Should paint my truck myself or ...? - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

1968GMC · 01-01-2003, 07:41 PM

Did not ge to much responce from body and paint so I will try here. My truck does not need any bodywork per say, just surfice rust here & there.I got quotes at diff bodyshops and go from 4000-6000$. that is kind of high for me altho il spend the $ if I had to.I've been toying with the idea of painting the truck myself to save $. I painted a firewall on my freins chevelle, it was the 3rd firewall i've done and it was the best job yet. I figure, anything that I cant do myself I would pay someone to do it , (welding for example). Also will a better quality spray gun be more user freindly and produce a better paint job. What kind of paint should I use? Acrylic or BC/CC. Witch of those 2 is easier to tuch up with (runs for example). What grit sand paper should I start with? In general, do you sand down a vehicle, prime it completely and resand, then paint?I am going from dark red (bergundy) to yellow& white, is there an other product that has to be used going from dark to light? I want to strip down the truck completely to repaint the firewall & interior witch is why the bodyshope are charging so much. I realise that light colours hides imperfection better then dark colours witch is another reason why i want to paint my self. But theres a probleme whith all this, THE WIFE. she will complain that i dont spend enugh time with her or something witch I dont blame her. Wat to do. help me decide.

mikep · 01-01-2003, 08:20 PM

I painted this myself exactly where it sits. You need a compressor ( $300 US ), a spray gun ( mine is a devilbiss finishline. sears sells an identical gun under their name for about $120 ) and a orbital and straightline sander ( $150 ) . I used 2 1/2 gallons of dupont black lacquer as it is extremely forgiving if you get dust in it so it lends itself to outdoor or dusty environment painting and it dries super fast so you tend to avoid dust and bugs MUCH better than enamel. Plus it buff out nice AND black is the least expensive color you can buy. $100 US a gallon. In materials other than eqpt Ive got about $450 . Thats about a tenth of what a shop would charge. Even with the eqpt you'd be looking at $1500 or less which is a third or less than a shop would charge you and you get to keep the eqpt for the next time and you learn a new skill.

Start to finish on my body work and paint was 2 months.

mikep · 01-01-2003, 08:22 PM

This was the same truck in May 2002

1968GMC · 01-01-2003, 09:14 PM

You did a nice job on your truck. You are encouraging me in to doing it myself. The way I look at it, it wont look any wors than it is now. I already have a air compressor (60 gal. 6HP) round air orbital sander air gun. I figure $500-700 would be plenty.

mikep · 01-01-2003, 10:01 PM

sand
prime
sand
prime
sand
prime
sand
prime
sand
prime
sand
prime
sand
prime
sand
paint
sand
polish

Riles72 · 01-01-2003, 10:27 PM

I do have to warn you.

My dad and I was going to spray mine at the local technology center's high dollared paint booth...however... Since we've taken it to the paint shop, the shop owner/operator is soo picky. He's done stuff to the truck that we would've never thought to do. We even thought we had the truck's body work done on the fenders, doors, etc, and he completely re-did alot of it. He's soo picky that he got a flashlight out in the middle of the dark, had me hold it down the fender just so he could see every wave and ripple that was in the thing... If you're going for a daily driver, and don't want to shell out the cash, doing it yourself would be okay...but if you're going to completely change colors and repaint it, why not get a show quality job done??? After all, an old truck with a nice paintjob is an eye catcher. You really want to give people something to really drool over...trust me, it's really awesome when they do...

IF...you do it yourself, make sure you have a totally dust-free room before you spray. You want the leist trash in the clearcoat as possible. I would definitely go with basecoat/clearcoat...PPG is my brand of choice..

In my opinion, I'd take it completely to the metal and prime first. You can now do any bodywork or modifications you want. Prime again...Then you should block it out with 150, prime, block with 220, prime, block again with something around 300 or so, prime, wetsand with 400, and IF you have all the kinks worked out of the body and it's all blocking out good, wetsand with 600, then shoot it. If you're going for the show-quality job, after you shoot it, D.A. it with 1500 grit, then buff/polish with a high quality buffer and compound...if you're not comfortable doing that, have a bodyshop do it. make sure though that you don't use your fingers for anything, except maybe the back of the cab in the cab's indentions...it's okay there because nobody's gonna see that...

A little trick to block sanding is mist it with a flat-black spray paint before you block and it'll show you the major stuff you gotta fix. After you've begun wetsanding, it's not really necessary to mist it first. Also, be sure to keep your sand paper clean, the dust from the primer tends to clog up on there. You'll end up cutting a huge ridge in the primer that'll show up after you paint if you don't...

