Those look great! Nice work.

 

Great shot of the kids! I bet they love that truck.

 

Thanks guys!! The boys are crazy about the truck and have been after me to get it finished. I keep telling them a little at a time. We all are a little disappointed we are not driving her in the parade tomorrow. I will be thinking about next years parade while we sit in our chairs on the sidelines watching the procession go by.

Denny - I will let you know for sure.

 

Guys now that I have all my hood trim I am trying to decide on what color to use for the Ford inscriptions. I believe blue was the factory color ... but fire engine red would look good too. Here are some pics. What do you guys think???

 

I agree on both counts. Blue was original, but red would look better on your truck.

 

Personally I'd go with the blue, resto correct and a touch of accent color against all that red will make it pop.

 

I prefer the blue as well, this makes the Ford a little more obvious. Lots of companies made fire trucks, but this one is a Ford! It also will prevent people from thinking, "Gosh, I wonder what else is not original. IMHO

 

I prefer the blue as well, this makes the Ford a little more obvious. Lots of companies made fire trucks, but this one is a Ford! It also will prevent people from thinking, "Gosh, I wonder what else is not original". IMHO

 

Paint them blue! Call me and I will tell you how.
Chuck

 

I would like to know too!

 

How (x 2)
Blue (x whatever)

 

One way to do it is to thin the paint and flow it into the recessed areas with a brush and a steady hand, then let dry.

 

Ford and Blue, like ice cream and hot brownies

 

Use a very high quality paint, such as One-Shot (2nd choice would be the little square bottles of Testor's plastic model paints. Make sure it is the paint than thins with thinner, not water and stir thoroughly before use). Use a high quality brush such as a sign painter's lettering brush available at a good art supply store. It should be a soft round brush ~ 1/8" bristle diameter with long (~ 1 1/4") flat or rounded end natural hair bristles. Such a brush should cost 4-6.00 but will last a lifetime if properly cared for. Some of my artists brushes are over 40 years old! Dip the brush into mineral spirits up to the metal ferrule, then dip 1/2 the bristle length into the paint. Mix the paint and thinner together and "load" the brush by stroking the brush back and forth on an old magazine page (or be a traditionalist and use a phone book page!) bending no more than the portion of the brush bristles with paint on it like you are painting an area ~ 1"x2". You should not ever get paint to the top of the bristles. If it starts to get close, stop and wash out the brush and start over. Flow the paint into place working from the center of the letter out to the edge, using long strokes parallel to the edge. You can move the paint closer or away from the edge with a slight change in pressure, pressing slightly harder widens the bush end and thus the stroke width, and vice-versa. Keep a soft cloth and a container of thinner at hand. If you make a mistake, just wash it off and start over, no harm no foul. The paint will be easily removable with thinner for at least 12 hrs.
After finishing, care for your brush by swishing in thinner until no more paint comes out, wipe it gently with a thinner soaked rag. (NEVER let the bush sitting in a jar on the bristles or scrub on the bottom of the jar, or pull on the bristles!) After no more paint comes out wash the thinner out with warm water and mild dish detergent. Rinse out all the soap and lay on a couple paper towels to dry. When it is dry dip the bristles in motor oil (dino not synthetic) and smooth them to shape gently with your fingers. Roll the brush with white printer paper and store in a box or standing on the end of the handle, bristles up. When you want to use it again swish out the oil in clean thinner wipe on a clean cloth and use. A well cared for brush will get better with age.
One other tip, NEVER EVER use a natural bristle brush with water based paint it will be ruined permanently!!!

 

Anyone know what the color the blue was? and the best way to paint them?