OT Painting A Full Truck

jermfab · Aug 29, 2021

I’m swapping cabs on my girlfriend’s low-mileage 97 F-350 horse-puller. I was driving the truck when it was t-boned, so it’s my responsibility to fix. Liability only insurance, so it’s either totaled or I fix it.

I got a new cab for $300 and the fender and door I needed for another $200.

Thankfully the missus doesn’t want anything but an even coat of “fleet white”,

Problem is, I AM NOT A PAINTER.

I’m sure I can lay down a hot two-part without too many runs, but painting is not my forte.

Here’s the question to everyone in PM land.

Technique.

Should I paint all the parts individually or assemble the whole thing and paint that?

Both methods have merits.

Just want the opinion of the forum.

Thanks

Jeremy

dalmatiangirl61 · Aug 29, 2021

Put it together and shoot it all at the same time. I'm no pro, but can do good enough that it looks great from 20 foot away

markz528 · Aug 29, 2021

jermfab said:
I’m swapping cabs on my girlfriend’s low-mileage 97 F-350 horse-puller. I was driving the truck when it was t-boned, so it’s my responsibility to fix. Liability only insurance, so it’s either totaled or I fix it.

I got a new cab for $300 and the fender and door I needed for another $200.

Thankfully the missus doesn’t want anything but an even coat of “fleet white”,

Problem is, I AM NOT A PAINTER.

I’m sure I can lay down a hot two-part without too many runs, but painting is not my forte.

Here’s the question to everyone in PM land.

Technique.

Should I paint all the parts individually or assemble the whole thing and paint that?

Both methods have merits.

Just want the opinion of the forum.

Thanks

Jeremy

How good do you want it to come out? In general, painting in pieces can be problematic to match color, but white is very forgiving. Will you be doing a base coat/clear coat or a single stage? If you do single stage, then not only are you dealing with color match but texture match also, unless you are planning to sand and buff. You can sand and buff single stage if you want.

Normally you would do the edges and places that you can't get to, assemble and then painting as one piece. I understand the temptation of doing individually, but there are issues to deal with. What if you damage during assembly?

One of the biggest challenges for a rookie painter is getting the proper amount of paint down. Too little its dry and you don't get flow, too much you run it. Normally you do 3 coats (could do 2 base coat if you are clearing it and the paint covers well), and you keep the first 2 coats drier, and make sure you flow out the final coat. Less important to get good flow if you are sanding/buffing it.

I have probably painted 12 - 15 full cars in my lifetime, and most have been single stage - I hate sanding/buffing.

What gun will you use? I have a good Iwata, and I need a new tip for clear coat. The tip alone is $150.

I painted a white 83 Chevy Full Size truck maybe 20 years ago in my garage. Single stage no sanding/buffing. Came out real good. I put up a plastic booth in my garage with a fan.

jermfab · Aug 29, 2021

I’m definitely thinking single stage paint. The truck didn’t look good from far before the accident… there wasn’t a panel that didn’t have something on it… the girlfriend just wants it uniform.

I was thinking of hitting the cab it total before I drop it on the chassis, hang the doors, fenders and hood and then hit the whole thing again to make it as uniform as possible.

Flatbed is going in place of the factory bed and I’ve got a dually axle that will go on as well.

Thankfully the flatbed can go black and I’ve used a lot of a truck-bed liner product called:
“Raptor Liner”. The raptor sprays easy. A narcoleptic MIGHT get it to run, but he’d have to work at it. We use a lot of raptor liner just to coat stuff that doesn’t warrant powder coating or wash customer spec’d. It gets sprayed out of a Harbor Freight HVLP with like a 2.0 orifice.

I don’t know what Ford was thinking, but the front end uses dually-offset wheels while the rear axle is guaranteed A factory single axle. Either someone swapped the original dual-wheel axle for a single or Ford only had the one option for 2WD one-ton front ends? 97 was the last year of the OBS body, so it wouldn’t surprise me if there was only one front end option.

Swapping the dually rear in means only ONE spare tire needed.

As far as painting equipment, I’ve got a couple of no-name HVLP guns and can probably borrow something better like a Devilbiss, I’m guessing no one is gonna loan me an Iwata… with good reason. I’m still no painter, but I know those have a good reputation and the company is proud of their product.

I

Be safe

moonlight machine · Aug 29, 2021

jermfab said:
I’m definitely thinking single stage paint. The truck didn’t look good from far before the accident… there wasn’t a panel that didn’t have something on it… the girlfriend just wants it uniform.

