My trucks paint is worn and needs to be painted. I am a novice with a paint gun and have several questions. I am not looking for a show truck paint job, just a nice looking truck. Can I just sand down my current paint smooth and reshoot it with the same color thats on it? Should I sand it smooth, spot prime it and seal it then paint it? I guess what i'm trying to ask is can I repaint my truck without stripping it all the way down to bare metal? From what I can tell the truck has been repainted once over the original paint. I would like to use a single stage Urathane paint. Thats what I used on the inside of the cab and it came out nice. Can I paint it in pieces or should I do it all at once? Will this effect the color match. Does any of this sound possible or should I just try to find someone to paint it for me? Funds being limited. Thanks for any advice, JW
Actually, a quicky paintjob is well worth going to Maaco, Earl, etc. The key is to remove as much trim, etc as possible, as they spray volume and do not take the time you or I might in inshuring no tape lines. I had a buick wagon painted by the Peach in Charlotte, $400 for roof and trunk stripping(GM metallic grey clearcoat syndrome) down to metal, priming and paint. There was only 4 small pieces of trash in the paint, which beats many body shops. Do the base/ clear....2 stage service, as single stage paint doesn't hold up as well. My truck is painted single stage, and I can't keep a shine on it over a month, when you wax, it takes off color. Even if you do it yourself, Base/ clear is the way to go. Basecoats are fairly forgiving and flash quickly between coats. Clears may run, but with enough coats you can wet sand most of the problems out and buff an amazing shine. Most clears have UV protection which helps to slow color fade. Use a whole system or brand so that you know that it will all work together. Too many people use the cheapest thing they can find from several Mfg.s then spend more money fixing problems that arise. Pick a decent line and use all their stuff for a trouble free (or at least reduced) job. Check Eastwood's systems out.
What Russ said! You can do this yourself. Go base with clear. How do I know you can do it? If I can, ANYBODY can! I thought I might need the massive air compressor, but have been able to do just fine with my twin tank portable compressor. The reason is, I only do parts at a time. I'm using paint that NAPA sells. They are great about giving making sure you understand the mixing process, and so far, I'm happy with it. Yes, the clear can run more than the base! But like Russ said, you can sand on it and keep working it -if you want to-. I think I'll leave it the runs in it. It's going to be a work truck anyway. My only advice is to KEEP THE FRIGGIN' CATS AWAY!!! I had my doors on saw horses, painted the clear on. Went to clean my gun, came back to find nice little kittycat paw prints right across my door. (We had cat for dinner that night...) Just kidding, but that cat is living on borrowed time. Here's how it looks so far.
Looks great so far Zig but could there be a problem with the color matching, if you paint parts at different times with paint not being mixed and shot at the same time?
JW The colors I'm using are from Napa. They are colors that they mix, so there is a chance that the amount of colors they put in each batch could be a smidge off, but I'm color blind so I doubt I'd notice. Ideally, I would have had enough mixed for the whole truck. I knew it would take months (okay, YEARS) to get everything down to bare metal, and then primed for paint, so I just got a quart of each, and a gallon (?) of clear. They don't recomend that you use it after it sets for 6 months, so I'll be buying more next month, or whenever I get the fenders, boards, hood, and that beloved grill done. If the colors are off a tad, that will be okay. At least it was down to bare metal, primed, painted with several coats, and most of all~ SHINY! (That clear coat really does the trick!)
Cant' wait to see you truck JW!!! Paul you too, can't wait to see it all painted up! Then get that done so we can go for a cruise I will be doing this hopefully this next winter. I was thinking about doing the prep work myself and then taking it to a Maaco or some place like that. As I will be using my truck for work, and don't want to pooh if i scratch it. Im sure I will be asking for some tips and actually the entire how to process to do the prep work!!!
Cheap Paint Pretty much what they all said . I figure out how much is necessary to paint the entire thing (well over a gallon) then add 1/2 gallon to that and order it up , when they hand it to me I say " Oops ! I forgot to ask you to package it into pint cans ! " - now you have properly mixed & color matched paint you can open in ten years and it'll still be fine and match *perfectly* . DO NOT twell them to separate it when you order it as they'll mix it lin little batches that won't -quite- match up . I'm a lousy painter but I vastly prefer single stange paints as they're forgiving and easy to cut & buff , the 30 year old $200 repaint on my Metropolitan looks nice & shiny and it's been buffed a buncha times..... Stripping down to metal is a mistake unless you're a professional *or* are willing to pay for the extra work needed to make it a good job . Just take it apart and scuff it as best you can then have it done locally .
