Paint preparation

[1979C20]

Okay everyone. While my truck is sitting dormant and sad, I plan on pretty-ing her up. Im thinking a a dark electric blue paint, new doors because mine are both creased in, weld the holes from my trim lines, and fix some random dents on the body. My dad will weld the holes, and I will do everythong else. But, ive never done body work. Ive rattle canned a few vehicles. What are the steps involved in body work? Ive got a few chips in my paint, and I want to use the least amount of body filler as possible. So, I will be doing quite a bit of sanding. Taking some areas to bare metal, and most areas almost to it. Most areas are paint issues, some parts are dented. I plan on malleting out the dented areas if possible, their mostly on the bottom area of the bed and on the doors.

Currently my truck has the original paint, and a LIGHT coat of rattle can cheapy paint. This new paint job will most likely be rattle can again, but better quality.

Now, what I wanted to know, do I:
Grab some 40 grit and start sanding down all the problem areas and do a general sanding on the body, then body fill where necessary, then block the body filler, primer the whole body(rattle can), l 3 or 4 coats, 250 grit between coats, black paint/primer light coat over the grey and wet sand with 400 until black is gone, then a few coats of my paint color(most likely rattle can), 2 light coats then 2 heavy coats, wet sand(what grit?) Then one good coat of clear(rattle can) then wet sand(what grit?) Then buff/wax and be happy.

Are those procedures correct? Im planning on removing grill, bumpers, front bezel, mask headlights, remove tail lights, remove rain gutters, mask all windows, remove mirrors, mask engine bay, mask interior around the door jam, remove or mask wheel arches, i dont know about side markers, remove front marker lenses and mask housing, remove cowl screen, remove windshield wiper arms, and remove trim under the back window. Is there anything im missing?

[DustyRusty]

I have some limited painting experience.  Since I was doing it technology has come a long ways.  I basically did single-stage paint and mostly panel repair.

Personally, I do not like rattle-can paint jobs although some rattle-can paint can have reasonably decent quality.  If it were me, I'd opt for a Harbor Freight gun or two that offers  2 - 3 tip sizes.  I'd also use a quality epoxy primer because it will seal better and you will not get rust through like w/ non-epoxy primers.  As an added advantage of epoxy primer you can still drive your truck because you are protected better when you are not working on it.

There are a number of companies that provide quality single- and double-stage paints and are fairly economical.
I don't have any links handy at the moment but if you want I'll look them up.

Last, be careful about wet sanding primer because most primer (other than epoxy or catalyzed primer) is very porous and will actually absorb water.  That will negate all your hard work because rust will likely start all over again.  Unfortunately, rust never sleeps.

Hope this helps a little bit.

Rusty

[1979C20]

I have no idea the difference in single or double stage paints. I would get a spray gun, as a matter of fact, my dad has a spray gun. But, I'm trying to keep this as cheap as I can, because the paint isnt necessary, but would be nice. Could I rattle can the primer with An epoxy type and do all of the prep work and then buy the cans of paint in the color I want and spray it with the gun? Where could I get masking materials, like the big sheets of butcher paper to mask off the interior and the engine bay? How much body filler should I be looking into getting? I can take some pics of the body damage I'll need to fix if that will help. And, Should I even worry about painting the inside of the bed? I'd love to do spray on or roll on bed liner some time down the road. Thank you for the reply Rusty. And thank anyone else in advance for helping me.

[Bitzer!]

For what it's worth, I consider rattle cans a paint for small areas. By the time you prep and paint in rattle it will cost you twice as much as a paint gun.

As for masking paper use old newspaper, works just as well.

Do one panel at a time unless you're doing a big resto.

If you've not done bodywork before be careful of taking a big mallet to any panel - hitting too hard could stretch the metal and then you're in all sorts of trouble!
A smaller hammer to knock the dent out and a block of wood (dolly) on the other side. Bring the dent out from the outside in, don't take a big whack in the middle! Then skim with filler, 80gt should be fine unless you have "snot" hanging everywhere then I take a blade and trim the ruff bits first! Rub down, refill and sand with 320gt, prime, rub down & paint.

Roughly how it's done

[1979C20]

Well, Its not just a paint gun, but paint too. And, Laziness. I know how to shake a can and press a button, I dont know how to spray with a gun. My dad will probably be working or sleeping so I probably wont get any help from him.

[big bear]

lol...well, im in the same boat.  ive always wanted to try and paint, so  take your time and close your eyes and spray haha plaing man.    its like everything,  prep work is  key.  you can have a million dollar paint job, but if it was prepped poorly, it will look like poo.

[Dr_Snooz]

Why don't you do the $50 paint job (http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=2331682&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1? or http://www.rickwrench.com/index79master.htm?http://www.rickwrench.com/50dollarpaint.html)? It looks like this when done:



Personally, I won't be painting another car. I'll be vinyl wrapping everything (http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=376442). That ends up looking like this:

[1979C20]

That RR looks siiiick! But, what about when you scratch a body panel? Gotta reupholster it?! Bah!

[1979C20]

Quick question, what is the easiest way to remove the trim clips that go through the body?

[DustyRusty]

1979C20-

You are probably going to end up w/ information overload here.

Single-stage paint is just that - your top coat goes right over the primer.  Enamels and lacquers are examples.  A rattle-can paint would be considered a single-stage paint.  A two-stage paint has a base coat and a clear coat.  You are probably already familiar with this type of system.

