wheatus

it all depends on how good the finish is on your truck right now. if it is in good shape i wouldn't mess with it but if there are some things you want to fix go for it. as long as you are not doing any body work or cut through with you sanding it is pretty much just scuff and shoot. rusty is pretty much right about primer in general, the only reason i stripped my hood is because of the etching and because it might be a few days before i get back on it and i didn't want it sitting bare. you do not have to prime when you strip it down to bare metal but you MUST use an etch primer and a sealer. i recommend a little finer finish before painting, 600 for solid colors and 800 for metallics, because if the sand scratch is too coarse it can show in the final product. use a wax and grease remover and do a final wipe with alcohol because it can remove some stuff wax and grease remover cannot and it cuts down on static electricity that draws dust to the surface. if anybody has any questions or would like to see something in particular let me know.

spanish-road

Cool thanks.

IngSoc

All in all what would you say the price is for the materials assuming your homie has spray both and guns. Materials would be Fiberglass, Bondo, Sand paper, Paint(Prime the bondo?). How much paint would you use for a PU? I have 3 years of painting experince in housing (did a bit of HVLP on railings) Would really like to get my truck lookin purdy so I can go out and rough her up some more. And if there is a few layers of not exactly perfect rattle can paint jobs would you suggest bringing it to stock/primer?

wheatus

for something you are just going to beat on it i wouldn't waste my time or money. if you have old paint to remove you are going to have a lot of time wrapped up in it. that aside it depends on how carried away you want to get with it. you can use the best materials or you can use cheaper stuff. if there is old rattle can paint you have a couple options for removal. one is that you can sand it off back to the factory finish and another is you can use a chemical stripper. if you use the stripper you will be going all the way down to bare metal and will have to have a way to get some decent etch primer on it quickly. the body filler is inexpensive, i bought bondo and dura-glass with hardener for $32. if you are going to mechanically strip the truck you are going to use a ton of sandpaper. you are also going to need grits ranging from 36 to at least 400. so i would probably budget about $50 just for sand paper, assuming you don have any and plan on doing the entire truck. if you are going to be doing body work you MUST to prime the bondo-ed areas. depending on the extent of the body work and your skill at doing it you are going to use a good bit of primer. realistically you will probably end up just priming the entire truck, it is usually easier. plan on using at least two quarts but more likely closer to a gallon and don't forget the catalyst. prices are all over the place on primer sometimes you can get a deal so shop around and get a urethane primer, expect to spend $75. as for paint it depends what you are going to use basecoat/clearcoat or a singlestage. i am not sure about hawaii but you may only be able to use waterbased basecoats these days, you will have to check. i would go to local body shops and see if they will save some scraps of the color you want. as long as you are happy with just picking a general color you will get a surprise. i would stick with a solid color for your first attempt. the best part about doing this is that it will be inexpensive, most likely free as this stuff is haz-mat. if you have a particular color in mind it is going to be a little more costly. reds, yellows, and oranges are the most expensive tints and adding metallic can add cost as well. to do the entire truck, jambs and all, you will probably need two quarts and maybe a pint. as for cost ~$75 maybe? then you will need clearcoat, unless you go with a single stage. clear is going to be another $75 or so. then you will need all the incidental stuff masking tape, spreaders, paint filters, etc. so anyway sorry about the long answer but i would say you might be able to get by spending around $350.

IngSoc

Sounds about right. $350 isnt too bad just got to find the time and money all around the same time. I want to do it right and take the bed off the truck. Thanks for the info. Alojah`s!

wheatus

i removed the factory decals with a razor blade scraper, there wasn't really any good way to get them off. i plan on priming the doors anyway so its not a big deal.

874runnersr5

hey dude, great job. How does that duraglass stuff work?!? im really interested, is it the fiberglass version of bondo??

wheatus

yea it is pretty much bondo with fibers in it. it holds up a little better than bondo though. it mixes the same but it is a pain to spread. it is good for filling holes when you don't care enough to weld them up. but like bondo it will crack if moisture gets to it. oh and it is h*** to sand, i usually just use a grinder to rough out the shape. i will put bondo over the top of this to get my body lines just right.

874runnersr5

whatt! sick. im gonna have to buy some.. My rear quaters are pretty rusted thru.. you think it would be a good idea? or should i wait it out and see if my friend can weld it some metal.. il pm you some pics later

wheatus

i wouldn't recommend filling any holes bigger than a dime with dura-glass. you can do it and it will hold up for a while but will eventually crack out. welding up the holes is best but for little stuff i don't worry too much. as long as you keep moisture from getting to it, aka treating the backside really well, it will last for a long time. i am not advocating making big patches out of this stuff but if you are really intimidated by working with metal, or no access to the tools, you can make larger patches using fiberglass cloth and resin. this is how they make fiberglass beds, hoods, and half doors. if you were really ambitious you could make fiberglass quarters or a custom top.

874runnersr5

Yeah, i like the idea of using fiberglass with resin. Any info on how to?

wheatus

i have a lot of info maybe i will do another thread

these are good ones about building car bodies
http://www.hotrodder.com/32Blowpar/page8.html
http://www.rqriley.com/frp-foam.htm
this is a pretty good overview although it is mainly about building speaker enclosures
http://www.explorerforum.com/fibergl...erglassing.htm

874runnersr5

pm me some links if you dont mind!

wheatus

doesn't look like much progress but the cab has been stripped as well as the doors. now i need to do the body work, the random pieces of green masking tape are marking dents. if you strip the paint it is really hard to find them so find them first and remember where they are so you can mark them. it is really irritating to prime something just to find more stuff to fix.

1990mudslut

im in the process of doing this to my truck to.however,Im 16 with no job and school so its taking a really long time.I have been taking pictures and will have a thread up ventually.Its looking really good man.

wheatus

if you are strapped for cash or time you can always do one panel at a time. its a good way to go with a DD as well, you can easily fix one panel and prime it in an afternoon unless it is totaled. the biggest pain is doing the cab but you can break it up as well, do the top and the a-pillars, the b-pillar and rocker as one, the back, and the other b-pillar and rocker.

1990mudslut

That is exactly what im doing I've done both rear corners on the bed and currently have the tailgate taken off and sanding to find all dents.I started off by drilling holes and using a dent puller.Then filled the holes with bondo hair,sanded and then with body filler and gray primer.

wheatus

busy day today got the rest of the truck primed. the major projects were to fix the back cab corner which was rusted completely through and the top which was pretty bad on the driver side. the cab corner and doors turned out really well. removing the back glass was surprisingly easy. we got the body work really straight because the plan is to block everything without cutting through so we don't have to prime again or seal it. we are going to spray in the garage instead of taking it to the booth just to show that you can get professional results at home. the paint color has changed as well, i have recommended in many different places that you beg scraps from local body shops so this is what i am going to do. it will be some color red, most likely metallic. i will be using a waterborne paint as well which is nearly impossible to sand imperfections out of. it is rubbery like latex house paint. as such it is absolutely essential that your prep work is perfect.

Gizler00

iTrader: (1)

Wheatus, Are you spraying with a gun or are you using rattle cans? Thanks. Great progress so far.

wheatus

paint gun, been spraying primer with the devilbiss and will be using two iwata guns, one for base and one for clear. you can do it all with one but since i have them i am going to use them. the devilbiss. the black bulb on the bottom is just a cheap filter. also using a 3M cup and bladder system. it is awesome you can spray upside down because it is a closed system.