Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

Looking really nice!!
Here is a Video I made that shows what your talking about with the ringing in the cab, big difference. The roof of my cab is just a thud when you smack it now.
https://youtu.be/GymwCS3Mxqo

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

I like the texture that it added to the roof as well.

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

Functionality ... CHECK! it's great!
Form ............. CHECK! it's great!
application ...... total and epic mess, that suuuuucked

spraying the lizard skin was easy enough, and i love the texture and look for the "headliner".

then having to go back and paint it was an epic pain in the ass! rattle can probably would have been ok, but the gravity feed HVLP couldn't do it. i could only tip the gun back so far or the paint was no longer being drawn in, or i would hit the ceiling/surround with the can. i got it as best i could, then looking from the front had a TON of black spots as the texture "shadowed" a lot of holes. i ended up having to pull out a mini HVLP touch-up gun and it was able to twist in well enough to get full coverage. even with it i kept drawing air or dumping paint out the lid vent.

next time i try something like this, i'll most likely buy a mid-sized siphon gun so the tank is under the nozzle.

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

even with the ceiling difficulty, i was still able to get it painted! i am officially done with the white. it's not perfect, but it's more than good enough for me and this build. there are still some places you can see scratches from the original paint, or places you can see slight texture differences from heavier/lighter coats of paint, etc. but for the VAST majority of the "issues", you'd have to know what's up and be looking for it. nothing jumps out at ya.

something else i did with the white was try and spray up under the dash as much as possible. i figure the more white i can get up there, there brighter and easier it will be to work under there later. it's patchy and looks like over spray in places, but should be better than modeled rust for contrast. when i do the black though, to clean up the edges, i'll most likely have to start with the mini touch-up gun again.

a little more cure time and i can tape it all off for the floor lizard skin and everything getting the flat black top coat.

https://i.imgur.com/KYTYKWR.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/S5BC7nu.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/gJGKCYB.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/mFlxxGg.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/y1ctcUz.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/0sLHWFa.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/NVrCpEe.jpg?1

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

well ... poop ... my brand new "white" headliner edging isn't the correct white at all. wife hates it, I'm trying to decide what to do. i think these are my options

X) run it
A) get a white door edge trim from Amazon
A) get a black headline trim
C) paint the "headliner" black with the black trim

no way i'll run it, it's just not right. think i'm going to get white door trim and the black headliner trim to see what i like more, then decide if i have to repaint the most pain-in-the-a$$ surface ever.

https://i.imgur.com/S4hkNGn.jpg

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

Are you able to paint that trim using interior dye/paint? Or because the trim is flexible, that's not an option?

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

Can you possibly glue on a ight fabric covering?

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

i feel like with the flex of this rubber, anything i applied over the seal would have to be done after install. and i just don't know if they would last.

i'm feeling a lot better about just doing the black trim now though, since there will still be a lot of black in the cab. i could also just paint the "headliner" orange like the chassis :devil:

this stuff is super tight between the the roof skin and inner structure, i have to believe that i'll help with cab noise too. this is leaning me away from the door edging.

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

Everything is coming along great. I really like the lizard skin on the roof. Great idea. I like the idea of the black trim/black roof. With the other black in the interior. You’re making great progress!

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

the black trim and "headliner" appears to be an almost 100% opinion. the general consensus was that i'm crazy for going white/white/white on the ceiling. i just kinda figured with how crazy the rest of the truck is, that the ceiling could just blend away.

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

wow, what a weekend! i feel pretty accomplished this morning. my shop is such an epic mess for painting, i can't wait till this is all done.

Friday i set out to get the LizardSkin on the floor and succeeded with the "first" coat. i found that if i lay down their prescribed 2 coats, twice, it does a WAY better job. soooo much taping, endless taping ... but it covered and came out pretty well. i'm excited how well it hid all the patches and smoothed over the seam sealer on all the joints of the tunnel.

https://i.imgur.com/sGVgcOM.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/LuhVu6D.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/u6IhSi7.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/KJsey4G.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/UzcTyCv.jpg?1

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

Saturday was all about the flat black bits and getting everything painted that wasn't the floor. dash trim, seat belt brackets, cowl cover, and finishing up my door panels. i love how the flat black laid on the dash and windshield frame repair. i painted all the way around just to make it even all the way around the rubber.

the door panels if you remember i ran out of white and needed that "one last pass". so while i was painting them again, might as well have fun with it. painted the orange last week, and just got the black trim around them. i actually really liked the fade painted on the tape and wish it wasn't tape! i also might have liked them a teeny-tiny bit better as just the orange/white without the black trim, but not worth going back now. the black trim makes the orange look darker and kind of pops less. i still love it thought, and the black i think gives it an older-era scheme feel too.

