In the future, I plan on getting my body super straight. I don't know if I'm the only one, but I like the look of a straight, primerd(dark gray) '65, lowered with some nice wheels/tires. I want to have my car like that for a few months only! Before I do so, I was wondering, how long can I have my (daily)car primerd? Does weather make a difference? Can anything bad happen from this?

 

It should be ok but you will eventually get some surface rust and no matter what it will have to be re-sanded and primed before it's painted.

 

Primer is porous(sp) unlike normal topcoat paints. If you get it in the rain, it'll actually absorb and trap water causing rust to form much faster and requiring you to re-sand and prime the car before you do a nice paint job.

Just leave it alone until you get a nice setup...

 

+1. Primer is not weather proof. If you drive it around for a couple of months, I would recomend competely removing the primer before painting and reshooting fresh primer. Not only will it absorb water, but otherjunk too.oil, tar, soot, and other polutantsetc. You will not have a good base for paint then, and may even have rust begining under the surface that will then rear its ugly head after you have painted. IMHO, don't waste your time.

 

You can use a primer/sealer, or epoxy primer to effectivly "seal" out the water.... this will work for a while, but remember, any style of primer does not have UV protection, and the sun will eventually get it.

IMO a primer/sealer or epoxy will buy you about a year of protection from the elements..

 

By months Im talking about 3-4 months max!! and it will probably be the rainy season[:@] If Im going to get rust, forget about it. How well do those sealers work? and when Im ready to paint, do they have to remove all the primer or just scuff it up a little?

 

Then if you use epoxy primer you should be good to go. What color are you thinking about? I think you had a thread about that awhile back.

 

Clean and scuff will do fine....

 

I'm not sure a clean and scuff will be OK. If ANY oily residue get on it, it will absorb through to the metal. Primer is not what it used to be. The envirmentals have made the paint manufactures make more "friendly" paint. This decreased the effectiveness of the protection of the primer. If you have watched "Dream Car Garage" you will have noticed the hosts wearing rubber gloves when handling a car shot with either a zinc rich primer or an epoxy primer. My advice is to leave it alone until you are ready to paint. Its only for a few months.

 

Gentlemen, I have owned a body shop for several years back in the early 90's and I would never have shot a car over primer that has been exposed to the elements for any period time. You are asking for trouble. Realistically, think about all the S**t that your car is exposed to on a daily basis. ItMAY be ok, but I would not risk it and I think if you bring your car to any reputable shop, they would not do it either. At minimum the car should be thouroughly sanded (IMO removed), reprimed and a quality sealer should be used.Just because you think it will be cool to drive around in primer is kind of a Ricky Bobby redneck reason to risk an expensive paint job (no disrespect meant). However, if that is what you really want to do, have at it, after all, it is your car.

Good luck.