Stripped The Paint....Bad News

[gonebad2]

These are pics of the left bedside for my Son's 67 short fleet. When I bought the truck I looked it over but not real close. My Son started stripping the paint while I was at work. I was amazed at the amount of filler that was on this thing. On the back part of the bed, it was over 1/2" thick in some spots and it covered almost the entire rear portion of the bedside. The body damage wasn't that bad. I think it was that thick because the dent was "oilcanning". If you barely touched it, it would move in and stay that way. I pulled the dent out then applied a little heat and shrunk it back into shape. The filler in that area should be minimal now. Today he stripped the front portion of the bed and found four 1/2" diameter holes that were drilled. As you can see in the pic, there is a pattern to the holes. I have no idea what someone would mount to the bedside??? They were filled with bondo. I am so tired of messing with this side....I think I will make a call and order a new bedside. Anyone have experiences with the ones that are being re-popped? This truck already has new Tri-Plus and Goodmark panels ( hood, fenders, front bed panel, tailgate ). Just wondering about the quality of the bedsides?

[DStewart]

Just wanted to say hello to a local.

[Fred T]

Might be for a spare tire carrier.

[gonebad2]

Hello back at ya Dstewart.......I was thinking a spare tire holder too. If it was, I bet it was really ugly.

[Bowtiefreak]

I just put a complete swb fleetside bed together this summer using all Tri-plus/Goodmark stuff and I mean everything ex. tailgate,bedsides,wheel tubs,headgate,rear crossmember,tailgate latch everything. I was so suprised how well it went together and how good it squared up. Next on the agenda is putting the frontend together.

[Perchjerker]

Those hole maybe from someone pulling a dent out.

[Professor]

The 4 holes could be for the mounting base for one of those ridicously long antennaes.

[gonebad2]

Originally Posted by Professor

The 4 holes could be for the mounting base for one of those ridicously long antennaes.

That could be. It was a former California Department Of Transportation truck. That's what the PO said. It was confiemed by the original shade of yellow paint. While stripping the bed panels, I counted 7 repaints. With a coat of primer between each repaint. I normally strip paint with a DA and 36 grit followed by 80 grit to remove the major scratches in the sheetmetal. I ended up using paint stripper on this one. It sure saved alot of time. After pulling out the dings, I think I will take the time, do the body work, weld up the holes and use it.

[jvaldez]

can you tell me how you striped all the paint please. Thanks

[gonebad2]

Sure, I used aircraft stripper. I picked it up at the local auto paint supply store. Stay away from the aerosol can. The brush on type sold in a gallon can is much more efective. After you brush it on, let it sit for a good while and let it do the work. I have seen people get impatient and start scraping it off too soon. With one application, I got it down to almost bare metal. Leaving only a few spots that needed light sanding with a DA and 80 grit paper. It's always good to hose the panel down and wash all of the stripper off when you are done. It could potentially contaminate your new paint. While you are using the stripper, buy yourself a good pair of chemical resistant gloves. If you get paint stripper on your hands, it's caustic and gets very uncomfortable. Good luck and Errrrrr............happy stripping