end of the day Saturday i also did my "second" coat of LizardSkin. i want to peal the dash and reveal the white/black so bad it's killing me! but no way i can un-mask anything before i hose the floor down with paint. that might be tonight, might be Tuesday, we'll see.

https://i.imgur.com/9vSz0fB.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/6e3bL4O.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/r5WlLNo.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/iWALjII.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/qDFkgRw.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/fiVJxx1.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/Dtgw0ig.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/Tp75tB2.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/ojKGDPw.jpg?1

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

Sunday i spent doing inventory ... i've bought so much stuff for this truck over the years that i'm loosing track now. i pulled out and organized all my air/fuel/brake/clutch lines and fittings. then went thru the truck, re-planned routing and necessary bits, measured for all my lines, and started ordering what i needed. i "should" have everything i need this week to complete the fuel system, brakes, clutch, and air suspension including be run by it's own compressors. i actually even have the battery cable bits to make them, so i should have enough on hand now to make it start/move under it's own power.

trying to layout the air bag line bulkheads ... i guess i'm just going to take up all the space under my seat for lines/switches so i can probably put some other control bits down there later.

https://i.imgur.com/TcjVKVf.jpg?1

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

Wow sounds like a big struggle with the white paint. I like the idea of white under the dash so you can see better, might be an idea no matter what color the inside is. I noticed you improved your paint wall filters, them flat on the wall having issues? It really cool how the orange and black look on the white doors. Keeping inventory of parts bought is not easy.
Having it lift on it's own is a big accomplishment, let alone start and move all in a short time. You must be getting excited!

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

so i watched a furnace air filter comparison that had some great data in it. long story short, this was actually better! these are the cheapest filters i could find, so any advantage is good.

filter set-up #1:
2 stacked filters ... was thinking why not double filter it. one filter area, but had to pass thru 2x the thickness of material.

filter set-up #2:
2 filters in a triangle for double the surface area, single thickness.

the larger surface area means slower air speed over the filter, less pressure to pull junk thru. you can also see a more even distribution of the dust, so it's using a larger area of the filter more efficiently.

these 20x20 filters are $11 for a 3pack at Home Depot, and there's no dust worth worrying about on the stuff behind my fans. the box fans can't generate much pressure like a squirrel cage fan, so they don't flow a ton of air thru the filters to catch everything. any dust they don't catch however is generally dropped on the floor between me and the filters for easy sweeping later.

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

Ok cool good to know. I have a furnace fan filter setup in my shop to catch airborne particles, might have to try the 2 filter setup.

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

first the unfortunate, but taken care of news with a PSA.

*do not lay LizardSkin too thick on inside corners without letting it fully cure before the next coat*

i really wanted the lizardskin to help smooth and fillet the tunnel corners, so i might have laid it on really thick in those lines. those spots took considerably longer to dry than the rest by a lot, and as they dried, they cracked. everything was still stuck well, just opened up, so i took the same 3M seam sealer i had to them and filled em all before painting. should hold up well, move well, and help adhere it all together. i tried to press it hard into the cracks, and keep from filing in the lisardskin texture. i'm pretty happy with how it worked. no pictures, but i had to do both sides.

https://i.imgur.com/fv5jFM3.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/QN5UTtq.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/cQruqgP.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/MHZrRKJ.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/16mo9t6.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/NeTHzlO.jpg?1

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

the Matt taping the truck gave ZERO fakks about the Matt who had to peal it all ... :lol:

but i'm super excited with how it came out! super clean tuxedo interior is a great contrast to the rat rod. i'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

https://i.imgur.com/iqk8SQr.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/sexVCeH.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/9Zn0xlF.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/drf88Zu.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/MhF1JAN.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/pR7RsWG.jpg?1

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

Funny. I use that saying often. We had a owner of a company that I worked for that was a real tyrant. This right hand man said it once and it stuck.

Marc

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

I did a complete redo on a buddies 77 ford 1/2 ton 4x4 and when the cab was done he had the interior sprayed with box liner really thick so the floor came out smooth. No rug or mats required and be would wash the mud out with a hose. It also made the truck really quiet inside.

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

yeah, i have to do a floor patch on my 93 that i drive daily curr4ently and plan to spray the whole thing down at the same time. any bit quieter would be a plus.

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

Unfortunate about the cracking but I like how you fixed it should be good. Ya the black and white looks great.

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

I like the tuxedo look. All that lizard skin should make for a solid sounding ride.

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

perfect!

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

Lookin' great!!!

Good tip about the lizard skin in those corners where it can build up real thick.

The comments about using white paint UP UNDER the dash (where it can't be seen) are valid. I used black carpet, firewall pad and kick panels, and I left my dash underside alone (it was painted very dark from the factory). I now need a flashlight to see anything under that dash!

Your progress is just flying along!