Painting
I'm pretty much a rookie when it comes to painting so the experts will pick this apart but this is what worked for me. I've painted some tractors and one other truck. Some smaller jobs along the way as well but I do have a willingness to learn and open to ideas. I've never painted base clear before so this was totally new to me.
On the frame I was planning on powder coating at first. After calling/emailing the big name local company they basically blew me off with the questions I had. I can only imagine how I would be treated after they had their money if they were like this BEFORE they had it. Couple that with hauling all the stuff back and forth and some of the horror stories I heard about peeling and repair I decided to look for another option.
I decided to go with Acrylic Urethane in gloss black as I frame would be smoothed and finished like outer sheetmetal. There is a lot more steps to this stuff than I had done before and this is what the supplier said to do for a "keeper" to make it last.
For the black this is my order of work: Sandblast, do all welding/straighting/smoothing, resandblast, filler if needed, block out dry with 80 grit, rage/slicksand, block out dry with 150 grit, 2 coats of epoxy primer(no sand), 2 coats of sandable primer, block out wet with 400, wash and wipe down with tack rags repeatedly, 1 coat of sealer primer(epoxy with no sand), 2-3 coats of black acrylic urethane.
Red is the same up to the sealer. After sealer I put 3 coats of base(no sand), 3 coats of clear. After it cured out I block sand starting with wet 2000 grit and buff out. I waited a month till I started the Block sanding for buffing. Paint was harder to come off but you don't have to worry about shrinking. Like I said, Painting techniques vary from person to person. Find someone with a nice paint job and ask them how they did it and do what works for you. That's what I did.
Lots of work here and that is what makes a good, lasting paint job so expensive. The guys at the store were quick to ask whether this was a "turnover" or a keeper as some of these steps can be avoided. It's just depends on what your plans are and you need to map this out before trying it. I'd never consider this for a working or trailriding truck. |
Date(s): July 19, 2011. Album by Kevin Foust. Photos by Kevin Foust. 1 - 7 of 7 Total. 2566 Visits. |
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