Auto body repair & detailing: Auto Primer, black paint, autoweek

Question
I did the body work and took out the dents on my car and primer it black. I wanted to leave it the flat color but it show's every spot or anything that gets on it. How do you finish primer on the car so that it still gives that flat partal shine look but doesn't show every little spot??? somthing like this. thanks http://www.autoweek.com/files/specials/2005_sema/gallerys/civic_part2/images/10s...

Answer
The car in the photo isn't in primer, it's been painted with semi-gloss black paint. It was prepped, sanded, and everything done just like it was going to be painted a nice shiny color- but a semi gloss was applied. Primer is rough in texture, and it will start bleaching and looking like the devil in a short time. It doesn't have the same properties as paint. Many primers also offer little in the way of corrosion protection, Only paint seals the car from the elements. That is why cars don't just have paint over bare steel. Each coating is special, and does a specific job that the other coatings can't do by themselves. There may be a semi gloss topcoat available from whoever you got the primer from, but some companies require you add flattening agent to an existing shiny color- in your case, black. When it's painted it will go on shiny, but as it dries, it will become what is called a matte finish- semi gloss. True flat color isn't something you want, it has no style, no depth, and won't show the car off. It will look- well, primered. Bill