Hot Rods Metal filler question

On my Model A truck the original plan was to paint the cab, and leave the bed bare metal. The bed is handmade from stainless steel sheet. Where we made some welds, ive been back with a grinder and knocked the welds down, but there are some low spots. Is there such a thing as all metal filler that can be dressed to match the bare metal? Also we had a brain fart and welded it with wire for carbon steel, so I had planned on trying the exo armor stuff to keep those areas from corrosion. My last resort would be to bodywork it and paint, but I'd like that to be a last resort. Thanks in advance.

 

Now's a good time to learn how to use a hammer and dolly.

 

You could put some All Metal on it, BUT I'm not sure how it would match the bare metal and I have seen that stuff crack before from road vibrations before. I personally not a huge fan of the stuff.

 

Stainless steel bed, that's alot of trouble to fuckit up with mild steel wire. The welds are sorta shit and they will rust.

There's a stainless paint- its an epoxy fortified with stainless steel particles. There's small kits that are used to coat your appliances. Change your olive green fridge into stainless type stuff. There's also different grades all the way up to certified industrial food grade. Its quite convincing.

 

No help,but nice bed work.

 

I got busy welding on the cab and moved to the bed without giving it a second thought. Sounds like i'll be bodyworking and painting it!

 

I'm not a fan of the alma fill or all metal fillers. I used the all metal over some bullet holes that I welded up on my roof and when it's sunny the all metal expands differently and I can see all the spots where I used it.It also seems to crack more than other fillers. Keep up with your metalwork.It looks like you're doing a nice job!

 

Well no body fillers nor USC all metal will stick to stainless. 31 Vicky is correct on the use of a epoxy, but there is nothing you can do really that is durable. I think evercoat makes a epoxy filler, but that doesn't help you match the look of stainless. Now I can give you a tip if you want to do a brushed stainless look. Let me know.

 

Your best bet will be to body work and finish it to match the cab.

 

polish the insets, and paint the rest...........

 

Paint Guru what is your tip for the brushed stainless? Got busy finishing out the painting on the cab and left the bed on the back burner. Not a great pic, but all I have at the moment. May roll it out in the sun this weekend to get a better pic.

 

Looking good!

 

Thanks! Im no painter by any means but im pretty happy with it. Few bugs and some trash in the clear, but that'll sand out. Really very little orange peel, surprised me.

 

Interesting cab there. Was it a Murray 4 door before?.

 

Prime, I cant remember if it was a murray or briggs, but it was a 4 door slant windshield. Rumor has it, that it was cut off with an axe and welded back to make a truck. A friend of mine re-did it and I bought it from him.

 

Okay here is the tip for doing brushed stainless look:
1. The first thing you want to do to achieve the brushed stainless look, is make sure your panel is primed with black primer, sanded and ready for paint.
2. Go to any paint store and ask for base coat with just the finest silver they have, with no other pigment in it, and black basecoat.
3. Over reduce the silver unless it's already piss then, and spray light dust coats of the silver until full coverage is achieved. Spraying over the black primer helps knowing when you have achieved full coverage.
4. Tack off the silver once its dry (20 mins)
5. Take the black base and really over reduce it. If the ratio is 1:1 do 8 parts reducer to 1 part black.
6. Mist 1 uniform coat over the entire panel. It should still look silver after this.
7. Let it fully dry, then Take a red scuff pad, and in straight even lines scuff the black. I call this the wipe your butt method, dont go back and forth just one wipe in one direction! This will look identical to brushed stainless.
8. Tack the panel off and Spray with whatever sheen clear you desire.

Some people would use black powder guide coat over the silver, I just think that will lead to delamination later on. If you want to see what it looks like let me know, I will do some small panels over the weekend.

 

Thats sounds like a cool idea! May have to give it a shot. I don't want you to have to go through the trouble of all that to get pics

 

you could try lab metal its aluminium in a paste form, no hardener required. the stuff is hard to use - I have attached a photo . you apply with a putty knife then use a brush dipped in what the company calls lab solvent brush over and work it that way takes a few times to get the hang of it .

 

Thanks for the suggestion, i'll look into it. As someone suggested above, i may paint the bed sides and leave the inserts stainless.

 

If you have the time, I'd like to see some pics of what this would look like. Sounds kinda cool, and I can think of a few places where it might look good.

 

I will, I need to do a few panels to hang up in the store anyway. The problem I have is when I get started, I forget to take pictures!

 

I see you have a Bultaco Matador. I have a restored one plus some parts bikes. Great fun in the woods.

 

John, that Matador my friends dad bought new in 68 and I wanted it all through high school. He contacted me a year ago about restoring it and I jumped at it maybe a little too quickly. I found I really dont have the time. I've got it running, but need to get the lights working and go through the brakes. It has a headlight switch on the bars that I need to figure out the wiring for. Can't remember if my manual shows it or not. Been a while since ive looked at it.