1969 Short Wide

[Bennett68C10]

Thanks for the break down Mike, I have a similar plan for mine if I ever get to it

[68 Four on the Floor]

Color looks awesome Mike. Keep at it!

[nasqar]

OK man...I got paint and pics of mine up....where are yours???? LOL

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by nasqar

OK man...I got paint and pics of mine up....where are yours???? LOL

Hope to have some in the next few days.

[screaminchevypickup]

Everything ready to paint?

[hgs_notes]

This is based entirely on my experience the past couple years with 1st, the paint job done on my C-10 and 2nd, my first paint job I did on my jimmy.

Get all your body work done before you spray any paint.

When my truck was painted I did all the bodywork before sending it to the body shop to get sprayed. I knew I wasn't "ready" to spray it myself yet. I was making too many mistakes. Once I had the sheetmetal where I was comfortable with it I sprayed a final coat of primer and that was it. I let the body shop do the final sanding so they knew what they were spraying over. Everything turned out great. I was happy. The body shop was happy.

Fast forward to the Jimmy. Knowing I was going to spray it all myself I did basically how you described it above. I had most of the body work done, but as I finished up the sanding on the insides of panels I sprayed them with paint, then mounted them up. Because of the paint choice I had with lots of flake and translucency I knew the outside would all have to be shot at once. But the biggest hassle really was having to have all the previously painted sheetmetal masked off whenever I needed more primer sprayed. Total PITA.

Looking back I wished I had just got all the primer and sanding done before I had sprayed any of the paint, like I had done with my C-10.

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by screaminchevypickup

Everything ready to paint?

Not yet but getting closer.

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

This is based entirely on my experience the past couple years with 1st, the paint job done on my C-10 and 2nd, my first paint job I did on my jimmy.

Get all your body work done before you spray any paint.

When my truck was painted I did all the bodywork before sending it to the body shop to get sprayed. I knew I wasn't "ready" to spray it myself yet. I was making too many mistakes. Once I had the sheetmetal where I was comfortable with it I sprayed a final coat of primer and that was it. I let the body shop do the final sanding so they knew what they were spraying over. Everything turned out great. I was happy. The body shop was happy.

Fast forward to the Jimmy. Knowing I was going to spray it all myself I did basically how you described it above. I had most of the body work done, but as I finished up the sanding on the insides of panels I sprayed them with paint, then mounted them up. Because of the paint choice I had with lots of flake and translucency I knew the outside would all have to be shot at once. But the biggest hassle really was having to have all the previously painted sheetmetal masked off whenever I needed more primer sprayed. Total PITA.

Looking back I wished I had just got all the primer and sanding done before I had sprayed any of the paint, like I had done with my C-10.

Thanks, and Very good advise.
Actually, I have thought about what you are talking about with finishing the inside then having to tape off to finish primer and blocking. But, what I didn't mention above is I'm finishing all the block sanding on the bed panels inside and outside. So now all I lack is the final wet sanding on them.

I will do the same on the doors, hood, fenders and cab. Basically the whole exterior will be done in one shooting session with the inside of the bed being the only taping off I have to do.
Right now it's the plan I have but things change. I really wish I could put the truck together and paint it with everything already lined up and gapped. There are some negative aspects to this too.
BTW, you did all the hard work and let the bodyshop get the reward of painting? that must have been tough. 90% of the paint job is the bodywork

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Not yet but getting closer.


Thanks, and Very good advise.
Actually, I have thought about what you are talking about with finishing the inside then having to tape off to finish primer and blocking. But, what I didn't mention above is I'm finishing all the block sanding on the bed panels inside and outside. So now all I lack is the final wet sanding on them.

I will do the same on the doors, hood, fenders and cab. Basically the whole exterior will be done in one shooting session with the inside of the bed being the only taping off I have to do.
Right now it's the plan I have but things change. I really wish I could put the truck together and paint it with everything already lined up and gapped. There are some negative aspects to this too.
BTW, you did all the hard work and let the bodyshop get the reward of painting? that must have been tough. 90% of the paint job is the bodywork

That is pretty much how my C-10 went. As long as the spraying is all done and all your doing is the final sanding, it should go smoothly.

As for not spraying it myself, there were a few reasons. 1st and foremost almost every time I sprayed something on my truck I made some kind of mistake. Hit the fresh primer with a hose, my shirt, etc. Or missing areas by not getting the spray angle right, too heavy, too light, improper cleaning and fish eyes. I knew my limitations and after spending so much time and money on a project that means so much to me I didn't want to be frustrated at the end with a paint job that I did and would likely be sub-par. The body shop that sprayed it is just around the corner from my house. They advised me, lent me tools, came by to check my work and offer tips to help me progress. They have become friends and even though they have an antique shop with a converted garage space as a paint booth that most people would look at and walk away from, they do excellent work and don't let anything out of the shop that isn't done right. They let me be involved with every part of it, including letting me go into the spray booth and watch and learn. I even took breaks from my home office work to go over and help wet sand. In the end, I got invaluable lessons on painting, an excellent paint job, and knowing that all the prep work I did made that a possibility.