I was thinking of hitting the cab it total before I drop it on the chassis, hang the doors, fenders and hood and then hit the whole thing again to make it as uniform as possible.

Flatbed is going in place of the factory bed and I’ve got a dually axle that will go on as well.

Thankfully the flatbed can go black and I’ve used a lot of a truck-bed liner product called:
“Raptor Liner”. The raptor sprays easy. A narcoleptic MIGHT get it to run, but he’d have to work at it. We use a lot of raptor liner just to coat stuff that doesn’t warrant powder coating or wash customer spec’d. It gets sprayed out of a Harbor Freight HVLP with like a 2.0 orifice.

I don’t know what Ford was thinking, but the front end uses dually-offset wheels while the rear axle is guaranteed A factory single axle. Either someone swapped the original dual-wheel axle for a single or Ford only had the one option for 2WD one-ton front ends? 97 was the last year of the OBS body, so it wouldn’t surprise me if there was only one front end option.

Swapping the dually rear in means only ONE spare tire needed.

As far as painting equipment, I’ve got a couple of no-name HVLP guns and can probably borrow something better like a Devilbiss, I’m guessing no one is gonna loan me an Iwata… with good reason. I’m still no painter, but I know those have a good reputation and the company is proud of their product.

I

Be safe

Measure the spring perch center distance and compare it with the center distance of the springs on the truck. Don't be surprised if it is different!

cg285 · Aug 30, 2021

you are better off with base/clear. the base is more forgiving. the clear is easier to fix. read the P sheet and follow exactly

learn how to block the primer

i use an iwata but you can get great results with lesser

BT Fabrication · Aug 30, 2021

id pay a guy to spray it all after all the hard labor is done in standing and prep. one screw up and all the prep is junk and makes it a pain to fix and costs more $ in the end. Still gonna be a couple grand to spray it.

CITIZEN F16 · Aug 30, 2021

White is a great choice of colors, it is the most forgiving if you aren't the greatest at doing body work. I haven't painted a vehicle in just over 25 years. I wonder what paints and chemicals are no longer available that were around back then? I think with the last car I did they were just starting to come out with water based automotive primer.

DDoug · Aug 30, 2021

Surprise her...:
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...e-enamel-school-bus-yellow-1-gal?cm_vc=-10005

I know of a couple people that have used it on cars/trucks you really need to use the hardener, or it fades.

Scottl · Aug 30, 2021

If you want it to look factory I would do it in 2 stages.

1. Paint single layer on parts with extra attention to edges.

2. After assembly, scuff sand and do final coat(s) for best color match.

As mentioned, white is very forgiving. Best non-clearcoat paint would be polyurethane but acrylic enamel with hardener should be fine for this use and much cheaper, roughly $100 to $150 for paint, hardener and reducer.

If (when) you have runs, run razors and nib files are inexpensive.

Wait at least two weeks before sanding/buffing any imperfections.

Don't forget to carefully mask anything you don't want to be white, including underhood components.

Garwood · Aug 30, 2021

I have done 3 good/nice paintjobs in my life and around a dozen rustoleum jobs. I have a 95 Dodge service truck that looks just like that F-350. $65 paintjob including the gallon of white, hardener, HF HVLP gun and a gallon of acetone. When I'm done the gun goes into the trash.

I've come to the realization that I don't care to ever do a nice auto paintjob again. It's much better to be friends with a good autobody shop owner and let them do it.

IME, that truck would cost about $1500-$1800 to drop off and pick up fixed in a few days. Entire thing painted same color in work truck white. They would pull the cab back straight and replace the door.

A vehicle needing minor bodywork, no rust is around $3500 for a 9/10 paintjob just exterior or $4500 with jambs (color change). That's including all good quality materials and labor cash price.

And no, that truck did not come with DRW front hubs and SRW rear axle. It was probably a DRW pickup and somebody wrecked the rear fenders. Instead of fixing it they put a regular bed on it and regular wheels on the back (they bolt right up).

GregSY · Aug 30, 2021

It looks like the new cab is already white....so why paint it...?

I agree with the single stage paint suggestions. Two stage is for higher level finishes.

Then, I've also had very good results using single stage paint, letting it dry, then 'color sanding' it and applying a clear over it.

Painting just about anything is a PITA. There are only two things worse - hiring someone to paint something, and crabs.