It's just a whole lot easier on you if you have someone else do it... You could do like me and actually help the paintshop do it. He's cutting us a heck of a deal...FREE...plus, we painted his house...so, it's ALMOST a fair trade...

Riley

junkyardjohn · 01-01-2003, 10:33 PM

I STARTED PAINTING ALL MY OWN TRUCKS ABOUT 5 OR 6 YEARS AGO, & EVERY ONE GETS BETTER & BETTER. I DID FOR THE SAME REASONS YOU STATED. IT'S NOT THAT TOUGH, & PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. H@LL YOU CAN PAINT IT ABOUT 8 TIMES FOR WHAT YOU'LL PAY SOMEONE TO DO IT. I PAINT FOR OTHER PEOPLE OCCASIONALLY, & ALWAYS MAKE $70 A HOUR (UNLESS I'M DOING IT FOR FREE FOR A BUDDY) I WOULDN'T THINK ABOUT LETTING SOMEONE ELSE PAINT ANY OF MY TRUCKS ANYMORE.

Fred T · 01-01-2003, 11:16 PM

For some good reading on this subject, go to the Stovebolt paint forum. http://www.stovebolt.com/bboard/cgi-...?ubb=forum;f=4
Do a search of the paint forum for postings by member #597, Martinsr, who is a professional body man. He has made some good tipsheets, titled basics.

Another good webpage is the Autobody Store http://www.autobodystore.com/

1968GMC · 01-02-2003, 01:20 AM

Thanx for the info guys. Lots of interesting stuff. Did I forget to mention that I HATE SANDING.

01-01-2003, 07:41 PM	#1
1968GMC love my truck Join Date: May 2001 Location: aylmer QC Posts: 648	Should paint my truck myself or ...? Did not ge to much responce from body and paint so I will try here. My truck does not need any bodywork per say, just surfice rust here & there.I got quotes at diff bodyshops and go from 4000-6000$. that is kind of high for me altho il spend the $ if I had to.I've been toying with the idea of painting the truck myself to save $. I painted a firewall on my freins chevelle, it was the 3rd firewall i've done and it was the best job yet. I figure, anything that I cant do myself I would pay someone to do it , (welding for example). Also will a better quality spray gun be more user freindly and produce a better paint job. What kind of paint should I use? Acrylic or BC/CC. Witch of those 2 is easier to tuch up with (runs for example). What grit sand paper should I start with? In general, do you sand down a vehicle, prime it completely and resand, then paint?I am going from dark red (bergundy) to yellow& white, is there an other product that has to be used going from dark to light? I want to strip down the truck completely to repaint the firewall & interior witch is why the bodyshope are charging so much. I realise that light colours hides imperfection better then dark colours witch is another reason why i want to paint my self. But theres a probleme whith all this, THE WIFE. she will complain that i dont spend enugh time with her or something witch I dont blame her. Wat to do. help me decide.

01-01-2003, 08:20 PM	#2
mikep Used to have a truck Join Date: May 2002 Location: port orchard WA Posts: 1,552	I painted this myself exactly where it sits. You need a compressor ( $300 US ), a spray gun ( mine is a devilbiss finishline. sears sells an identical gun under their name for about $120 ) and a orbital and straightline sander ( $150 ) . I used 2 1/2 gallons of dupont black lacquer as it is extremely forgiving if you get dust in it so it lends itself to outdoor or dusty environment painting and it dries super fast so you tend to avoid dust and bugs MUCH better than enamel. Plus it buff out nice AND black is the least expensive color you can buy. $100 US a gallon. In materials other than eqpt Ive got about $450 . Thats about a tenth of what a shop would charge. Even with the eqpt you'd be looking at $1500 or less which is a third or less than a shop would charge you and you get to keep the eqpt for the next time and you learn a new skill. Start to finish on my body work and paint was 2 months. Attached Images __________________ No truck :-(

01-01-2003, 08:22 PM	#3
mikep Used to have a truck Join Date: May 2002 Location: port orchard WA Posts: 1,552	This was the same truck in May 2002 Attached Images __________________ No truck :-(