And a little ego boost is when the pro's tell me they hate doing jobs like this, where the owner did the bodywork, cuz it's usually not good and they end up reworking most of it. But with mine, the only rework was a cracked seam on a adhesive joint they fixed. All they had to do was sand it and spray and told me I could work for them anytime.

I also knew, even at that time that I would be spraying the Jimmy myself no matter what. So it helped ease the pang of letting that part of the project go. I paid them $50 to use their spray booth for a full day, including the plastic for masking. I had to wait my turn, and my patience was tested, but in the end, I got it in and got it done. And that paint job wouldn't have turned out nearly as well as it did without their direct input that day and more free lessons.

When I pulled it out of the booth the next morning and had 3 painters with about 120 cumulative years of experience look it over, the only real flaw they could spot was a single run on the fender (clear only, not in the base) and that because of the amount of coats its a bit orange peely. There is absolutely no way I would have been able to do that with my C-10. I just wasn't ready.

Man, that got a little long winded. Guess I'll skip chapter 2.

[mcbassin]

Can't have an update without some pictures. These were on my cell, sorry quality.
Shows the high build primer I'm using LINK HERE. It's sprayable polyester filler basically. So far I'm pretty happy with it but my bodywork leaves some to be desired.

[Bennett68C10]

Nice job on the bed panels Mike, I have the same primer waiting for me to use. From what I have seen and read, it fills in the imperfections nicely. Which is good for this amateur bodyman and painter What size tip did you use to spray it with?

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by Bennett68C10

Nice job on the bed panels Mike, I have the same primer waiting for me to use. From what I have seen and read, it fills in the imperfections nicely. Which is good for this amateur bodyman and painter What size tip did you use to spray it with?

Thanks Keith. I am using a 1.8mm it's a bit too small from what I have heard but it's the biggest I have. It takes a bunch by volume. I bet I will have 4-5 gallons by the time I'm done. You have spray it on pretty thick to get the build you need. then block it, shoot it again and repeat as necessary.


I think if I was better at the filler sanding it wouldn't take near as much primer. Just like the filler most of it ends up on the floor as dust. Maybe on my next one I will take more time finishing the mud work? I have a lot of respect for the guys that do this crap for a living. It's hard work to say the least.

[Low Elco]

I use the hell out of a similar product called Slick Sand. I get the metal as close as I can, 'cause I suck at mudwork. Then, I leave it a tad high, 'cuz I'm the king of one stroke too many on mud. Then I put a good spot over all my mud, then 2 good rounds over the whole panel. Usually blocks right out with 80, and enough left to guide it again and 150 it if I'm lucky. Shoot another good coat and block with 320, wet block with 400 or 600 depending on the base, and HOSE that sucker! You guys' stuff all looks great!

[mcbassin]

More pictures:




Managed to knock one end of this bed side off the stands. Minor setback Ouch!






















Another small distraction....

[mcbassin]

More pictures from today:
Long hard weekend....

[Zoomin]

Wow, made great progress!

[Bennett68C10]

Wow Mike that red looks awesome, great job

[screaminchevypickup]

Looking good mike..

[jlsanborn]

Great update! Really really really nice work there. That red is RED!!

[Crash_OK]

Looks great Mike.. When are we putting the cab on the frame?

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by Zoomin

Wow, made great progress!

Thanks Steve.

Originally Posted by Bennett68C10

Wow Mike that red looks awesome, great job

Thanks Keith

Originally Posted by screaminchevypickup

Looking good mike..

Thanks Kyle, man I could sure use your paint booth. Had a lil trouble with the Imron clear. Just too foggy on the clear coat to see effectively. Now I have some runners to take care of.

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Great update! Really really really nice work there. That red is RED!!

Thanks. I'm pretty happy with my bodywork on these panels.

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Awesome work! Looks great!

Thanks.

Originally Posted by nasqar

I am pretty sure that paint added some horsepower to that ride!!! Holy buckets that thing looks great.....How much longer do you think until it is all painted and assembled?

Thanks. I'm kinda relying on the weather now but I'm shooting for Late Dec. - January for assembly.

Originally Posted by Crash_OK

Looks great Mike.. When are we putting the cab on the frame?

Thanks Mark. I'm going to focus on finishing up the bed assembly. Not too sure I can put it together solo without scratching or damaging something? Also have a few runs I have to sand out of the clear first. Maybe this week though.

[swamp rat]

Awesome work! Looks great!

[nasqar]

I am pretty sure that paint added some horsepower to that ride!!! Holy buckets that thing looks great.....How much longer do you think until it is all painted and assembled?

[Low Elco]

BTDT on killing a nice panel. I managed to do it twice. Finished parts look great! Man, that's RED!

[FL71C10]

Nice going, good to see color going on!

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

BTDT on killing a nice panel. I managed to do it twice. Finished parts look great! Man, that's RED!

Thanks for the compliment. I wish I could say I've only done it twice.. I'm pretty sure I didn't wait long enough between clear coats.

Originally Posted by FL71C10

Nice going, good to see color going on!

Thanks. It is good to see some red paint. I was getting sick of sanding on these panels. It gets pretty old after a while.