What does it take to get a decent body ready to paint?

[Mister-B]

Here's the '69 lwb I just bought. I'm going to remove the rest of the trim, and fill in the holes. There are a few dents here and there, and what appears to be typical rust here and there.

I'm pretty handy, so I'm wondering what it'll take to get this truck ready to paint? Do those trim holes need to be welded, or can they be patched some other way? Have any of you done the prep yourselves?if not, how much does it typically cost to have someone else do something like that?

Also, leave the inside of the bed out of this discussion. I'll tackle that by having a spray on bed liner done.

Thanks!




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[69GWC]

Remove the trim..????? Dangit man again wish my truck had that lower trim on it. Maybe I should just trade you my 70 its green and all the trim has fallen off and it needs painted real bad...lol

Yes you need to weld ALL the holes shut and then grind smooth, I would say your looking at around $6,000 or more to do a nice paint job on it.
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[RenoKeene]

^ What he said.

[54belair]

I think I agree with the $ amount. But to give you an idea of the time it takes----

first of all, giving you a quick answer is like answering the question "how long does it take to get to LA from new york.

Many variables---- I started with an above average project (in some ways), it took me almost 50 hours to get the step bed in primer (first coat) After taking my cab to a shop--which spent aprox 70 hours eliminating rust, I have spent an additional 20+ hours and have prob another 20+ hours to get the cab in first coat of primer. Then there is dissassembly time and assembly time.

The alternative method would be to knock down the rough spots, smooth as much as possible and then take it to Macco for paint. I think down and dirty will cost about $1k and a nice paint job with all the body work necessary will run at least $6K. It all depends on what you want, your level of abilities, your time to devote to it and your timeline (how quick you want it done).