Sorry to hear about the bondo in the rear. I also like bondo but I use it AFTER i weld in a replacement panel when the rust is all cut out. Then I typically skim it with filler so smooth the surface out.

I agree that those welds do not look so great. For the money they cost, you think that quality control would have caught that. Not that they won't be structurally sound, the welds just do not look the greatest.

Are you going to Roll on the enamal, or spray it? I know some people that have had great success with rolling it on.

 

Some photos of the damage.





I'm going to roll it. It is not a show truck. I want a good 20 ft paint job. I mainly want the truck to be one color and to prevent it from rusting any further. I've used TSC's enamel on a couple of other projects. I've sprayed some and I've brushed some. In general I'm actually happier with brushing. Getting it thinned right and cleaning up the gun afterwards is just a pain. Its is probably a failing in my technique, but I have problems getting it to lay down well with my cheap gun.

 

Subscribed. Nice bumpers. I love a good paint story for some reason. Where in VA? It looks like the mountains.

 

I'm in beautiful scenic Norfolk. Actually sarcasm doesn't translate well through the internet. Unfortunately no mountains near here, but the ocean is about 40 feet past the truck.

 

Glad to see you removed the old bondo as it will eventually just make the rust worse. Great looking truck and looking forward to seeing your build.

 

I always try to weld in metal when and where I can. Then too coat with filler. I hate seeing all filler in a hole.

 

The transformation has started.




Rust is "repaired". Actually it is not, but it will not be getting any worse. The fenders are straight. I spent a ton of time getting the body work perfectly straight. Then I realized it was pointless. I wasn't going to be doing a good enough paint job to worry about it being perfect. I was aiming for a 20 foot paint job and I got it. I can do better thought. A lot of runs and uneven spots. I had a lot of trouble with the paint. I couldn't find the sweet spot thinning it so that it would roll nicely, but not run. I could be satisfied now, but I have to break out the paint to do the fenders, tail gate, and doors so I figure I might as well try for a 5 ft paint job. I'm going to wet sand the entire truck and go for another coat.

The wife walked out yesterday and said she loved the color so that was a huge win

Should have taken more pictures, but was covered in paint.

 

It looks great. Is that Kubota orange?

 

Looks great!! What kind of roller did you use? 3/8 nap?? I love the color

 

It is coming along and looking better as you go. Great job!!!

 

It is indeed Kubota orange. I did it with a 4" trim ultra smooth roller. I'm actually stoked about how well it came out. There is room for improvement, but I think the final product will be pretty killer.

Seat cover shipped today. Soon to have heated water proof seats.

Unfortunately it is supposed to rain all week so I don't expect to make a lot of progress this week. I have to work this weekend so progress has slowed to a standstill.

 

Post some more pics of that thing!! Really love that color.

What did you end up thinning it with, and to what ratio?

 

So the strangest thing happened. Sunday and Monday paint was good. I went out this morning and looked at it and the paint is all jacked up. It has this crazy texture and wrinkle pattern to it.



The picture doesn't do a great job showing it. On one hand its annoying on the other its really cool. If I thought I could duplicate it on the fenders and doors I think I would keep it. Unfortunately I don't think I can so I have a ton of sanding ahead of me

This is the paint


The reducer


The hardener


My guess right now is I didn't get the paint thinned enough and applied it to thick. Really that is just guess. I've never had this problem before.

 

Seat covers came in today. They are expensive, but awesome. Nothing like water proof heated seats to make the wife happy. It will be a while before they go in. I'll get some pictures up in a day or two.

Caught a break in the weather today so I started working on the paint fiasco. It is looking like I didn't use enough hardener. The top layer is rock solid, but as soon as I sand off the top layer I can scratch it with my finger nail. There are runs in the paint that are not dry 5 days later. Technically the hardener is optional. I believed that the first time I used it. It took three weeks for the parts to dry.

Anyway. I'm color sanding the body. Something I really didn't expect to do with an enamel paint. So far it is working very well. I'm going to keep sanding as weather permits, let it dry for a week or two and then put another coat on.

 

Thats too bad on the paint. Hopefully you can get it squared away without to much sanding. I have had that happen to me when applying the clear. Come back and it looks like I put on some kind of special wrinkle paint!

 

Well the paint system completely failed. I have no idea what went wrong. I mixed to the directions, mostly, and it went on well and looked great. Unfortunately it didn't dry. A weak and a half later the bottom layers were still wet. I wended up having to remove it all. I'm super frustrated with it and myself. I got in a hurry removing the paint and dinged up the base layer pretty good. Now I have ton of imperfections showing through. I'm not going to take the time to fix it this year. I have one more coat of paint to put on tomorrow and I'm done except the tail gate. I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to tackle it.

I sprayed this round and it has turned out pretty good. I'm satisfied, but not happy with it. Its an honest 10 ft paint job, but if I had been a little slower and methodical on the paint removal it would be a 2 ft paint job. I started out aiming for a 20 ft job so I guess it will work. Where I work we say, we paint for preservation not ascetics. Of course its completely untrue but if you say it enough you will believe it right. I do believe this paint job will protect the metal from any additional rust for years to come.







Unfortunately work will be stopping for the next two weeks. The Virginia 4 wheel drive association member only run is next weekend. If your on the East Coast "The Cove" at Gore is worth doing. They are expensive as hell, but they have a lot of good terrain. Some of it rivals the great west coast trails. I did a shake down ride on my other beast this last weekend and blew out a valve stem, had some wiring issues, and blew out a trailer tire. Most of the week will be dedicated to getting this beast ready.

 

Your truck is looking great and really pops with the color of it. I have seen a similar texture of the paint that you show in previous post on enamel before. I am not sure what causes that. I talked to a guy that has far more experience then me on enamel and he says there is some tricks to it and recommended me not to use it. He taught me how to paint and body work and knows about where I stand with experience and skills.

I do like using the base coat, clear coat system. I have never had a run in the base coat. I really like it. I have had several problems with the clear coat but if you are going to have problems with it, that is the coat you want it to be on. It can be wet sanded and polished back out. I get at least one run in the clear and twice it orange peeled on me but it is fixable. Just takes a lot of elbow grease.

 

What did you do as far as paint prep goes? sand it down with 320? What did you wipe it down with before you rolled it?

My guess is thinner or something that left a residue that geeked the paint. That's a bad reaction there...has to be a containment.

I wont lie...your truck looked badass that blue color.

Bummer you have to sand/repaint.

 

Did you ever figure out the starting issue? I am having the same issue with mine.

 

Nice work on the rear bumper, it turned out great! I like the color orange you used, I always thought of going with orange if I was to repaint my 4 runner, but my factory paint is still pretty descent, just needs waxed and buffed out.