Restoring Rusty

[Gregski]

asked for another dance with the rust on the back of the cabin

this is after wire wheelin it and treating it with Metal Prep (ie phosphoric acid) once already, it will take a few rounds, but we'll get there

[Gregski]

then went another round with the rusty dusty frame

[Gregski]

of course suspension is outside of the scope of this project...

... but the leaf springs are so easy to clean, and so I did waste time on wire wheelin' them when I shouldn't have

and of course when we do the suspension we will replace the old dusty (possibly still OEM) shocks, so definitely no need to clean them, that would be a total waste of time, so of course I started cleaned one of them, LOL

[Gregski]

I want to share something with you. As I am doing this simple bed floor replacement I am thinking, man this is a beast of a job. Was this really only supposed to take me a weekend? Lets be realistic and outline all that has to be done in said "Bed Floor Replacement Job"

1. Take apart bed and remove rusty old bed floor

2. Straighten and wire wheel clean the replacement bed floor, de rust

3. Remove old rusted out wheel wells replace with used ones

4. De rust, straighten and patch replacement wheel housings

5. Back of cab rust removal, primer and touch up paint

6. Back of bed rust removal, primer and touch up paint

7. Bed sides rust removal, straighten, primer and touch up paint

8. Wire wheel, rust removal frame

9. POR15 truck frame

10. Herculiner the entire inside of the bed

[hatzie]

Yup. It always sounds quicker before we get into it.

Checking the bits that are more accessible with the bed off wouldn't hurt a thing. They take longer once that bed is in the way.
Things like...
Are the shock mount holes in the frame egg shaped?
Are the spring pivot bushings worn out?
How does the frame to axle brake hose look?
How does the axle vent and hose look.
Did the last 5 previous owners have U-Haul butcher the tail lamp harness?
Did one of them butcher the axle U bolts?
Are the E-brake cables in decent enough shape to keep on for the next 5 years?

The list goes on...

[Brent7654]

From your earlier post, I always use map gas (Yellow bottle) it burns much hotter. Easier to solder with too.

Brent....

[greg64]

Great progress Greg. Alas, propane doesn't burn hot enough for the queching / shrinking trick. I'd change the axle lube and grease the u joints while you have such good access.

[cnorth]

I second the map gas look for the yellow bottle next time

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by greg64

Great progress Greg....

Thanks

Originally Posted by greg64

I'd change the axle lube and grease the u joints while you have such good access.

The U Joints are brand new from when we dropped the transmission and painted the drive shaft.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by hatzie

Yup. It always sounds quicker before we get into it.

Checking the bits that are more accessible with the bed off wouldn't hurt a thing. They take longer once that bed is in the way.
Things like...
Are the shock mount holes in the frame egg shaped?
Are the spring pivot bushings worn out?
How does the frame to axle brake hose look?
How does the axle vent and hose look.
Did the last 5 previous owners have U-Haul butcher the tail lamp harness?
Did one of them butcher the axle U bolts?
Are the E-brake cables in decent enough shape to keep on for the next 5 years?

The list goes on...

Sounds like this aint your first Rodeo? LOL and yes seems like the U-Haul guy had his way with the tailight wiring harness, how did you know that?

[Gregski]

well we picked up where we left off the other morning, got a second can of Herculiner and started with the undersides of the wheel housings

you really need to stir the product really good as there will be a lump at the bottom from sitting on the store shelf, but it mixes really easily so in a couple minutes its good to go

also light pressure with the paint brush gets the best even lumpy results

[Gregski]

and the wheel housing bellies are done

I also like to paint a little stir a little, paint a little stir a little, that prevents the grimy gritty bits from settling back to the bottom of the can

[Gregski]

while the wheel housing bellies were drying we decided to hit the top side of the bed floor, this is the money side

and as luck would have it we ran out of product, so it was paint brush in a zip loc baggie to keep it from drying and off to AutoZone for another can

[Gregski]

so we got back with a third can of Herculiner and went on to finish the money side of the bed floor

I will take better pics when I turn off the Sun later on

[Gregski]

then it was back to the wheel housings, we flipped them over right side up and started to cover them up in Herculiner

[Gregski]

and soon we was done, texture looking good

[Chrispbrown36]

I used something similar to herculiner on the front deck of my Grandpa's old jon boat years ago. As far as I know it is still on there. I never saw it chip or wear in any way. It was great for standing on, especially during duck season when things got a bit slippery. Having said that, it was extremely rough on the knees when kneeling to pick up jugs or check a trotline and it got blazing hot in the summer....as in blister your hand hot. The stuff I used had the texture in it but I also bought the special roller that was looped to add texture and i must say the roller was worth it. It really added to the gripping quality. By the way, ol' Rusty is looking good man!

[Gregski]

I think I got Truck Fever cause I kept going and going

wired wheel the dust off the bed sides and acided them some more to get as much of the rust off as possible

used a garden hose and sum steel wool to wash them as best as I could

[Gregski]

then another visit to Auto Zone for some paint over rust primer (which I thought I had on the shelf but apparently not)

bought the last two cans they had, and took it to the rusty and bare metal bits, the rest will be Herculined

[Gregski]

cleaned up the back of the bed section as best as I could and hung it up in the paint booth for a coat of rusty metal primer and some green paint to match, I know no one will ever see it but you know The Greg

[Gregski]

love this Rust-Oleum paint over rust primer, it covers really well, lets just hope it keeps the rust away

again apologies for the bad pics, you can blame the sun

[Gregski]

then once the primer dried it was time to put a couple coats of green paint on the back side

so here's another crappy pic (sorry guys)

[Gregski]

I had some Heculiner left over so I decided to use it up on the tailgate even if I knew it wasn't going to be enuff to cover the entire piece, (I am not a big fan of trying to store opened paint - never works out well for me) we will get a fourth can tomorrow, I bought the last one last time I was at AutoZone

[rusty76]

Here's a tip for ya.....if you need to mix paint or something similar just use an old metal clothes hanger and a drill. Electric or cordless will do. Bend the coat hanger into a egg shape and straighten out the hook. Chuck the straightened out hook into the drill chuck and stick the egg shaped end into the paint or whatever you need mixing. Start slow and work your way around the can. It seems impossible at first but it works great. I use this trick to mix or stir my paint. It doesn't take long and can be done in a few minutes. The more you use the coat hanger the more the paint will stick to it and dry making it thicker and more better at mixing. I've had really good results with this method especially when the paint store didn't shake my paint. All the toners and oil were separate but it worked great and was cheap or really free. Good luck. Looks great!

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by rusty76

Here's a tip for ya.....if you need to mix paint or something similar just use an old metal clothes hanger and a drill.

Thanks, that sounds like a smart solution, I must try it.

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