My 78 K15 High Sierra build - Fish Tremble

[y5mgisi]

Dang right it should! Can't wait to see it with all the shiny chrome and nice tan interior!

[rgunlock]

Originally Posted by y5mgisi

Dang right it should! Can't wait to see it with all the shiny chrome and nice tan interior!

Dang, getting way ahead of me! I'm still at the "can't wait to see it all in color" stage, and you're ready to see it done

[rgunlock]

Got some BFG AT's in 33x10.5 mounted up. Beauty rings and 4x4 decals on the back center caps are new, but the center caps themselves, and lug nuts were cleaned up with steel wool. Really liking that body color on the wheels with all that chrome!

[19silverado77]

The wheels look great! And the tires are great to. I have the same but 12.50s on mine

[rgunlock]

Also decided to install a steering box brace I got from ORD while the chassis is bare. Went on reasonably easy, but the longer rear brace was 1/2" from the crossmember. Had to find a spacer and a longer bolt than came in the kit. Hoping I actually installed it right, but it looked like the only way it could go.

Got a wedding this afternoon, so at best I can start cleaning out my shop and hang a couple more lights, but no more color this weekend. Hope to start doing some more spraying next weekend.

[swamp rat]

Nice brace, wonder if they make one for a 72? Might have to check into that someday.

[Matt Man]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Nice brace, wonder if they make one for a 72? Might have to check into that someday.

Yep they make one for a 67-72.

http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/ste...ing_box_brace:

[mjensen]

Loving it Rick! Your truck is coming along nicely!

[Greenlee]

Nice job on the wheels!

[swamp rat]

Thanks for the info, i do however think i have the straight brace but will have to check into that.

[rgunlock]

Originally Posted by 19silverado77

The wheels look great! And the tires are great to. I have the same but 12.50s on mine

Originally Posted by mjensen

Loving it Rick! Your truck is coming along nicely!

Originally Posted by Greenlee

Nice job on the wheels!

Thanks guys! Got some more lights wired up, so hope to be spraying more paint this weekend.

[y5mgisi]

Here's something I learned the hard way on my paint job... First off, if you are going to wear one of those tyvek type suits, tape your cuffs to your gloves to prevent sweat dripping out the cuffs. Also, if yours is like mine, the suit has a sewn seam. Sweat can also drip out of there! So keep a rag or old t shirt near by and each time you refill the pot on the gun, give your arms and chest and such a good pat down. Also, depending on what you're doing for eye protection, know that the fog from the clear will ruin safety glass post haste! I went through 3 or 4 pairs...

[rgunlock]

Well, you aren't kidding about how hot it is in those paint suits. So I spent Saturday finishing up sanding areas I could not reach with the truck assembled. Sunday morning cleaning the shop better than its been in years, washing the cab, bed and tailgate inside and out, wax&grease remover on same parts. Then sprayed epoxy sealer/primer on all outer surfaces that I'd been blocking (remember the leopard spots :-). The sealer went on a little grainy and the gun was apparently spitting a little. I'm thinking it was too hot at 90 degrees F to do this without reducer? Anyway, sprayed color anyway. Came out OK. Still see some light areas. Ran out of time to do clearcoat because a) working in that suit in 90 degrees all afternoon knocked me out, and b) I did not actually create a paint booth so swarms of mosquitoes came in at dusk. So, I'll have a little sanding and probably another color coat before I can do clear. Any case, this update is probably picture worthy even if the parts don't look great yet. Not going to be able to get back to this for a couple weeks so I'll need to research what I have to do to ensure the clear will still adhere well to the color.

[rgunlock]

So this weekend was really just creating more work for myself. I should have sprayed the sealer on a test panel and gotten it worked out before spraying on the truck. And I should not have sprayed color on top of that. Really needed to be more patient considering how much work I have put into bodywork and blocking, but I knew I was running out of time and only have a couple days window before covering that epoxy primer/sealer.

Will be a while before my next update, but before I go on I will be sanding the cab, bed, tailgate smooth again. Another coat of color at least and then clear. Guess it took a night or two to convince me that coming out "OK" is not good enough for the investment I've put into this project. Guess that is why I called this a "practice" project in the first place.

[boynton]

I know it is a little rough going right now but you will appreciate doing it the right way when it is done. Hang in there. I am happy to see some color though!!

[y5mgisi]

When I talked to berry at SPI on the phone about my list of questions he recommended I do 50% reducer for the sealer and that worked out good for me. He also said that with my base and the SPI clear, it could be cleared a week after base no problem.

[rgunlock]

Took last weekend off from the truck and spent it with my dad, son and wife in Galveston. Went out fishing with a guide and did pretty well. 4 redfish that needed the oversize tags! Actually caught a fifth big boy that got to be released because we ran out of tags.

This weekend I got myself back on track with the truck. Wet sanded the cab, tailgate and bedsides back smooth with 320 and 400 grit. Should be ready for cleanup and respray. BTW, dry sanding the color coat didn't work out well. Just tacky enough to gum up the paper. Fortunately, I also had some wet/dry paper to finish this up.

[y5mgisi]

Weekends away from projects help to prevent burnout.

[rgunlock]

Originally Posted by y5mgisi

Weekends away from projects help to prevent burnout.

Yep, it was nice to get away after a "less than productive" weekend on the truck, but also nice to get after it this weekend and feel like I made progress. So what's the plan for side trim on that kick'n truck of yours?

[77K10Silverado]

Originally Posted by rgunlock

Got some BFG AT's in 33x10.5 mounted up. Beauty rings and 4x4 decals on the back center caps are new, but the center caps themselves, and lug nuts were cleaned up with steel wool. Really liking that body color on the wheels with all that chrome!

Looks good! I was thinking of getting these next time. Any more pics maybe from a straight on view back or front?

Keep going man, you're doing great! (nice reds btw!)

[rgunlock]

Here's a straight on of the tire. Don't have any yet to show how they fill the fenders since the truck has been apart for paint when I got these mounted. Thanks for checking in!

[y5mgisi]

I don't know really. As of now I guess my plan is to get it all cleaned up and install it. No idea really on how I want to accomplish the install with regards to all the taped on and such. I plan on doing some trial and error.

[ryanroo]

the wheels look killer!

[rgunlock]

Thanks ryanroo! I have always liked the truck rallys with beauty rings, so decided why mess with a good thing.

[7dee2]

Good choice they look great!