Painters? arent there one or 2 of yous here

[Brianut]

Zilla?
just have some specific questions about painting my hardtop,
getting nearer to that point.

[Brianut]

thought about a pm but figure others might be able to use some of the info I am requesting.

I have stripped and sanded down my hard top, pretty much bare metal everywhere.
I will be going with white for the color ( I understand white/light colors hide things well) and have called and talked to "The paint guy" at Napa and he basically quoted me out a single coat sytem (no clear top coat) hardener, thinner etc.
$86 for a quart of paint and the other stuff.
however I forgot to ask him about primer, what should I use for primer?
does it need to be special automotive primer or would a rattle can product work?

Is Napa an ok place to get paint or is there somewhere with better product?

I also have some areas that have rust that I imagine need some kind of treatment.
not thick rust but more of a skim surface type rust.

Do I need to sand that to bare metal or can I treat it with a product then prime and paint?
I have a rust stopper/primer made by Jasco that says it will stop or kill the rust, but not sure what route to take?


rain gutters.

I removed all of the silicone stuff in there and when I was chatting with Kinder about it he said there is some sort of special auto leveling stuff used to fill them.
cant remember what he said it was.
what might that be?
Could I use standard silicone caulk? or is that a big no no?

Bondo.
Ok we all hate it when we find it on a truck but I have a lot of dimples and small dented areas that I am not sure I can make look smooth with my body work skills(or lack of) and am wondering what I would need to do different on those areas to make paint stick good if I used bondo?

I am not going for show quality but want it to look decent and I know that alot of folks are anti bondo but thought if I could make 60-80% of all those minor imperfections go away then the end result will look overall better.

One more.
paint sprayers.
I was planning on picking up a sprayer from Harbor freight, they have some gravity feed ones for pretty cheap right now and basically the reviews say "cant beat it for the price"
Is there something specific I should look for as far as tip sizes, capacity, air flows, HVLP, HVHP, LVLP, LVHP.
I have a good size compressor so that shouldnt be a concern. I currently own a gun that has a bottom can with the suction tube.
I have used that on latex house paint stuff but wasnt sure about auto paints??

Huge thanks

Signed,
auto paint ignoramous

[Brianut]

Will do. Sorry bout that.
I get a little lost sometimes and just go on and on and on and on and on and on and on! damn it.

[Entourage]

Hope you are right about White hiding imperfections - I am painting my whole Bronco White