Here is the story years ago, I purchased a 1949 for truck for me and my dad to restore. The truck was mostly rust free. With the exception of a quarter sized hole in a running board and a small rusted out hole in the fender. I will be replacing part of the floor pans as well. I am graduating college in two weeks and I will have two weeks after graduation before I start work and then it will be weekends when I work on the truck. My younger sister is getting married in August and wants to use the truck in the wedding. I need to repaint the truck by then. I have looking online and I know I need an orbital sander and some sanding blocks. I have some jitterbug sanders that use square sandpaper. I have found a good used round pad air orbital sander on eBay for a good price. I am also planning on getting some rubber sanding blocks as well. I have some HLVP paint guns already and shop with a very large industrial air compressor. So air supply won't be a problem. I am looking for a good finish but not museum quality. Ideally something close to the factory finish, maybe a little shinier. The color I have chosen is black. What grits of sandpaper do I need to start with? Once I start wet sanding, how often do I need to wet the sand paper? I'm assuming I need to use a good epoxy primer. Does anyone have any good tips before I get started? What all should be on my shopping list first? Thanks My dad has sanded and painted one truck before but the finish was not critical and it was painted a flat color with no shine. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I like to wet sand with running water, that's the way I learned to do it. But if you are not using running water then the idea is to keep the sand paper clean, not loaded up, so whatever it takes to keep it from loading up with grit. 600 grit will get you there unless you are shooting for a new millennia show car finish. All you really need to happen is for the orange peel to go away.
Your best bet is going to be to google the steps required to paint a car as it is a pretty involved process to do it right and there is lots of info out there. FYI black/dark colours are the hardest colours to make look good. If taking down to bare metal you will need to epoxy prime, do body work with fillers, prime again (usually with a high build type primer) block that out and then paint.
I do plan to do that. I'm not sure if I want to take it down to bare metal but it will probably look better if I do. If I do take it down to bare metal which I probably will, then I will get some high build primer too. I definitely want to do it right and have a lasting finish. Thanks Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
You are pretty much wasting your time and money (and paint work involves lots of both)if you don't take it down to bare metal.
Don't forget Prepsol, or grease and wax remover. Got to keep those panels oil free. Just touching freshly sanded panels, can result in oil off your hands affecting the finish.
I started to paint my truck when I was in high school. 30 years later I have it in the first stages of primer ( after taking it down to bare metal a few weeks ago). Be warned it is no small undertaking.... Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
It's always the best choice. There would be nothing worse than investing the type of time and money it takes to paint a vehicle and have something fail after you were finished because you didn't start from a clean slate.
You better be able to work on it 24/7 if you are to have prayer of finishing it by wedding day. And if you are going black, it better be laser straight. I would go 220, then epoxy, then 320, then high build, then 320 or 400 for paint. With all due respect to K13 and others, (and he is right about the cost of time and materials), if the old paint hasn't come off by now, it never will. I have primed and painted over old paint many times with no issues. Just don't use lacquer, as it is pretty hot and will attack enamel, causing problems. Good luck.
I'm not being a smart ass or a naysayer or negative nancy here but There's no way a rookie such as yourself gets the truck down to bare metal, with Bodywork and weld in new stuff and get it painted in 2 weeks and weekends before August. That's a total of 30 days. Then there Mother's Day Father's Day Memorial Day and the other summer stuff. Don't kid yourself or your sister.
I know it is going to be a major undertaking. Fortunately the truck is straight with only one or two real small dents to fix. I am trying to decide what to do about how far to sand. Thanks for the tips. I will go with epoxy primer and then high build primer. Thanks Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
There are some good videos on YouTube about color sanding - you did say you were looking for a finish similar to original? If that the case- use a nice single stage urethane, lay it down wet and it will look as good or better than the original finish without color sanding- still a lot of work to get it done by August though Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
You will find a lot of dents once you start sanding it...and even after straightening the metal, then adding filler and sanding with a long board, then priming and sanding a few times with a sanding block, then wet sanding and spraying on shiny black paint, you'll see a lot more that you never even noticed were there. It's a fun game to learn. Make sure you don't get in too deep, keep an eye on the calendar. Time will go by way faster than you ever expected. btw I did my first one in only two years....I had a full time job, so that slowed me down a little bit. I painted it a bright color, and the dents I missed weren't real obvious.
