Build thread for the 72 GMC, finally. Thanks John!

In reply to tuna55 :

Painting the truck assembled as such is a very good idea. 

I am a bit concerned that you keep using the word "orange peel" when speaking of the base color you have shot so far. It should be pretty flat out of the gun. If it IS orange pealy, then you might be using too fast of a reducer. The paint would not have time to "lay down" before it sets. Reducers are specific to temp and humidity. The guys at SPI can give you the long version of this.

That said, orange peel in the base is not really visible once you lay the clear on top. Be nice if the clear is perfectly smooth out of the gun, but if there is enough clear on top you can color sand celulite into baby-bum smooth. Same reducer rules apply to the reducer for the clear.

Edit: If you plan on re-sanding the body, I would not go finer than 600. No point going to 800 and 600 will give the new paint more mechanical bond to adhere since there will be less chemical merging that if it were going on wet as a next coat. I know a couple of painters that never go past 400 before they start shooting color and the paint is glass after the cut and buff at the end.

In reply to NOHOME :

Maybe I don't know the term. Just watch the video to get an idea. It is shiny and has a nice sheen, but it's obviously not flat. I assume that's fairly typical. 

In reply to tuna55 :

Cant get a real good feel for the finish, but I would say you are good to go. You will love the results when you get the clear on top. 

Logistics are hard. This would be assembled if I didn't have so many obligations. I'm booked solid for a while. Stay tuned. 

I did have enough time yesterday to get the lazy eye out of the windshield area. It was really challenging to touch sandpaper to the paint. I didn't want to. A long time ago, my girlfriend (tunawife now) bought things for a wine and cheese night. One cheese was very smelly. I was fine trying it, but my arm was not. I tried but I could not make my arm put the cheese in my mouth. This was sorta like that. 

Anyway it looks great now. I'm just trying to find the time chunks to get the things painted and assembled. I have the clear on hand, the cutting and buffing stuff, and even new hardware. Just no time. I really hope it assembles as nicely as it should. All that welding I did to make the gaps just right. 

Tunawife and I have an empty nest plan to get a teardrop and do some glamping as we explore. She's looking at examples not too far out of price range. I mentioned that the truck, this fall, could conceivably tow that. It's true. The last time we camped, before kids and with a dog, we took the same truck. I almost drove in it in into a pond. 

It's been a really tough week, but I'm still making progress. I have a bunch of pictures, but for now check out the repaired body line. 

Noice!!

tuna55 said:

NOHOME wrote: I am now looking forward to that first coat of epoxy primer.

Looks like spring.

I need to figure out the following before taking that plunge:

-Finish wiring my compressor
-Save for a spray gun
-Research the cheapest way to build a temporary structure in the driveway
-Build dollies for doors/fenders/bed
-Figure out the best way to treat the bare steel with 80 grit scratches in it (undoubtedly, some corrosion has started in there)
-Be sure enough with my bodywork that the rest of the smoothing can be accomplished with a full skim-coat and high build primer

From 2016

It's a traffic jam with only one vehicle! 

It's all yellow now. The hood has two runs I need to fix. The roof repair got ugly because of tape residue. I'll fix that too. Then I'm done making things yellow. 

tuna55 said:

tuna55 said:

NOHOME wrote: I am now looking forward to that first coat of epoxy primer.

Looks like spring.

I need to figure out the following before taking that plunge:

-Finish wiring my compressor
-Save for a spray gun
-Research the cheapest way to build a temporary structure in the driveway
-Build dollies for doors/fenders/bed
-Figure out the best way to treat the bare steel with 80 grit scratches in it (undoubtedly, some corrosion has started in there)
-Be sure enough with my bodywork that the rest of the smoothing can be accomplished with a full skim-coat and high build primer

From 2016

MonZora says you're ahead of schedule

After close review under good lighting:

Step 1: Repaint hood top (it got zebra stripes because it was dark)

