Rollin, Rollin, Rollin

[dmsteele92831]

Ok, so I know this has been talked about before, but I figured I’d go into a little more depth and talk about my experience with this. I researched all of it through the Mopar message board with the guy who had the charger and the two VW’s. I decided to go this route for a couple of reasons. First off I didn’t want to pay a minimum of $2000 to $3000 for someone to do a mediocre job, second I am not looking for a show truck, just something that looks better than your average beater and may get the occasional complement. Thirdly the entire reason I bought this truck was so that I could do a lot of the work myself! Now, I’ve never sprayed before, I don’t have the tools or even a space to spray it. I figured I could roll this in my garage and learn as I go. I read the entire conversation on the Mopar message board to make sure I had the most knowledge possible before tackling this. I also just started with one panel because I wanted to see if it would work (or if I’d be happy). First I started with two spots that needed to be bondo’d on the panel. I think I did a pretty good job on them, they are by no means PERFECT but unless your standing at the right angle you won’t notice. Ok, so after sanding the entire panel down with 400 grit I started with a 3 thin coats of the diluted Rustoleum (with mineral spirits). Using a High Density foam roller it was still leaving the orange peel look so I sanded (per instructions) with 600 grit. This smoothed it out pretty well but it also cut a little too deep in a few spots and went entirely through the orange. Next I painted a few more coats and then went to 800 grit. I still had a few issues with sanding too deeply and going through the orange. I also noticed that even after sanding with 800 grit as soon as I would put on another coat(s) of paint it would still have the orange peel effect. Finally I just put on 4-5 light to medium coats of paint (figured I’d build it up a bit) and then sanded with 1000 grit. This way I was able to sand a little more off without going through the paint. Then I stepped up to 1200 grit WITHOUT repainting then 1500 grit without re-painting. At 1000 grit I just made sure the paint was smooth to the touch even if I could still see a little orange peel. (This is all wet-sanding by hand!) Going from 1200 to 1500 grit I was able to get almost all the orange peel gone. After that I used the Turtle Wax polisher, first two coats by hand then one with my 10 in. orbital electric polisher. It looked ok, but I was still a little disappointed. Then I used a coat of Meguiars NXT Generation wax and that’s when it really started to shine! I put on two thick coats and really rubbed it in. The paint started to soak it up immediately! Afterwards it is SUPER smooth to the touch and looks pretty good! I did notice that I can still see a few surface scratches and even a little orange peel but overall I think it came out pretty impressive (by no means show). Once I move on to the next panel though, I will sand at 400 grit, put on 5 light-medium coats, go to 800, then 1000, then 1200, then 1500, then 2000 consecutively if I can without repainting. I think if I just don’t try to get it to smooth with the 800 and 1000 grit I have a good possibility of really smoothing it out with the higher grit papers and avoid re-painting in between. Anyway, here are the before and after pics!

[dmsteele92831]

And two more

[beautimus]

Holy mackeral batman,Thats nice!!!!

I love it !!!! Do More show more pics

[BACKYARD88]

Wow, all points considered that looks awesome. I know folks that can't make one look that good with an HVLP gun and 500.00 a gallon paint.

[dmsteele92831]

The high res pics actually look better, but they are too big!!!

[dmsteele92831]

Oh yeah, here's a burnout I did this morning

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0gMXTsAJbE

[dmsteele92831]

And here's an exhaust clip!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRhfOBSl0Hg

[dmsteele92831]

And a take-off from in the cabin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtT4PSdDRds

[Yukon Jack]

Looks darn good from here!

[1LoC10]

that looks great... go to www.photobucket.com and upload the full size pics... its free and takes a few minutes... awesome job

[dmsteele92831]

Here are the high res pics!

http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w...t=IMG_1521.jpg

http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w...t=IMG_1520.jpg

http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w...t=IMG_1519.jpg

http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w...t=IMG_1518.jpg

http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w...t=IMG_1517.jpg

http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w...t=IMG_1516.jpg

[aventur1]

Very nice job, well done. Just don't forget about your pilot light in your garage!

[dmsteele92831]

It's on the other side of the house

[Longhorn Man]

she looks pretty good in high res!

[c10crazy]

SWEET!. What mufflers are they and what size engine??

[dmsteele92831]

It's a 350, doug thorley headers, edelbrock performer intake and edelbrock 600cfm carb, mild cam, and true dual 40 series 2.5" flowmasters. They exit in front of each rear wheel.

[Bob D]

Wow, looks great! I thought I was the only nut-job on here with a roller!

I rolled my truck with rustoleum also, but I had to do the individual parts in the basement since I have no garage and it is too cold outside here in the winter. I had to strip the whole front end down to bare metal and paint each piece separately. I only cheated when I sprayed the cab with an HVLP gun in my back yard . The pictures here are from April.

The bed is not done yet, still working on the rusted out steel floor and I had to buy new repop bedsides. On a bad note, I did have a paint failure on one fender after the truck sat in the hot sun this summer. I must have not let the fender dry completely before painting and I got solvent pop bubbles all over it, especially where there is body filler.

Bob

[dmsteele92831]

Wow, that looks really good, I hope mine looks that good when I'm finished!

[Sport/Truck]

Excellent job! Do you have a link to the page you got the info form?
s/t

[FlatBrokeRacing]

Good looking trucks. Both of them.

[1LoC10]

awesome, im gunna have to try this.. i found this
http://www.rickwrench.com/50dollarpaint.html
not sure if thats the one you used, where can i get mineral spirits, jsut any paint shop?

[Big D]

Looks great, You should be proud of your work!

I have painted a few beaters with Rustoleum. One old bronco I painted 7 years ago still looks pretty good. The hood a little chalky but the sides have held up remarkably well. I used a spray gun and mixed it about 50-50 with mineral spirits.

I just started painting my 70 GMC this week with Rustoleum Semi-Gloss black. I got tired of watching the old blue paint flake off. The car wash removed most of it, The rest I D/A'd with 120 grit ,then started spraying a couple panels a day since I still need it as a daily driver. The paint dries pretty quick in the 90 degree sun.

I'm starting to feel like Earl Shive, I dont think the bondo has even dried yet when I'm painting.

[1LoC10]

never mind i found it.. im going to give this a shot sense my truck in primer anyways

[dmsteele92831]

Actually I got it off this one although I read that page as well!

http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/...0&fpart=1&vc=1

You can get Mineral Spirits almost anywhere, Home Depot, Lowe's or Wal-Mart, wal-mart was the cheapest, it comes in a plastic container by the gallon there

[dmsteele92831]

I'm pretty sure I'll have to keep it polished and at least waxed every three months max, that way I can avoid the chalkyness, other then that it will always be covered (unless I'm driving it of course!)