Got her legal again! Time for paint?

[phlegm]

Guys, I am in central NC. I just got my truck going again. Did Electronic Ign., Springs, Bushing, Shocks, Carb Rebuild. Headlights, some replacement bulbs, new felt for the doors, new tires and alignment this weekend. I am thinking of getting it painted as it has some surface rust starting on the top of the cab and the bed is down to primer in spots... but I am a little torn, the paint thats there looks good and is faded.

How much should I expect for a decent paint job, Blue > Blue on a 1971 Shorty? Not expecting Chip Foose to show up, but not looking for Earl Shives either.

Or should I just swing by PPG and get them to match a spary can to the colors around the spots I want painted? I have a tonneau cover for the bed, so it can stay like it is.

I cant let it sit as this is going to be a driver, I have to get her ready for rain.

Thx in advance, you guys rock.

[notsolo]

Tough call, I would get the color match spray cans till you have a highly recommend paint shop. Prices could be $5- $15 k depending how nice you want it, and then paint jail. How long are you willing to have it gone?

[Ziegelsteinfaust]

You can wash it with a clr mix, and do a satin clear for the patina look. The clr stops the rust, and the clear seals the truck up again.

You could also spray it your self fast to protect it for a few hundred if you have a compressor already. Then save for a proper paint job. Hot Rod Flatz look cool, and has a ton of colors. Best of all the low sheen hides the sin of a home paint job like magic.

[phlegm]

Great advice guys, I dont need it for a DD for another 8 months or so. 5-15 puts me doing it myself or doing the touch up... thats the info I was looking for. I will look into patina, havent heard of that.

[toolboxchev]

I would recommend you look into these products offered from SPI:

https://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/

Especially their epoxy. Barry the company owner is well known for supporting the industry with his technical knowledge.

Quite frankly he is a no bs kind of guy with affordable products that meet or exceed the big companies.

[67C10Step]

phlegm,
You are a bit ahead of me but I'm already thinking of the same thing. Mine won't be road worthy for at least another 6-8 months unless I suddenly get a whole lot of spare time.

I figure I'll roll mine patina style for a bit while I figure out what I'm going to do with paint. Got a bit to a good bit to a lot of rust repair to do. Won't really know until I get into it but on the color side I am considering a matte finish. Original color was vermilion and I am really considering a matte vermilion majority with a silver roof and interior.

There was a time I was a decent painter. I might consider trying to do this myself but that is far enough down the road to not worry too much right now.

Whatever you chose some photos are always appreciated!

[K5er4Life]

My truck has 50 years worth of SoCal living “patina”. I will be painting my truck at some in the not so distant future. However, to hold me over for the time being, I went ahead and did a color sand and finished with a little polish. It looks really good, certainly the photos cannot entirely depict the difference but I’ll post below.

When I bought the truck it had a little bondo and primer on the side. I stripped the bondo and primer, and sprayed a color matched paint directly on intentionally not well prepped steel. The reason is that since I will be painting anyways, I wanted the touch up paint to eventually rust back through and show the same character as the original. By the way, you will never get touch up paint exactly as original. I was not trying to pretend and create a perfect bedside. I touched things up only to the extent of replicating the original patina that exists on the rest of the truck. After spraying the orange and black I sanded back through the layers to begin and expose steel and orange to match the rest of the truck.

In order to do what I did, I started wet sanding in a series of steps. 600, 1000, 1500 then polish. Many that have seen it think it was cleared. I’ve seen people do anything from clearing what’s there to using linseed oil to keep the surface rust at bay. Many use only clr as a “prep” but I found that to not work as well as beginning with a wet sand. In order to maintain the finish, I will wash and wax as normal and leave it for now since it will be painted regardless and I’m not keeping this finish permanently.

One thing is for certain is that I’m very happy with how it looks as it is much better than the original bondo rust, primer with a missing trim piece. Plus all the rest of the patina really pops and looks awesome. I also obtained an old 72 trim piece to replace the missing original. Now it all blends and shows well, at least as well as a 50 year old truck with original paint can look.

The first couple of pictures a below are when I first got it. The others are after sand and polish. Sorry guys, I cannot figure out why the last two pics are upside down so just turn your phone or computer around.

[Rufas]

Originally Posted by phlegm

How much should I expect for a decent paint job, Blue > Blue on a 1971 Shorty? Not expecting Chip Foose to show up, but not looking for Earl Shives either.

Pricing for a complete paint job can be all over the place. When living near Atlanta a few years ago I found it very difficult finding a place to have my truck painted. Just about every body shop is not willing to do a complete paint job. Their bread and butter is insurance work. Get a lot of vehicles in and get them out quickly. They just don't want to be bothered. The few shops I found that were willing were outrageously expensive. Prices ranged from $15,000 to pushing $30,000. On top of that 12 to 18 months to get it back. Obviously they didn't want my business. I searched for over a year trying to find somewhere to get my truck painted. In research I found pricing varies a lot in different parts of the county.

I finally did find a shop that was just open for just a few years. The owner like working on older vehicles. But the catch was it would only be worked on between insurance jobs. I was told it would take about six months. So I finally decided use them. Long story short it took about 10 months to get my truck back. My truck was rust free and just had some very minor body work on the bed.

I had completely disassembled the truck before they pick it up. They hung the doors, fenders and hood after painting. Nothing else, no glass installation, no molding and no seals. Overall they did a great job but is wasn't cheap. I ended up paying just under $6,800 and honestly that was the cheapest I could find anywhere in the Atlanta area. I did have a falling out with the shop. Near the end they refused to do work that was promised and for that I will not recommend that shop. My truck isn't a daily driver, but I try to drive it at least 3 or 4 time a week.

Some before pics.






Here is the finished product.

[phlegm]

I like it, As good as my paint is I think I am going to do a rubbing and put some clear satin on the bad spots to keep them from rusting out and call it a day. I would love paint but being in that season where we have one in college and another right behind her I think its best to go Patina! I am just glad it has a name now instead of just being called cheap.

and yes, I know theres an art to it and what I am talking about isnt really patina but you guys get the idea.

thanks again guys.

[phlegm]

here are some pics, forgot to get some before the springs were changed.

[phlegm]

another couple

[notsolo]

Paint looks very good IMO, post a how to repair rust and blend back into patina, in the paint section...also youtube may have some videos. Some talented people I have seen take the rust and it looks like the spot on your door where paint is worn thin.

[clay68c10]

That really looks pretty decent.
Have you thought about painting the roof white? Sand it down, seam seal the gutter, and go for broke. Looks like the only real rust you have is up top.
The lower blue parts look good. Maybe the linseed oil trick would work for that.