Project Noah

[Auston]

Alright guys, it’s been a minute since I’ve been on. Life and other projects have gotten in the way of truck stuff. I haven’t gotten much done other than getting the new tank installed and brakes at all 4 corners done. Also, I replaced the rubber brake hoses. Actually drove it down the road a couple of miles and I’m shocked and hoe good it ran. The steering however is shot. Any suggestions on where and what brand name parts to go with? I don’t mind paying for quality, and have been unimpressed with LMC. I’ll try to get some pictures of how she sits tomorrow.

[loudchevy]

Originally Posted by Auston

The steering however is shot. Any suggestions on where and what brand name parts to go with? I don’t mind paying for quality, and have been unimpressed with LMC. I’ll try to get some pictures of how she sits tomorrow.

I've always had good luck with Moog steering components for my replacements on old square bodies. I think I got mine from O'Reilly when I did my recent change out on my C10.

[Auston]

I’ve used moog stuff before and had no issues. I guess it’s all personal preference.

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by Auston

I’ve used moog stuff before and had no issues. I guess it’s all personal preference.

Moog has always been my go-to. However, I understand that Moog has been bought (sold) and that they have two lines and one of them is offshore and low quality.

On the paint process, there are many different ways. hewittca has definitely achieved good results.

Since the paint on your truck is more or less complete, I personally like to preserve as much paint as I can. So I do everything by hand. I'd start with a good wash of course. And then use an iron removal solution. The CLR does that, but I would use one designed for automotive finishes. I use Adam's. Next I would clay bar it to get out other contaminants. Then Meguiar's has something called number seven which you rub in with a cloth and it actually helps rehydrate the paint. From there I would do oxidation removal with a light compound, again I use Meguiar's. At this stage if a lighter compound doesn't do the trick, then you can always step up to something more aggressive, medium, etc. But in my thinking, the more paint you can leave on, the better. You can follow the compound with whatever polish, paint sealant, ceramic treatment that you favor. Obviously there's about 9,000 ways to skin this cat, but doing it panel by panel by hand, you can see as the paint gets clearer and brighter with each step. That way you know you've left as much paint on as you can and it can tailor your approach to get the outcome that you want.

Sorry about the book, but I do watch quite a few detailing videos on youtube, and they are almost always geared for that ultimate result, rather than leaving as much paint as possible. It's great for the customer reaction, but after too many cut and buffs by machine, they will be polishing primer, haha.