01-01-2003, 10:27 PM	#6
Riles72 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Chickasha, Oklahoma Posts: 117	be careful! I do have to warn you. My dad and I was going to spray mine at the local technology center's high dollared paint booth...however... Since we've taken it to the paint shop, the shop owner/operator is soo picky. He's done stuff to the truck that we would've never thought to do. We even thought we had the truck's body work done on the fenders, doors, etc, and he completely re-did alot of it. He's soo picky that he got a flashlight out in the middle of the dark, had me hold it down the fender just so he could see every wave and ripple that was in the thing... If you're going for a daily driver, and don't want to shell out the cash, doing it yourself would be okay...but if you're going to completely change colors and repaint it, why not get a show quality job done??? After all, an old truck with a nice paintjob is an eye catcher. You really want to give people something to really drool over...trust me, it's really awesome when they do... IF...you do it yourself, make sure you have a totally dust-free room before you spray. You want the leist trash in the clearcoat as possible. I would definitely go with basecoat/clearcoat...PPG is my brand of choice.. In my opinion, I'd take it completely to the metal and prime first. You can now do any bodywork or modifications you want. Prime again...Then you should block it out with 150, prime, block with 220, prime, block again with something around 300 or so, prime, wetsand with 400, and IF you have all the kinks worked out of the body and it's all blocking out good, wetsand with 600, then shoot it. If you're going for the show-quality job, after you shoot it, D.A. it with 1500 grit, then buff/polish with a high quality buffer and compound...if you're not comfortable doing that, have a bodyshop do it. make sure though that you don't use your fingers for anything, except maybe the back of the cab in the cab's indentions...it's okay there because nobody's gonna see that... A little trick to block sanding is mist it with a flat-black spray paint before you block and it'll show you the major stuff you gotta fix. After you've begun wetsanding, it's not really necessary to mist it first. Also, be sure to keep your sand paper clean, the dust from the primer tends to clog up on there. You'll end up cutting a huge ridge in the primer that'll show up after you paint if you don't... It's just a whole lot easier on you if you have someone else do it... You could do like me and actually help the paintshop do it. He's cutting us a heck of a deal...FREE...plus, we painted his house...so, it's ALMOST a fair trade... Riley __________________ 72 Chevy short stepside 350/350 tilt, vintage air a/c sunset Orange Metallic paint Early Classic 2.5/4 drop eagle series 211 wheels

01-01-2003, 10:33 PM	#7
junkyardjohn Registered User Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: SOMERSET KY. Posts: 6,427	I STARTED PAINTING ALL MY OWN TRUCKS ABOUT 5 OR 6 YEARS AGO, & EVERY ONE GETS BETTER & BETTER. I DID FOR THE SAME REASONS YOU STATED. IT'S NOT THAT TOUGH, & PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. H@LL YOU CAN PAINT IT ABOUT 8 TIMES FOR WHAT YOU'LL PAY SOMEONE TO DO IT. I PAINT FOR OTHER PEOPLE OCCASIONALLY, & ALWAYS MAKE $70 A HOUR (UNLESS I'M DOING IT FOR FREE FOR A BUDDY) I WOULDN'T THINK ABOUT LETTING SOMEONE ELSE PAINT ANY OF MY TRUCKS ANYMORE. __________________ junkyardjohn 69 1 TON TOW TRUCK // 84 4WD CUCV BLAZER// 85 1 TON 4WD STAKE TRUCK// 86 M1031 5/4 TON 4WD CUCV// ALOT OF OLD TRUCKS FOR ONE OLD MAN TO DRIVE. THERES ROOM FOR ALL OF GODS CREATURES RIGHT NEXT TO MY MASHED POTATOES// LIFE MEMBER OF P.E.T.A (PEOPLE EATING TASTY ANIMALS) DON'T RENT U-HAUL ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH IT WILL AMAZE PART OF THE PEOPLE & ASTONISH THE REST

01-01-2003, 09:14 PM	#4
1968GMC love my truck Join Date: May 2001 Location: aylmer QC Posts: 648	You did a nice job on your truck. You are encouraging me in to doing it myself. The way I look at it, it wont look any wors than it is now. I already have a air compressor (60 gal. 6HP) round air orbital sander air gun. I figure $500-700 would be plenty.

01-01-2003, 10:01 PM	#5
mikep Used to have a truck Join Date: May 2002 Location: port orchard WA Posts: 1,552	sand prime sand prime sand prime sand prime sand prime sand prime sand prime sand paint sand polish __________________ No truck :-(

01-01-2003, 11:16 PM	#8
Fred T Cantankerous Geezer Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Bel Aire, KS Posts: 6,264	For some good reading on this subject, go to the Stovebolt paint forum. http://www.stovebolt.com/bboard/cgi-...?ubb=forum;f=4 Do a search of the paint forum for postings by member #597, Martinsr, who is a professional body man. He has made some good tipsheets, titled basics. Another good webpage is the Autobody Store http://www.autobodystore.com/ __________________ Fred There is no such thing as too much cam...just not enough engine.

01-02-2003, 01:20 AM	#9
1968GMC love my truck Join Date: May 2001 Location: aylmer QC Posts: 648	Thanx for the info guys. Lots of interesting stuff. Did I forget to mention that I HATE SANDING.



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