[74k20]

OK everyone, here's my dilemma. I have my k20 all ready to go, at least the frame that is. Now it is time to put the body back on. I have everything except fenders, all of it in pretty good shape. The truck will be a daily driver for more than a few years until I get "sawzall-truggy's" disease (still no cure for that one). It needs to look fairly good, but I don't want to throw money at a job that can't be easily touched up when I use the thing like it was meant to be used

should I...
1)do some bodywork on the dents myself, prime it with just some basic primer (maybe the rustoleum rattle cans). I have a compressor and a descent siphon gun.

2)Do as much sanding and prep work myself but leave the filler and any spraying to the pros

3)Do the bodywork, prime into the seams and stuff, then sand it and prep it, allowing a body shop to do the rest.

4)take all the panels in to a shop, let them work them and spray them, prime the cab ont eh frame, assemble, and take in for color.

Please give me any advice on primers/paints, stuff to watch out for, tips for dealing with shops, and the best advice there is, horror stories.

Thanks for helping someone out who has never done this before.

 

[blazinzuk]

The big question here is how much rust repair are you going to have to do. If not any or not much put the bondo on it sand it smooth spray it with the quart cans of rust oluem primer then spray it with an enamal type of paint. with your spray gun. Big differences between automotive paint and stuff like rust oluem is auto paint has a higher uv resitance and is actually a harder paint once it dries. I am using some rust oluem primer and paint on my truck should be painting it next weekend I will of course post pics etc. Remeber 95% of a paint job is the prep work. IF the surface the paint is being sprayed on isn't smooth the paint wont be smooth. Also another option to look at in your area mabey an Earl Scheib or Macco you would have to do the prep work but they will spray an automotive paint w/clear for about 450 bucks :rotfl: :rotfl:

 

[rokbrkr]

most body shops don't like it when an ameture starts the body work and wants them to finish, Ive heard of it costing more that way, if they have to fix what you didn't do right. If you do the prep work yourself and prime and paint, remember that not all brands of paint are compatible together, use same brand and type of paint throughout the process. agriculteral or industrial one step enamel is the cheapest and most durable, although it comes in limited colors(ford blue, cat yellow, etc...) I'm painting my truggy cat yellow in a couple of weeks, I have used this piant many times and really like it. I purchase it at CAL stores over here, if you don't have one over there, I'm sure there is a farm and ranch store near you, I pay $23 a gallon plus reducer, if you have any questions about that let me know :thumb:

 

[74k20]

good call on the shops not wanting to finnish a job I started. Maybe I should just go for a simple automotive style finnish. If I sand it down well, but not to completely bare metal, what series of primers should I use? Self etching, epoxy, high build- all of them seem to have their place and time, but is their a more simple alternativ that I could just use a couple coats of??? Then on top of that, a few coats of color and some clear (it will only have clear coat once in its "new" life, so I might as well do it now.

 

[rokbrkr]

If you want to go to all the trouble of clear coat and all that, then I would just go to your local paint store and see what they reccomend. Remember clear is very hard to spray well without runs, so keep that in mind :mrgreen: good luck :thumb:

 

[74k20]

I am beginning to think that a one step enamel will be my best bet. I am really thinking as long as it looks good, keeps the rust away, and is easily touched up, that will be easy and cheap. Rockbrkr, you said you are painting with that stuff. What are you starting with as far as cleaning and prep work, what grit will you sand to, how many coats and what sanding, if any, between coats will you be using. I am trying to get a time idea too.

 

[blazinzuk]

You only need to prime bare metal, if you want a smoother finish you might want to spray the whole thing with high build stuff. If you are just going to do one step enamal just use their brand of primer its cheaper and you know its compatiable Remember one thing though spray some test shots through whatever gun you are using if you have a smaller tip you might have to thin more. Just go slow its not as hard as it sounds :rotfl: :rotfl:

 

[74k20]

I am high centered on this one. :banghead:

Simple and cheap enamel but I have to learn to paint and do it
-easily fixed, not a lot of investment, I can do it "my" way
or

Do the prep and let maaco spray it (turns out this is fairly common)
-get a better finnish, but still bottom of the barrell, less time?, probably easier, but expensive

I am researching how to convert the garage into a spray booth with plastic and fans and filters and all...

CONVINCE ME PLEASE!

 

[blazinzuk]

I would go the bodywork yourself and then let Maaco spray it. I have seen a couple of cars with Maaco jobs and the looked good. Plus I think they bake their cars after paint and clear so the finish is hard as soon as you drive out of the place. If I had the money that is how I would do it. :rotfl: :rotfl: I have done the garage tarped off into a spray booth thing too. This works allright but is almost worth it to see about renting a paint booth for the day. You might have to search around for a while to find one ask the paint supply stores and smaller body shops Pics when it is done right?[/img]

 

[rokbrkr]

don't get to frustrated, the painting is the easiest part the body work is the hard part, like Eric said, the paint job will only look as good as the prep work, I final sand with 400 grit then prime, then wet sand with 400, you can wet sand inbetween finish coats for an even shinier finish. supplies for automotive one step enamel should run $175 and up, paint booths around here run from $50-125 a day, if maaco will spray it for $400 that might be the most cost effective for you. hope I didn't add to the confusion :thumb:

 

[74k20]

Do you all think that a body shop (ie Maaco/Earl) would rather have completely sanded and worked panels, or an assembled vehicle with some primer in the seams???

 

[blazinzuk]

From what I have heard maaco and Earl Sheib will charge normal body rates for anything you want them to fix they are more of a paint shop than a body shop. A freind of mine did the macco thing and we took the car almost totally stripped they did all the taping and sprayed it. If I remember right it was just over 400 bucks (mind you this was about 12 years ago) he had them spray extra clear on it so we could wet sand it. It looked really good but I think they just had basic colors at that price. By the way the tarp in the garage works better if they aren't doing major road construction a 1/4 mile away and building alot of new houses across the street. Lots of (choke) dust (choke) :rotfl: :rotfl: