Hey guys, just bought a '89 Pickup, it's red and I want to get it painted black.

Has anybody ever painted a red truck black? I just keeping thinking about little pebbles hitting the paint on the road and getting little red specs all over my hood, unless of course it gets primed the right way when painted.

Just wondered if anybody had every changed the color of their truck and how it went.

Thanks.

 

Black is not one of the easiest colors.... the little chips will drive you crazy no matter what the color.

 

Yeah I figured as much. So no matter what I do, I can count on little red specs around huh?

 

a good primer will help but there is a great chance you will still have a few red specks here and there.

 

my truck was dark blue and i painted it black, first thing is to use some good sand paper around the egdes, doors, cowl, hood, etc. primer it, use a lighter sand paper after that and then shoot it with black. mine was a rattle can special and was done in the backyard but it came out pretty good. i didnt do the inside of the door jambs or under the hood, but all the same i think it looks good. the trees and rocks really seem to like the looks of of it anyway, but there is only a few spots that the paint has been rubbed off. just take your time and prep it real good, it'll stick with a good prep job. be sure to wash it off after all the sanding

 

In case you didn't know don't let the retarded ricer mentality of you have to primer before you paint, the primer doesn't help the paint adhere at all really it just gets sanded down so it covers the imperfections in the previous coat of paint. If you sand it all down right, and clean it with Prep Klean and paint, it should be fine, rocks are gonna chip it eventually but it shouldn't be noticable. Trust me I work in a body shop, If your gonna rattle can it, it should just be a beater, if not let a professional do it, or its gonna look like crap.

 

the most irritating thing about a color change is that your engine bay is going to be a different color and your jambs and in between the bed and cab unless you are thorough. primer is not really necessary* as rusty said unless you are doing repairs. you can get an acrylic spot putty to fill in rock chips before you paint.

*primer does have a function but for what you are doing i wouldn't worry with it

 

I know this is an old thread but anyways...

Sand your truck down with 220, repair all dings, dents, rust and holes, coat with sealer (thinned out primer) which if going to Black as the base use Black primmer/sealer.
For most paint jobs 3 coats of base with 3 clear works great. If using s single stage I would spray 4-5 coats.
Rattle cans do work but from what I've seen it wont last and its hard to get even coverage.

Harbor fright sells a cheap gun for single and two stage paints its about $15. Lots of places you can rent a 30gal compressor. Its on the small side but if you break the truck down into sections allowing the air to rebuild you can it covered.
I'm getting ready to repaint my truck which I will post how I'm doing it. Also you can find a lot of videos on painting at home.