Step 2: Repair cab top finish and put another coat on

Step 3: Clear inner fenders (because they are soon to be hidden and I can learn on them), inside of bed, alongside hinges and bed stake pockets

Step 4: Assemble inner fenders and bed stake pockets FOR THE LAST TIME

Step 5: Clear inside of cab and doors 

Step 6: Assemble doors FOR THE LAST TIME

Step 7: Clear fenders

Step 8: Assemble fenders FOR THE LAST TIME

Step 9: Clear hood

Step 10: Assemble hood FOR THE LAST TIME

Step 11: Then clear the whole bed as a thing and the whole cab as a thing

Then I have a bunch of "little" things like figuring out how the grill is done again, and getting a seat, etc...

I think I can get through step 4 tonight, but we'll see.

Seriously, you have to stop reminding me of why I am not starting another project! The fab part is like dating, but the body and paint phase is more like marriage.

Pete

NOHOME said:

Seriously, you have to stop reminding me of why I am not starting another project! The fab part is like dating, but the body and paint phase is more like marriage.

 

 

Pete

 

It's SO MUCH WORK

At least I haven't gone backwards yet. Every hour I have spent from primer to today has been a step forward. Often not a large step forward, but at least forward.

tuna55 said:

It's SO MUCH WORK

Yes.

The video I did on painting mine was titled "May I Never Do This Again."

I did the paint the summer before last, and it is STILL affecting me.  "The Truck of My Undoing."

It'll be cool when it's done, but you'll want some time to recover from it.

Step 1: Repaint hood top (it got zebra stripes because it was dark)

Step 2: Repair cab top finish and put another coat on

Step 3: Clear inner fenders (because they are soon to be hidden and I can learn on them), inside of bed, alongside hinges and bed stake pockets

Step 4: Assemble inner fenders and bed stake pockets FOR THE LAST TIME

Step 5: Clear inside of cab and doors 

Step 6: Assemble doors FOR THE LAST TIME

Step 7: Clear fenders [and cowl panel]

Step 8: Assemble fenders [and cowl panel] FOR THE LAST TIME

Step 9: Clear hood

Step 10: Assemble hood FOR THE LAST TIME

Step 11: Then clear the whole bed as a thing and the whole cab as a thing

[added cowl panel]

And it's raining 

Not a total waste, I sanded it out a run in each side of the bed, another on each side of the hood, and further fixed that section on the cab roof that had an issue with tape residue. Those four areas will get a quick squirt of yellow to cover the sanding. Then I am on to clear. I have about 2 hours tomorrow, which is not very much. Hopefully I can get something in clear coat. I'll have another 4 or 5 hours on Monday.

I also got the seam sealer on. Forward progress. 

Keep steppin', Leroy!

Ready to clear before the birthday party today. 

Humidity 80%. 

80% is pretty much on the bumpstop for spraying paint. What does your MDS say on the subject matter?

NOHOME said:

80% is pretty much on the bumpstop for spraying paint. What does your MDS say on the subject matter?

Neither (color or clear) state officially. I asked the SPI forums and they said 65%

It's at 76% and falling currently 

This has been a fun journey. Get it!

Cab is in clear in and out. Just two coats. 

Brackets, hinges and stake pockets are in clear. Big mistake: I never painted the carriage bolts which bolt the stake pockets in. 

Inner fenders ar cleared on the bottom. 

In a fit of logistics, the hood got clear on top too. 

Next I flip the inner fenders and push in the door and fender rack for enough clear to assemble them to the cab. The party is at three at my house for my kid, so I'm in a crunch. 

And it's raining. 

I'm getting this weird problem.where.my regulator jumps. I'll be spraying at 30 psi and it will just dive to like 15. I'll adjust it back up, keep spraying, and then it jumps up and I'm spraying way too high. Unrelated to compressor. No links in the hose. 

Hood looks good

There was a run in the primer here that I missed, can you see it?

I'm not sure what happened here, I may have to put color back on this before I put the clear back on again