Ordering a primed (black) steel fender online. Looking for a temporary solution to somewhat match the fender to my car's paint and protect it. Will eventually be getting the whole car re-sprayed.

 

You must do all proper paint steps for it to hold up. Just have it properly primed and painted to match. You can always paint it again. You only get one shot to do it right. If you try to ½-butt toss paint on, your fancy new paint job will fail in the future.

painting is like building a house. put it on a crappy foundation and eventually it collapses.

 

Depending on how long you plan to have it on before painting the whole car you may just be able to leave it primed. The primer can hold up for a couple months before it'll start having issues. If you do this make sure it gets sanded and reprimed before being painted.

 

This is bad advice..

Primer is NOT designed to seal the metal from the environment. You must have the fender properly prepared, painted and clear coated to protect the material. If you follow the previous advice, when it comes time to have the car painted, the body guys will have to do twice as much work on the fender to fix the environmental damage. Infact since you are getting 2 conflicting stories, check with a quality body shop with your question, then you'll actually have an expert telling you what to do instead of a couple internet hacks.

 

Sorry if I didn't state enough information. I asked the seller of the fender and they said it wasn't weather-proof. But I have been reading a little bit about epoxy and rustoleum for a quick temporary fix. They even have factory matched paint.

Would it be difficult for a spray shop to remove this product from the fender before re-spraying it?

 

Body shops don't like working on stuff that's been spray bombed and not properly prepped. AGAIN ask a real body shop. I'll bet they'll tell you it's best to paint it right now. You do it wrong and you'll be sorry when the paint fails on the fancy new paint job.

 

If you read my post you would see I said it would need to be sanded and re-primed before painting.

No the primer does not seal it from the environment, but it will hold up good enough for a month or 2. Six months-a year hell no, get it painted.

I do body work and painting on the side, and my uncle is a painter by trade and has his own body shop.

None the less a good shop will sand and re-prime the car before painting it so the little bit of damage that may be done would never be an issue.

 

It will NOT hold up well enough. And if the the parts are not properly painted before installation, you have no clue how much work it will be to refinish it. all the edges and crevasses. It'll add at least 2 hrs labor to the paint job. and there will be no guarantees of proper adhesion. Once a panel has be comprimised, it is nearly impossible to ensure a perfect finish.

The panel needs to be painted all around. hang the panel on the car and the inside will be subjected to all kinds of environment that will cause failure.
Where is your uncles body shop?. I'll be sure not to recommend anyone goes there if this is the kind of poor quality workmanship that goes out the door.

 

A real shop will have no problem laying a quality paint job. Regardless. Maybe if you've ever used one you'd know that.

 

sure after fixing your hack job. You just end up paying more because of the excess labor required to fix your poor choices.