[bamaboy473]

I'm going to paint the truck and my first job will be to fill in dents and scratches on the bed. Since I don't do this kind of work for a living, it's been several years since I've filled and sprayed filler primer, so doubt that the work will look ready to paint after the first go-round.

Fill, wet sand, prime, sand, then do it over again until the surface is smooth, so anything with a pot life of several hours isn't going to last.

What I'd like to know is what kind of primer will keep in a can for several days?

 

[mbahr22250]

Clean the tip of your gun really good when your done for the day and stick the whole gun paint and all in the fridge. It will keep atleast overnight.

 

[bamaboy473]

Neat trick. Does it help to use a slow reducer?

 

[DirtyDiesel]

wiht a 2 part primer u cna only mix wat u need. at our shop we use montana 2K primer. this way u mix wat u need and then activate it (and reduce it if u need to) it wont sit int he gun for long but long as u dont activate it it wont get hard on ya.:thumb:

PS- i wouldnt wet sand any body work to prime. jus some dry 320 is fine for primer, never go coarser than 180 for primer to cover or ull see scratches. when ur ready to paint then u can go over ur primed surfaces with 400 wet and be ready for a sealer. id go over the old paint with a 600 for paint, jus make sure if its a silver or high metalic color to get the scratches covered or ull see them thru the clear.:thumb:

 

[bamaboy473]

PS- i wouldnt wet sand any body work to prime. jus some dry 320 is fine for primer, never go coarser than 180 for primer to cover or ull see scratches. :

The paint on the truck needs to come off; it's about the worst re-paint I've ever seen; looks like it was painted over the OEM finish without sanding, so there's paint flaked off and some bubbles under the paint.

Thinking about using just to get the old paint off, then up the grades until 320 or so. Time isn't my big challenge, so what do you think about getting the old coat off?

 

[DirtyDiesel]

thats always a PITA to do. pretty much watever works best for the paint. somtimes we use paint stripper (time consuming and makes a hel of a mess). or jus use some coarse sand paper (very time consuming). try getting a good air squirter and try and blow all the junk paint off, if u can. itll take quite a bit of air so maybe thatd be out of the option unless u hav some big air in ur shop. we use 2-5hp compressors.

its reasons like this that any respectable body shop HATES places liek maaco or econo or anywhere thatll do a cheap paintjob.

 

[bamaboy473]

Air? Good idea, and I have a big LOUD compressor in the garage that can supply it. The nice thing is that I have the time to do the work, and the bed is three separate panels so I can do one panel at a time without wearing my azz out.

I want to stay away from chemicals if I can so the OEM paint doesn't get wrecked...

 

[DirtyDiesel]

yeah then paint stripper is def out, thatll take it down to the metal. ur best bet would be to try and blow as much of the paint off as u can then try and sand watever is left. if they didnt sand any of the truck prior to painting u hav some serious work to do but if they jus didnt get around the edges and thats where its flaking off then maybe u can feather the old paint bak and jus prime it to make the 2 coats even.

dam jus thnking of people that do that kinda work pisses me off. dunno why sombody would ruin a nice truck like that. i could understand if it was a ole junker civic or somthing.:Shoot2:

 

[bamaboy473]

Here's what we have after sanding the blisters out. What do you think, should I try filler primer, or glazing compound, or get more aggressive with the sanding?

 

[DirtyDiesel]

can u take the air blower and blow any of it off? put the tip of the blower right on the edge of the top/bottom paint and see if any flakes off. if not then take ur sand paper and try and feather the edge down.

by the look of the second pic the paint on the ridge ont hebed will come off some more with a air blower.:thumb:

 

[bamaboy473]

Tomorrow I'm taking the truck to the paint supply store and get primer and glazing putty. I'll ask them for a hand's on opinion. When I get home I'll do what DirtyDiesel suggests and get up close and personal with the air gun amped up to 200psi.

After that I guess I start the glazing and priming to bring the surface up to the rest of the plane?

 

[DirtyDiesel]

good luck man. keep us posted.:thumb:

saw that ur truck is 2 toned with a stripe on it. dunno if u know how to get that off easy. NAPA has a "3M rubber eraser wheel". u put that in a drill and that will take any sticker, stripe, emblem glue, etc. off that u dont want on there for painting. its about 3" around wiht a 1/4"-20 stud int he middle. its made to go on a air tool that spins it but a regular drill works just as good.:thumb:

 

[bamaboy473]

I got all the stuff at the paint store and set about patching and filling. The bed is the biggest PITA, and the rest of the truck isn't all that dinged up.

What I think the plan is will be to prime the bed and roof, then fill and prime another time or two until I can get a decent surface that's smoother than it was before.