Don't laugh at the $50 paint job discussed by Dr Snooz.  It works, is cheap but is pretty labor intensive.  You have to do a lot of sanding.

Rattle-can epoxy primer can be found but not at stores like Wally World.  I would suggest you go to your local professional refinishing products store for help.  They may not have it but can make cost-effictive recommendations for your situation.  It would take 1 or 2 cases of 12 cans to epoxy prime your truck.  Each can is about $12 -$15.  A gallon of epoxy primer can be had for ~$60 and a can of activator is ~$35.  IMHO, a spray gun job is going to be cheaper.  Downside of epoxy paint using a paint gun is you have to clean the gun immediately after using it or the paint sets up in the gun.

There other cheaper primers besides epoxy but you get what you pay for.  Non-epoxy primers must usually be topcoated right away or rust will get in under the  primer.

As has been mentioned, spend a lot of time preparing the surface and get the bodywork done correct so that no matter which primer/topcoat system you choose, the final product will still look great.

You might want to visit the two sites I've provided links to in order to gain a little more knowledge.

http://www.eastwood.com

http://www.tcpglobal.com/restorationshop/

Rusty

[1979C20]

Thanks Rusty, I appreciate your help. When I rattle canned my truck green, we clear coated a test area on the bed. We wet sanded, let dry, cleared, repeat. Did 3 coats and it looked really good for rattle can paint and clear. Now that summer has come back around, the paint has faded to almost white, but the cleared area looks great still. So single stage is.out of the question, unless I clear coat over it. I wasnt laughing at the 50 dollar paint job. It looks great. I made a joke about the vinyl wrapped body panels. So, ive decided to grab some 2 stage paint from a website, I think it was eastwoods site, I think I am going to be a cheapo on the primer. Just because I dont want tobspend a ton of money. I bought sand paper, sanding disks, some body filler, and 4 cans of primer to start. Its just 3 dollar-a-can BriteTouch brand primer from checker. Once I remove the clips from the body, ill have my dad weld the holes up, grind em flat, and body fill to cover any scratches. Im going to start out on the front clip to begin with. How much paint will I need to do the body?

[jaredts]

If you're going to use rattle cans I suggest using self etching primer on any bare metal.  Cheap various other primers will allow surface rust to form pretty quickly underneath.  Don't put it over body filler, though.  Use a high build primer over filler and the self etching.  Spray a speckled coat over that with some cheap paint that has contrast to the primer, usually black.  Wet sand with 400 or 600 on a block until the black disappears along with the texture from the primer.  Low spots will show up easily as they will still have the guide coat showing.  You can fix these at this point with filler and repeat.  $50 roll on paint jobs are good for someone in an apartment or otherwise can't spray,  but a dumb choice if spraying is at all possible.  There's just no reason to add that much work.  How much paint you'll need depends on what you're doing.  You might get by with a gallon if you're not cutting in the inside of everything, but if you are be prepared to buy more--especially if you're doing the inside of the bed.  I wouldn't though.  For what you're doing I would clean up and primer any bare spots in the bed and put bedliner on it.  For what you're doing single stage would have been fine as well.  Don't get me wrong, clear coat is better but single stage automotive paint has some uv resistance and would have lasted a while.  Clear adds even more and makes repairs later on easier.  For the record enamel and lacquer aren't really examples of single stage paint.  Enamel, lacquer, urethane are all available both in single stage and bc/cc.

[1979C20]

Im going to get all dents out the best I can, remove trim clips, weld holes and grind as flat as possible, sand most of the truck with 120, sand the trouble spots, like paint chips with 60 and body fill where necessary. Block sand the body filler with a high grit, like 400, prime with my cheapy primer, contrast paint, block sand the contrast paint off and body fill and low spots, prime and sand those areas, paint with a spray gun my color of choice 2 lights coats then one good thick, but not runny, coat then wet sand, clear coat, wet sand, 2 coats(maybe?), then wax and polish! Sound good? I want to paint fenders, hood, the cowl area, the side channels under the hood, behind the headlight bezels, rockers, door jams, possibly the insides on doors if I buy new(to me) ones, and the rest on the main body, i.e. roof, around the windshield and back window, doors, bed, tail gate. I will not paint between the bed and cab, engine bay, or inside the cab. I MIGHT paint inside the bed. So, how much paint would you recon it'd take to do that stuff with the bed, and without the bed? 

[PromiseKeeper]

Not gonna overload you with info... but you were on the right track practicing in the bed especially if you're going to put bed liner in it.

The one step paint is what was original on the truck. Get some acrylic enamel and use hardener in it. You'll like the shine and no buffing like lacquer. It's also more forgiving when it comes to showing sand scuffs if you dint have it prepped good enough. Don't be afraid if the gun. You'll find it cheaper and easier to get a good job in the end. If you don't care about factory colors....go to a farm supply store and check out some tractor colors....usually much cheaper.

[Bitzer!]

Paint volume - Nearly finished my crew-cab paint, every panel has been off and prepped well before paint went on.

Nearly 5 litres of colour although it's heavy in places to ensure I can cut & polish without making it bald 

I've used 2.5 litre of black for the roof, inside the cab, chassis and several of the smaller bolt on parts.

By the time you've added hardener & thinner a little goes a long way

Andy