hello all im looking to paint my truck soon once i get the new bed and fenders i want to use van sickle implement paint. there is a gloss black that looks pretty good on the can and they make a white primer and napatha thinner as well as their own hardener and clear coat.

i have used van sickle before to paint my trailer however that was bare metal and i just mixed the thinner and hardener in the primer and coated it let it dry then paint and sprayed.... its stuck on pretty well but i want to do as good a job as possible on my truck

it will have to be sanded down and all that

could someone please give me the proper procedure for how to re-paint.... what kind of sandpaper how am i supposed to sand it, some people have talked about wetsanding? whats that? whats fast how many coats how long should i let dry between coats i really don't know much about this stuff

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of Bodywork & Paint.

Check out at least the first post in this thread and it will give you a good start.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...paintwork.html

Good luck with your project and please post up some progress pictures.

 

If I could offer some advice and some cautions, it would be this: First, choose and automotive-specific paint. I know lots of people paint with other stuff, but I really don't know why they would. Price? If you shop around you can buy good-quality base/clear for amazingly low prices. Also, I wouldn't use anything other than base/clear products if you're a weekend painter. Base/clear is easy to apply, easy to touch up and pretty much any mistake you make in the painting process can be easily fixed. Try to say that with non-catalyzed single stage! All your other questions can be answered at the local paint store by picking up a tech sheet with your product. Ask for one everytime you buy stuff and read it carefully, there's a lot of good info on them and even if you've used a product before, things are changing so fast in the paint world that it seems like mixing ratios and requirements are changing daily.
As for some of your other questions, here's the basics: first, never shoot paint over bare metal, it's just asking for trouble. Even if you sand through a small area of primer to bare metal, spot-prime it before it sees paint. Also, choose a good epoxy primer for your truck and remember primer is like the foundation for your paint job. Just as you wouldn't build a house on sand, you don't want to paint over primer that will shift around or "wet out" once you shoot color. By that I mean lacquer primer. That stuff is only good for guide coats when you block sand and nothing else. I know someone will pipe up and tell me how they get great results with lacquer, but I see no good reason to use the stuff. It ain't 1968 anymore and primers like everything else has improved. Buy good primer and you won't be sorry.
Prep yourepoxy primer by allowing it to dry, then wet sanding with 400 grit paper. I use a 5-gallon bucket full of warm water and a little (as in a teaspoon full) of Dawn dishsoap. There's no magic in warm water, I just don't like my hands to get cold. Not all paper is the same, so use a top-brand paper (I use 3M or Norton) and always use a rubber sanding pad with your paper so your fingers don't cut grooves into your primer. Once you've smoothed out any dry-spray or runs in your primer, wash the vehicle to get all the crap out of all the crevises and let it dry completely. Epoxy primer is water-resistant so washing is fine, lacquer primer is not and getting it wet is never a good idea.
Now re-mask the vehicle, wet the floor and shoot on your sealer if your brand and type of paint requires it. Sealers are a great product and I think all paints should have them, but lots don't, like DuPont for example. The paint is shot right over sealer without sanding usually on the same day as the sealer is shot, typically 1-3 hrs later. Once you shoot the base ( letting it "flash") between coats then wait an hour or two and shoot the clear. Lots of paint systems say you can clear within 30 minutes or whatever, but I don't think the risk is worth the reward. Quite often, if you lay your base on heavy (a HUGE no-no), then shoot your clear 30 minutes later, you trap the solvents in the base. This will lead to your paint job getting warts a week or so down the road and you get to do it all over again or live with your truck having a bad complexion, neither is very good.
Some other tips I would go with are to NEVER paint in temps colder than 60 degrees (70 is my favorite temp), ALWAYS use a paint suit, ( they are around $7 if you buy the Tyvek disposable suits), and ALWAYS wet the floor right before you paint. Some guys use a hose, but I just slowly pour out about 5 gallons under the car and slowly work it wround with a broom to avoid puddles that may splash your car. Also, read as much as you can on the subject before you start, there's lots of good advice online for free, but be warned, painters are the most brand-loyal bunch on the planet and you may hear or read some negative stuff about something you just bought from your local store. Don't pay too much mind to it, just stick to the basics and follow the manufacturers instructions above all else and you'll be fine.