Hmmm... gind, sand, Da. Clean the best you can. Epoxy primer or rust converter. Skip holes for now. Marhyde and da sand carefully Omni ppg affordable brand single stage. Will hold up a bit. Labor and supplies are the concern. You maybe lucky and most of it holds well. Then go back and fix holes. Single stage black is easy to blend Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Oh, have done this before. Everybody has their favorite paints. Might not be ideal. 300 supplies? And your labor Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
you need a couple of cases of beer and hold a sanding party. Honestly, listen to those who are saying time is not your friend. To do a quality lasting paint job, you need to blow the truck apart to get in, behind and around all the joints, seams, edges. Just masking trim will not be enough and you will be disappointed in the end. Now, have you thought about buffing the existing paint - if it is adhering well - to put a shine on it?
...just wash it up and use it in the wedding as is,...you'd have to take that truck all apart to paint it correctly. ...now days people are looking for old trucks like yours with nice old paint to use in weddings. If you do this you'd have it ready by August. ...personaly, I wouldn't mess up that nice factory paint.
Take me shopping !! Here's the list and I got $300 buck lets go! Wax and grease remover Sand paper Tape and paper Epoxy primer /plus activator Wash out thinner Filler Marhyde primer kit Reducer Omni single stage (maybe I can borrow another $20.00 and get better stuff) Omni Activator Ill save up some dough and then -- Wet sand paper, compounds & pads. That will be about another $25.00 right? Then take the kid shopping, starting from scratch. He needs a body grinder/sander/polisher & pads, DA, sanding blocks, and everything else too.
"I am looking for a good finish but not museum quality. Ideally something close to factory the factory finish..." You're setting yourself up (and probably your sister) for some disappointment trying to get this project done in time for an August wedding while starting a new job. Why not go with the patina look? Buff out the old paint, clean the truck up, paint the wheels a contrasting color (red, bright green, or whatever), clean the tires and cover the seat if needed. Decorate as appropriate, don't forget the string of cans tied to the bumper and enjoy the wedding. If you do decide to paint, do your research, order some videos, watch YouTube, read books, ask your local paint store for info, plan and use a paint system, and practice. Now for the editorial on automotive painting: Just from the photos I can see you have more than a couple of dents. Can you prime and paint over factory lacquer and whatever else has been sprayed over the past 60 plus years? Yes, but you're wasting money putting any modern and costly products on an inferior foundation. Unless you use some industrial type single stage or rattle cans, expect to spend some $$$$ on materials ( paper, primers, paint, clear coat, tape, etc.). When folks ask me about what I would charge to paint their car, and they are only looking for a "so-so" paint job I usually tell them they can't afford me. Why? Because they obviously don't have a clue on what it takes to prep and a paint a car (costs, labor etc). I use the products that I prefer, PPG, Shopline (PPG's Omni replacement), Matrix, DuPont, HoK, etc.)... so when I tell them materials will be around $1000 - $1200 bucks to start, they are usually "shocked." They mention the one day service paint shops, you know the ones offering a $199.99 paint job with the "integrated clear coat." Yeah right... As far as an average or so-so paint job I suggest they go to Lowes or Walmart and pick up a couple cases of spray paint and have at it. Any good painter is going to take the time and effort to prep the vehicle with the goal of shooting a great paint job, followed by a cut and buff. And finally, if a painter agrees (usually under pressure from a friend) to do an "average" (crappy, cheap) paint job, you can bet the owner will have amnesia the first time some comments on it. They forgot they wanted to go the cheap route, and no, it's not a rat rat rod, and yes the painter is (fill in the blank). Good luck!
No offense but unless you are personally willing to pay to have something redone if it does fail down the road this kind of advise is not helpful IMO. I work in the paint and body industry and see things go bad all the time especially with restorations that guys have tried to shortcut or don't have the experience to know that something is going wrong and keep going. Might it work sure and then it is great but when it doesn't who is out the time and money you or the OP?
Just Run it thru "oh oh better get Macco" and spring for the upgrade scuff and squirt. You'll only be out a few hundred bucks. It will be uniform and I'd bet it costs you less than the equipment, tools, supplies, and materials you'd buy to do it yourself. Hattiesburg is just an 1-1/2 from Newton
I have most of the tools already but I am considering that option. My dad has sanded a truck (no bed, just cab and fenders/hood) down to bare metal and painted it with primer and single stage Omni paint and it turned out okay and that was 7-8 years ago. That truck was painted in 2 weeks but now it did not have the type of prep I would like for a good long lasting finish Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
time is not on your side to do it right. a quick job won't look like it should and you will always be thinking of doing it again [next wedding?]. making a decision on where to stop is hard. it's only 6 bolts, or if i take this off i can paint this etc........... i have painted cars in a couple days with help, but always referred to those jobs as a "glorified wax job". maybe call one of those tv shows, they seam to have some sort of magic that can rebuild a car in a week.
Have you tried buffing out what's there? I've seen several cars on here with original paint that have been sitting that really responded well to just a buffer.
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