I'll do the doors and front clip after the rear is finished.

That way I get the biggest problem behind me and also get experience with this paint in this weather. After the experience, then the doors and hood can get done.

More to come when I get the primer on her.

 

[bamaboy473]

P.S. I'm thinking that the truck gets painted first, then the black on the lower panels.

What do you guys think? Should I do the lower panels first?

 

[DirtyDiesel]

?- wat hav u sanded the bed with, it looks like a pretty fine grit paper.

if it was me doing this i would do the roof 1st by tself cuz its the biggest PITA. ur gonna hav to set up some scafoldin type stuff on the sides of the truck so u can reach all of the roof with the paint gun.

next id pull the bed off the truck so u can get paint behind the cab and it doesnt look like chit when it hazes up where u cant get to it with the paint gun. go ahead and paint the bed and hav it done. id alo tak the hhood off so u can get around it easier to paint. since the hood and tailgate r both the tan color id do those at the same time.

for which color to paint first, need to paint both colors at the same time. id paint the black first (cuz its easier to tape off when u go to do the tan). then let the that dry, DO NOT CLEAR IT YET. go ahead and tape off the black and get ur tan color done. untape the black and clear all of it. this way u wont hav such a bad tape line between the 2 colors.:thumb:



PS- that tan is gonna stripe up on u if ur not carful, its a metalic color. any of the flat horizontal surfaces u paint will be the most prevelent to tigerstriping (tailgate, hood, roof, etc). WATCH UR AIR PRESSURE.:thumb:

 

[DirtyDiesel]

also, id take ALOT of stuff off the truck b4 i painted it. things like the window rubbers, door handles, moldings, bed (as i stated), bed rail caps, back glass, 3rd brakelight, bumpers, lights, etc.

 

[bamaboy473]

All good advice, Brett. I'm going to do most of what you suggest and leave that stuff that I'll have to cut some corners on (like not having somebody to help lift the bed clear of the wheels...so it stays where it is.

The window gaskets are either removed or I put clothsline behind them before taping them off; making it easy for the paint to get behind the rubber. Everything on the bed is off and the liner is out so overspray isn't going to be a problem. Just my luck, the weather's iffy for the whole week, so I'm just waiting for the wind to die down and want to get the first coat of primer on the parts I touched up so I can see what needs to be done again.

Good idea on the roof. My plan is/was to start with the roof and work around the rear window and then to the bed. Doors and front clip will be covered for this part. If I make mistakes, they'll be on the bed instead of the doors and fenders.

The side have been final sanded with 360 for the primer, but I'm sure there's scores in there from the 100 I used on the heavy glazing.

 

[DirtyDiesel]

sounds like ur getting on the right track. the bed on these trucks r VERY heavy, when we did them at our shop b4 we got a lift it took 4 guys, one on each corner, and they r still heavy. specially long beds.

dunno if i expalined earlier about taking the stripe off but ill tell u anyways. get a "3m rubber eraser wheel" from like NAPA. u can put that in a regular hand drill and use that to take the stripe or any emblem glue off.:thumb:

 

[bamaboy473]

The stripe has been the easiest thing to do, so far. It just pulled right off; didn't even need a hair dryer...or that $32 wheel that you pros use.

The priming looks good on the bed. Trying to decide whether to try to paint the tailgate and the lower band black when the wind dies around dusk. I'd be taping the primer after about 2-3 hours, but should I worry any about night air? It's going to 77, so not cool.

 

[bamaboy473]

Today was stormy all day, but every once in awhile the wind let down and I'd get some painting in. Not the PRO way to do it, but...hey, the truck isn't going to sit waiting for perfect weather because we don't get that around here on the coast.

What's strange is that I asked a few realtors about vacant buildings or hangers that I could use to paint the truck and nobody came back with offers, even though I'm ready to barter painting or sheetrock or electical/plumbing....ok, so I use the carport for the less important things like the primer and lower stripe.

The pictures show where the paper's blowing like crazy. The clouds were like that all day, but for a backyard paint job, it went better than I expected!

The primer went on in two coats and it was great; very easy to sand with 400. The wind actually kept dust off the paint, so that's good. The Black on the bottom and rear gate went on OK. There's orange peal in it, but if I get anal I'll sand and polish it...nice thing about solid colors.

Tomorrow AM if the wind is down I'm going to try the gold because the black will have 12 hours of drying and I think taping on it will be OK. If the wind is down I'll start with the cab roof. Devil knows that the good news is that the roof isn't seen...so once I get it done and down to the bed painting, the rear of the truck will be done.

more to come!