Whole Truck in Raptor

[jeremy.farlow]

So the COVID-19 pandemic is only slowing me down ever so slightly. What better way to self isolate than by shutting myself in my shop and hammering away at the Suburban?!?
I decided that since I had the entire truck torn apart I’d go ahead and paint it. Slippery slope there. The truck was in good enough shape when I got it, but it shows every one of its 30 years and 200k miles...
My dad has been using Raptor coatings on the trucks he sells and got me sold on it. It has a texture, but far less than comparable products. It also goes on easily and I figured it would hide some of the war wounds my truck has. So far it’s working on both counts. The stuff is fairly easy to apply and I’m really digging the texture and REALLY like the shade of white! They say it’s GM Fleet White and I agree. No frills, just a good, solid white, just like I wanted. I’ve started with smaller, more manageable pieces and once I’m really tuned in I’ll paint the entire body/cab. So far I’ve done the tailgate and insert and a door. I’m prepping pieces as I paint and trying to not make a career of it. Here’s what I’ve got so far:





Jeremy

More pics to follow as I get more parts done.

[Shifty]

In for results!

[jeremy.farlow]

Here’s the hood:

I’ll follow those lines onto the cowl.
Also hit the grill with the same:


So far I’m super impressed with the way the Raptor “lays down” paint on the hood is still wet, the blotchiness goes away when it dries.




Jeremy

[Shifty]

I'm digging where this is going. 

[jeremy.farlow]

I hope I’m happy when it’s all said and done. So far so good... but the cab is gonna take some forethought. It’ll be all too easy to “paint myself into a corner” there...

[jeremy.farlow]

I decided to just do it today



I’m thinking one coat of primer to sand, a second to seal it all in and then on to actual coating. Hoping to get the cab done by the weekend. That way I can start putting some of the truck back together and free up some shop space for the doors and other small parts.

Jeremy

[Mike81K10]

Look forward to seeing the finishing coats. Looking good so far!

[Shifty]

Keep 'em coming!  Looking great so far! 

[jeremy.farlow]

Truck is almost white again.




Jeremy

[jeremy.farlow]

I can’t wait to start putting her back together.



Jeremy

[JohnnyPopper]

Have you named her yet? Assuming the gender is female...

Looking very good BTW!

[jeremy.farlow]

This thing is WAAAAYYYY too big for a lady. And totally devoid of lady-esque lines. I’ve never been much of one for naming vehicles... much to my missus’ consternation. Because I won’t name it anything other than “The Suburban” she calls it either “Moby” or “The Whale”... that one definitely fits. Ultimately the goal is to build something pre-runnerery, and if I ever get to that point it’ll become “Raptor Eater”, but until that point I reckon it’ll stay the whale. Not knocking those who name their vehicles, the reality is I’m product of a car salesman father and therefore no matter what level of emotional attachment one gets to any particular vehicle they’re all just waiting for a buyer. I name kids and pets, you don’t sell those.



Jeremy

[JohnnyPopper]

Short of a name, I used to call my old van "the white whale that can't get out of it own way"

I think the only car I ever name is a '76 Mercedes SL 450, "Poofy Boots" after a cat my daughter had.

Long story...

[jeremy.farlow]

that’s a story I want to hear. Dad was a Mercedes salesman for most of my young adult life... I had a string of those. You couldn’t pay me to drive a new Mercedes, but up to the W123 cars they were some of the best vehicles out there. I wish I could get the formula for the MBTex they used for upholstery on the older cars. No idea how it was so much better than regular vinyl, but it was. They should coat tanks in that stuff.

I had an eighties or early nineties SL560 for a couple of weeks... just like this suburban, there was a point where the speedometer and gas gauge were inversely proportional, one went up at the same rate the other went down.
The only thing I never liked about Mercedes was they were so good... the average user really couldn’t improve on them THAT much. The paint stuck, everywhere but on the hoods... MBTex would dull a razor knife... and the motors, with a bare modicum of maintenance ran forever. The aftermarket never supported them because it never had to. I’ve owned several older diesels, all purchased for a song and sold for the same. The only issue I ever had was that the odometers just stopped working after 350-400k miles.
I bought an 81 300SD in 2000 with 325k on the clock for $1000... the clock stopped at 355k. I drove it as my long haul car for several years, sold it to my younger brother for the same $1000 when I got tired of it, he put several sets of tires on it and when he was done sold it for $1800.
To the point of where this thread has gone though, none of them got named.



Jeremy

[JohnnyPopper]

Poofy Boots had a beautiful face and four white boots, from her eyes drew a silver sloping nose.

Poofy the car was Silver with Red interior. When you sat in her, the hood's sloping curve reminded us of the cat's nose.

I'm with you on a new MB. I have owned W140 S class, all used too.

I ran the '94 till she was 336K, she was giving out, could hear it in her. I maintained it real well, so....

I came up on a '96 in a driveway, lost interest, flats. Knock knock, no, saving it for teenager.

Called back a year later, Yeah, come over. Had it pumped up and running. Test drove, good ride, paint, straight, perf interior. 150k miles.

Negotiated to 1100.00, took her home, donated all my good parts; tires, 17" wheels, front shocks, everything that made sense and sold the old girl for 500.00