, the wet sanding should get any roughness smoothed out, and the 600 scratches are perfect to start painting on. You don't need the primer to look pretty, just smooth. Any discoloration in it will be coverd with the color coat, no worries about bleed through at this point.

I ended up with a rough, textured finish after spraying two coats of primer on a test panel (the gun tip was too small). While it took more sanding, it finished nice and smooth. You should be OK.

Good luck with your paint job & please post pics after you shoot color!

Something to think aboot...If you couldn't reach for the primer coat how are you going to reach for the paint coat? You need to hang from the rafters like Peter Pan.

I don't have a lot of paint experience but I was told that me being 6'4" and having a huge arm span was a plus. Never had any problems reaching on a 914. But there were other cars where my reach did not make up for my lack of skill and practice. Even so I did remove the hood and trunk just to be sure.

do not paint the lids hanging, paint them laying like they would be on the car... flat.

and don't lay the doors flat.....

the metallic will layup different and not match the other panels on the car

I would strongly suggest spraying a guide coat and then block sanding (use at least a 3" x 12" durablock or equivalent) with 320 grit. You want to make sure the panels are flat. The low spots will be obvious.

When I did mine two weeks ago, I used 3 coats of primer and then guide coated and block sanded. I had a lot of low spots and ended up using 220 grit wet to get it flat - and I went all the way down to metal in a few spots. I had to spray another coat of primer and then guide coated and blocked it again - this time with 320 grit.

Depending on your base coat, you may want to spray a coat of sealer first for color consistency and better adhesion. What system of paint are you using? I used PPG Deltron Acrylic Urethane BC/CC so I can give you lots of first hand advice on that product.

Your gun set up makes a big difference - most high build primers require at least a 1.7 tip and plenty of air. You should be able to increase the fan on the gun and get better coverage, provided you have an adequate volume of air.

What do you mean by primer in your case? Is it like the first coat over metal? Is it K-36 that you are going to sand a lot off anyway?

I have only painted 3 cars but my experience is that sanding primer doesn't like to go on real smooth, and you can get stripes in texture. But since a lot of it is going all over the place during sanding it doesn't matter. That would be for a primer surfacer.

My favorite epoxy primer is the DP-40 type paint. Man that stuff is great. It sprays on smooth, but not really smooth. Also, it doesn't want to be sanded anyway. It really wants to be a super adhesive bond between the car and waht you put on top of it. Hit it with the primer surfacer within 24 hr and then sand that.

You probably already know this or are working with a different system.

Here is an update...

We did end up taking off the hoods and spraying them flat.

Awesome color! Good job. Looks like the color of the 1971 I had.

That looks pretty darn good from the picture. Especially if that was your "paint booth." Nice work.

What type of primer, paint and paint gun did you use.

I used U-Tech metallic polybase coat and Wanda 8100 2k Clear coat. The Primer was Wanda 8100 2k Primer. Used a devilbliss startingline 1.3 tip for base ans clear. 1.5 tip for primer.

I didn't want to spend too much for my first time painting in many years, but it does look pretty good.

You did good!

Hello Hine62,
I see you live in Binghamton. I also live in the Binghamton area. Specifically Chenango Bridge.
Jack

I live in the Endwell area. Do you have a yellow 914 by any chance? My father saw one the other day down town.

I have a yellow 70 and a red 73 but the one your dad saw was a guy who lives in Montrose, PA. My son also has a Blue 914-6 GT that he races.

Awesome! When I get mine on the road we'll have to meet up some time. Just found a crack in the windshield...