Galvanised Bulkhead Painting

Good afternoon all.Just some advice needed regarding Bulkhead. I have just recieved my series 3 bulkhead back from repairers Galvanised .I have T washed it so paint will key to it better.but it needs some small dents Filling and needs some seam sealer around odd seams ,when is the best time to do this ,before or after painting with etch primer .Just a bit bothered if I do it before painting if the T wash (dryed) might react with
primer or sealer. Thanks Steve

There should not be any t-wash left on the bulkhead to react with anything. To correctly apply t-wash you paint it on, leave it a short while to react and then wash it all off with water.

I am not sure about which should be done first primer or filler but I would have thought filler. You want to paint the exteriors before filling the inside with cavity wax though otherwise you will struggle to get paint to stick around the access points no mater how well you clean them up.

As an aside I have to ask why you are using filler at all?
In my opinion it has no place on an old land rover for two reasons:
1. they should wear they dents and dings proudly as a sign of a hard working life as the were designed for
2. even if doing a concourse restoration they were a long long way from perfect when they originally left the factory

Not sure about the filling as I didn't bother. I did T wash followed by epoxy primer then seam sealer and finally your choice of top coat. I wouldn't bother with etch primer, the modern 2 pack epoxy primers are truly superb.

Citizen Kane said:

Not sure about the filling as I didn't bother. I did T wash followed by epoxy primer then seam sealer and finally your choice of top coat. I wouldn't bother with etch primer, the modern 2 pack epoxy primers are truly superb.

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I used an etch primer because I was painting with synthetic enamel rather than 2 pack.

I used a synthetic enamel top coat as well. The 2 pack primer is just so much better than a traditional primer and its waterproof as well. I had mine tinted a similar colour to the top coat so any scratches or chips don't show. You can also apply it wet on wet and top coat in a couple of hours.