Cheapo Paint Jobs Maaco , Earl Scheib , etc. can all be quite satisfacory BUT you must take the time to both do the disassembly and interview the shop and the painter , if you see a finished job outside that has overspray on the door handles etc. and orange peel , go to a different shop . (there's plenty of them not to worry) when you get to one where the freshly re-painted clunkers outside have an acceptable gloss , go in and talk to the _painter_ not the manager/salesman . Explain to the painter you want your old truck to look as good as the '95 Camaro / Buick / Toyletta POC parked over there , and you'll give him a $50 CASH tip *if* he takes the time to mask it correctly (no overspray in doorjambs , underhood etc.) and it's not orange peeled like that other shitbox Brand 'F' thing over there . This works but only if YOU take the time and effort . Good luck and keep us posted .
Question Just wondering how painting over 58 year old, oxidized paint would be better than taking it gently down to bare metal with something like a 3M paint stripping wheel that doesn't distort the metal, hitting it with etching primer, and then going from there? If this isn't the way to go, then you just saved me a butt load of time and labor!
Many Thanks. Thanks for all the advice Fellas. I'm leaning towards disassembling, fenders, hood and bed. Then sanding smooth through first layer of paint, spot priming, sealing then shooting with single stage urethane. Now that the weather is starting to heat up it will be a slow go over the Summer.Then I will hit it hard once the kids are back in school and the weather cools down. I'll keep you posted. JW
Old Paint Because the original paint , unless it's been allowed to rust through , will act as a better primer than what you put on .
Urethane Paints Please read the older posts on this good Urethane stuff and use the proper mask ! IIRC , Urethane is the stuff that will kill you if it gets a chance , you may need to beg/borrow/rent an pressureized face mask . NO BS ! .
JW its impossible to give you advice on what to do without knowing what your truck has been repainted with . Paint & materials are very expensive these days & you are just wasting time & money on them if you dont know what you are painting over . Its an old truck & more then likelly the previous owner followed advice much like youve been given here & got a quicky job done with inferior single stage paints which the solvents in todays paints could make a real mess of things if you painted over the old paint . As well as the painter if not qualifyed might have used a fisheye eliminator ( silicone ) in the paint to help smooth it out & it will be even worse to deal with , Same as if anyone has ever got any armorall on it If you dont know anyone experienced in painting to look at it for you , take it to an automotive paint store & have a pro look at it to see what type of paint is on it . If the paint is soft its probablly a synthetic or uncatalized paint that will not react well to any types of paint over the top of it & most likelly will wrinkle even applyin primer to it . If its scratch resistant ( fingernail test ) It might be acrylic enamel , Imron with hardners in it or acrylic laquer . Any of the 3 should be fine to sand & go over the top with a good automotive paint without stripping . If you should decide to attempt it yourself you need to be aware of the risks involved to your health or anyone around you while painting & make darn sure you have proper ventilation & protection . Anything that takes a hardner will contain Icocyanates ( Cyanide ) It is basiclly a poison that turns into a gas when mixing or spraying & gets in your system anyway it can Skin , eyes , ears as well as breathing it & never gets out & it can & will take years off of your life , dont ask me how I know . Please do your research before going any further & use your best judgement . Theres a reason the bodyshops charge an arm & a leg , more then just overhead & experience & 75% has to do with the epa regulations . I,ve been painting for over 40 years & now retired due to health reasons from painting & only do small jobs for myself . Today for me to do a complete paintjob it costs me around 1000 bucks for quality materials to do the job , just to give you an idea . So Macco may be your best bet . Best of luck & stay safe .
Change of plans OK, Ya'll talked me out of it. I am now looking for someone who will paint my truck after I have done the sanding and prep work. I have too many kids. I don't need to leave them and this world just yet. My wife would never forgive me. JW
