Hi,

I was about to repaint my tank for the sole purpose of ditching the factory graphics that are under the clear coat, otherwise the tank is vivid black and i'm re-painting it vivid black. Since the tank and paint are in otherwise new (2018) condition free of rust/scratches/dents is there a significant advantage to any of the following methods:

-Strip all the way down to metal, new primer, new base coat, new clear.
-Sand down to the factory primer, new primer over it, new base, new clear
-Sand down to the factory primer, new base straight over the old primer, new clear
-Sand down to the factory base coat, new primer over it, new base, new clear
-Sand down to factory base, new base coat straight over old base, new clear

I've already blocked out a significant amount of time for the project so it's not entirely from the standpoint of finding a shortcut and more just wondering if reusing any of the factory layers would be better in addition to providing me less stuff to **** up

Thanks in advance

 

all said and done, media blast and new ground up. paint is only good as its base.
waste of time trying to sand to primer, probably will break through anyway. on a large body, more feasible.
if the graphics were vinyl, then just a decal remover and a slight scuff.

 

Just remove enough to remove the graphic then remove the clear coat on the rest.
You can't spot paint, Painters go to an edge or seam.

 

remember, black is the most unforgiving color, will show any imperfections. ask me how i know.

 

If the graphics you are trying to cover is made of vinyl you won't have much choice but to remove them completely. If they've been cleared over then that puts you in the category of having to strip it because trying to feather those marks out with sandpaper will create more headaches than its worth. If the graphics are painted on then the raised edges they'll leave will create a problem when it's repainted. In that case what I'd do is block it out with 320 grit and prime it. I've been in bodywork and paint since 1985 and always take the simplest way to finish a job without sacrificing quality. As mentioned black is an unforgiving color so it has to be approached carefully.

Edit: If you break through to bare metal always use an etch primer or epoxy over it before it's primed. You never ever ever use a sanding primer directly over bare metal or it will produce one or more undesirable results. Not adhering to the surface being the main one

 

Thanks all for the suggestions!