Bill D · Aug 30, 2021

I thought this was going to be how to paint a truck with a bunch of stuff in the bed. Reminds me of learning how some of the Egyptian tombs are painted on the walls but they did not move the furniture. They figured the only occupant would not notice the blank spots behind the big furniture and who can tell in creepy torch light anyway. I am sure any warranty expired more then 3,000 years before the short cut was discovered.
Bill D.

Superbowl · Aug 30, 2021

dalmatiangirl61 said:
Put it together and shoot it all at the same time. I'm no pro, but can do good enough that it looks great from 20 foot away

Twenty feet is a long distance. Back in the mid 1970's when I was in high school I wanted to paint my Pontiac before selling it. It had multiple sections with just primer grey where I had done body work. I had no garage, no compressor, and no money. I got a four inch roller and some semi gloss from the hardware store and went at it. It looked great from 15 feet and it sold quickly.

I understand the early Ford model T' s were brush painted.

SteveF · Aug 30, 2021

Sounds like you are trying to keep the price down but get a decent job. Maybe contact Atlanta Technical College and see if one of the Auto Body instructors can recommend one of the best students to hire.

Steve

MwTech Inc · Aug 30, 2021

Single stage Nason Acrylic enamel, -11 activator -22 reducer 8-1-2 reduction

8" fan, nice even strokes............ overlap depends on gun

Base/clear will run just as fast as single but costs much less........LOL

Our GM shop van is.....was ....one of the peelers...........redid with single, turned out just fine......1ft paint job....lol

The spray gun will make or break the finish..........do what ever you can to use a high quality gun. Its all about the atomization.

In this case assemble, get doors right and spray.

Single stage , you can cover part of the body and just spray say just the roof . Then you have a chance to learn without
splattering paint over everything else. You are not "matching" any thing old. This will take a lot of stress off. If you mark the hood once it has been set, bolts, , pull and spray it off the truck at a lower level on stands or something.

henrya · Aug 30, 2021

MwTech Inc said:
Single stage Nason Acrylic enamel, -11 activator -22 reducer 8-1-2 reduction

8" fan, nice even strokes............ overlap depends on gun

Base/clear will run just as fast as single but costs much less........LOL

Our GM shop van is.....was ....one of the peelers...........redid with single, turned out just fine......1ft paint job....lol

The spray gun will make or break the finish..........do what ever you can to use a high quality gun. Its all about the atomization.

In this case assemble, get doors right and spray.

Single stage , you can cover part of the body and just spray say just the roof . Then you have a chance to learn without
splattering paint over everything else. You are not "matching" any thing old. This will take a lot of stress off. If you mark the hood once it has been set, bolts, , pull and spray it off the truck at a lower level on stands or something.

Don’t know anything about the paint either way, but the rest of this sounds like good advice for sure.

EmGo · Aug 30, 2021

Take it to Earl Scheib, he'll paint any car any color for only $99.95

markz528 · Aug 30, 2021

MwTech Inc said:
Single stage Nason Acrylic enamel, -11 activator -22 reducer 8-1-2 reduction

8" fan, nice even strokes............ overlap depends on gun

Base/clear will run just as fast as single but costs much less........LOL

Our GM shop van is.....was ....one of the peelers...........redid with single, turned out just fine......1ft paint job....lol

The spray gun will make or break the finish..........do what ever you can to use a high quality gun. Its all about the atomization.

In this case assemble, get doors right and spray.

Single stage , you can cover part of the body and just spray say just the roof . Then you have a chance to learn without
splattering paint over everything else. You are not "matching" any thing old. This will take a lot of stress off. If you mark the hood once it has been set, bolts, , pull and spray it off the truck at a lower level on stands or something.

I have not heard very many good things about Nason brand paints.

EmGo · Aug 30, 2021

GregSY said:
Painting just about anything is a PITA. There are only two things worse - hiring someone to paint something, and crabs.

Crabs are easy. You shave one side and leave the other hairy. Squirt alcohol or acetone all over the hairy side, then light it off. When the crabs run out of the forest to escape the fire, stab them to death with an ice pick.

Works every time

OT Painting A Full Truck

Cast Iron

Diamond

Hot Rolled

Cast Iron

Diamond

Stainless

Titanium

Titanium

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Hot Rolled

Titanium

Titanium

Titanium

Diamond

Hot Rolled

Diamond

Similar threads