I need to paint my daily driver

[LMREESE]

My 67 has been my daily driver since before I could legally drive. It is need of a facelift. I have a couple of concerns and a few questions.
1. This is my only truck and is my mobile horseshoeing shop so I can't have alot of down time. Down time in short spurts is okay.
2. There is some minor body work to be done.
3. My biggest concern is this will be the third or maybe even fourth paint job so i really want to take it down to the metal.
My questions are:
1. Can I end up with a paint job that looks like anything if I stripped, straightened and primed one panel at a time over several weekends and then shot the final coats all at once?
2. What will be the best way to get the truck stripped to the metal through three or four paint jobs. Just guessing 6 or 8 coats maybe more.
3. Have I gone stark raving mad?
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[bigdog57]

It should turn out ok with a good plan of attack and elbow greese

[SS Tim]

To keep it up and drivable I think a D/A disc sander is going to be the best way to knock it down a panel at a time. Shoot some primer and move on. At some point you will need to decide on when and how to do the finish coat. Might need to down the truck to top coat prep. and paint. Maybe "One Day" on a "Maaco" type place that can shoot the top coat and bake it would be the best choice to minimize down time.
Or you pick up a CL "driver" while this is in the works. :-)
Just get the brakes sorted first and treat yourself to a booster!

[LMREESE]

Thanks for the info. I'll be doing all the work myself, the last time it was painted it was done at a maco type place and it looked terrible. What grit paper on the DA to get through all the old paint
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[VWNate1]

Your first post lays out the correct planning :

Do one panel at a time , take the time to remove the old extra paint but no need to take it to bare metal unless you're doing rust repair there .

Figure out what colors of primer and paint you're going to use and buy two gallons of the finish color , have the paint shop mix them to -gether then seperate into pint cans , this only co$t$ a couple dollars extra but ensures you'll never have a panel of wrong shade plus you'll have good touch up paint for decades .

Back in he 1950's & 1960's this was common as many DIY'ers did thier oldies restoration @ home , in spare time and it took loger .

Buy large sheets (rols ?) or cheap plastic so you can mas off the other areas and not get overspray nor mist .

Take pictures ! this is immenently do - able , I wish I had the skills to lay down paint , tried it and didn't like the results but many try it and have spectacular results due to proper prep and technique .

[50bomb]

I think you should take your time with your truck and do it right especially if you had it that long. So while it sits at your work area you can buy one of these trucks to be your daily for the meantime. NOTE: They are NOT my trucks. JUst helping
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/3268837063.html
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/cto/3268139145.html
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/cto/3237174133.html
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/cto/3221252122.html
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/3143522439.html

[LMREESE]

Originally Posted by 50bomb

I think you should take your time with your truck and do it right especially if you had it that long. So while it sits at your work area you can buy one of these trucks to be your daily for the meantime. NOTE: They are NOT my trucks. JUst helping
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/3268837063.html
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/cto/3268139145.html
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/cto/3237174133.html
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/cto/3221252122.html
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/3143522439.html

Thanks for the links. I would love to buy another truck and drive it while I do a frame up restoration on my old gal but I just don't have the money for another truck right now. The reason I'm going to paint it is because the paint looks awful but mainly because there is some rust I need to get taken care of before it gets too serious. One day I am going to make the truck brand new again but it's just not in the cards ...er... wallet right now.
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[mr48chev]

I'd work on one panel at a time and get it in primer and then move to the next panel doing the worse one first and working my way around the truck.

I'd agree with buying all of the top coat at one time and mixing the cans together to get it all one exact shade. What you might want to do is spray one coat of color on the panel you just finished and when they are all finished go back and scuff the whole thing and spray the final coats at one time. That way the primer would be sealed and not chancing being exposed to things that might contaminate it.
I did pretty much the same thing on the 48 the first time I painted it. I drove it to work every day and spent a few hours each day working on one fender or panel in the mornings before I went to work on swing shift. I think I got more done on car/truck projects when I worked swing and went to work at 15:00 hrs than any other time. Get up, throw a load of laundry in the washer, fix breakfast, go work on the truck, stop and hang laundry out and throw another load in and work on the truck some more. I did that for three months straight in 1973 when I took the 48 from a 75.00 running and driving beater to a painted and upholstered street rod and drove to the street rod nationals in Tulsa from McGregor, TX

[SS Tim]

Originally Posted by LMREESE

Thanks for the info. I'll be doing all the work myself, the last time it was painted it was done at a maco type place and it looked terrible. What grit paper on the DA to get through all the old paint
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Well it seems like so far most everyone is agreeing.
It is important to use a single brand "system" for best results but there is really no point buying top coat materials until you are close to needing them.
The "one day" shops can produce very good results IF the prep work is done for them!
I'd start with a 120 or 150 depending on how it cuts. Progressing into 180 and maybe 220 if the base coats and factory primer are sound. The idea here is to flat scrub down the paint not grind it off. If you have a loose panel to play around with the technique will come quick. Get down to the base coat and smooth it up showing about 20% top, 75% primer and 5% metal. Used to do this overhauling helicopter blades to keep them light without removing metal.

[LMREESE]

Thanks ya'll this was the shot in the arm I needed to get started on this project. What would yall recommend for paint? Base clear or single stage? I am going back with the factory light blue. Since I am planning a frame off resto in the future (probably a few years) would single stage be better to go over with the next paint job?
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[LMREESE]

Bump. Base clear or single stage?
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[VWNate1]

Single stage because it's easier to lay on and much easier to do spot repairs on and best of all , it's far cheaper .

It outlasts the two stage paints too , you'll never see a 25 year old two stage paint that's never been taken care of , in good shape needing only a cut and wax to look new again .

The Painters of course , refuse to admit this simple fact but it is so .