1989 C1500 - New Bad Paint Job!

[Tinker1980]

I've noticed, lately, small parts of my beloved 1989 Chevy longbed with rust. This I cannot allow! So, lacking the cubic money to get it professionally painted, and not caring what it looks like so long as it doesn't rust away, I've made the decision to just bedliner the silly thing. All of it.

YES, I know it isn't going to be pretty. It wasn't pretty before, with the large sheets of red paint coming off to expose the gray primer underneath. At least now it will be all one color.

So without further ado, Before and During pictures... haven't reached the "After" part yet. it's 115 outside today, I work on it when I get the chance.

[onequickchevy]

Interesting......it will be like a Teflon skillet. I just wonder how difficult it will be to remove later. I have done quite a few below molding with bedliner , new paint above. I'm looking forward to it.
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[fledermaus]

I remember reading a story a few years ago where Line-X (I think it was them) was actively campaigning the military to spray the outside of Humvees with bedliner. There were some data sheets on ballistics testing that showed it was extremely effective against a range of calibers and wasn't all that heavy. So depending on your neighborhood...

If it's 115* there, just imagine how lovely it will be to get into it after it's been sitting in the direct sun all day. Hope you have good AC!

[jb1016]

I know you're planning to do the whole thing, but I find it funny in that pic that you haven't done the inside of the bed yet

[Tinker1980]

Originally Posted by jb1016

I know you're planning to do the whole thing, but I find it funny in that pic that you haven't done the inside of the bed yet

That's ironic isn't it?

I had forgotten to clean the bed out when I started. I've never, in the four years I've been driving this truck, in the 60,000 miles I've put on it, cleaned the bed. I don't mean clearing it of random debris left from hauling stuff, I mean the actual cleaning of the metal in the bed - there was mud in there a pressure washer wouldn't loosen up.

Also, compared to the rest of the truck, the bed has more shapes to sand around - fenders, ridges in the bed, depressions in the sides, etc. I plan to do the inside of the bed with 3-4 coats, the rest of the truck with 2 coats, and when I have a free weekend, remove the bed so I can get the spaces between the cab and the bed. If I were to do this again, I'd go ahead and get a sprayer. I may borrow one to do the bed, just to be sure I have it right.

The speedliner place in Tulsa told me it would take ten gallons of liner to do the entire truck... at $80 a gallon. I've got one coat on the entire truck now, and I have only used one gallon. They must think I have the C1500 Godzilla version or something.

Yes, it has A/C... I fixed that last summer. Makes the truck much more pleasant to drive... As far as the black color making it hotter inside, I don't see it. Today it was 120 outside (!!) and I think it may have been cooler in the truck than it was before I painted it.

[Hoods69BadBowTie]

Cool not that way I would have gone but still it will look better and give it great protection from the weather and rust. Good luck on the inside on the box that's such a pain to prep for paint.

[Tinker1980]

Originally Posted by Hoods69BadBowTie

Cool not that way I would have gone but still it will look better and give it great protection from the weather and rust. Good luck on the inside on the box that's such a pain to prep for paint.

I have the inside of the box painted now, just one coat at the moment but it all matches now. The inside of the bed, as you say, is a pain to prep - lots of stuff to sand around. Fortunately, most of the paint was already gone from the bed.

If I were to do it again, I'd go ahead and borrow/buy a sprayer, and try to find a building of some sort to paint it in. Leaves will fall from a tree 200 feet away just to land in wet paint. Good thing this stuff dries fast.

[Tinker1980]

Latest pictures - It's all one color now. My wife has started calling it "Spade". Not sure what I'll do with the wheels, either leave them the way they are, paint them flat black, or get some 8-spoke "wagon wheels" that are black.




The outside of the bed was easy - remove the filler tube and the taillights, and go to town. I think I'll be painting the bumper black with regular black paint.


I've painted the entire truck, and I still keep forgetting to replace that headlight.


I'm happy with the result. No more worries about scratches turning into rust spots.