Hey guys! Need some help.

Going back to the resto project I am working on. 78 F-150 4x4 Buddy and I were talking about body work on my cab and pretty much the fenders and box.

My original thoughts on getting the body done, was to have it sandblasted, and undercoated with line-x. But after talking to him, for someone like me, there might be a cheaper way, with same amount of satisfaction. I'm not too picky!

I don't plan on showing my truck so it’s not like I need a $3k paint job, plus I do plan on using it when I go camping, 4-wheeling, and an alternative as a daily driver (just depends what the gas prices are like!) Plus it will be garaged when I'm not driving it, so having it repainted every 3-4 years doesn't bother me.

So the question is, sanding. What grit of sandpaper? It’s been painted once before, looks more like a primer then paint, its kind of rough. And it wasn't striped. So I have this nice aqua green, where they didn't paint over it with white.

Another question how much should I take it off, not down to bare metal I would think. Buddy mentioned that if sandblasted it, then I would have to do the whole etching primer and wet sanding, and all that. May not have a choice in the surface rusted areas, like where the door hinges where at.

I have an air compressor, no sanders yet (been holding off till I got close to think about painting), and an electric grinder. Just mention this because I saw an article where the guy started off down my path but switched to full bore, complete strip!! Plus the cab is currently off the truck and stripped down, no dash, or seat or anything, replaced the floorboards, and had another friend put new corners on by a couple rivets and then he brazed it. Never done bodywork before so keep that in mind to!!

And can I spray primer down and do little sanding myself?

I just want to get it prepped far enough that when I take it into maco or where ever, that there is minimum prep to paint, maybe have them do a once over on primer and sanding. Keep in mind, I'm not looking for the show room, competition look. Just looks good, for the price, at least for a little while. And if I go 4 wheeling that twig that just went down the side, didn't just ruin a $3k paint job! Wouldn't be happy, but..... you know, didn't pay $3k for a paint job either!!

Thanks!!

Rompin

 

im also doin a same kind of makeover on my 86 bronco II,i have taken it down to metal on the roof & hood because the paint was so bad there was rust coming thru,other places still had exceptionally good paint ,i took all other paint off to the old primer,used a good quality epoxy sealer/primer...,on the bare metal,i used an etching primer the local body shop supply center told me to use,only need a thin coat of the this,any rust spots i used a rust treatment that turns any rust to a black primer first,i ended up just brushing that on all the bare metal,most of all,you can not get "all" the rust out of any rust spots because it has already "contaminated" the metal where the rust spots are,an ongoing process once its started unless you "treat" it,plus only way to get all the rust out is to sand or grind the metal to a dangerously thin gauge if not going all the way thru because rust causes pits in the steel,make sure you get a good quality rust treatment product,i used the permatex "extend rust treatment" on mine because it specifies that it can be used with all paints,primers & body fillers,as for the tools,since you dont seem to be investing in doing alot of body work & painting in your garage all the time,you can get a 1/2 decent DA sander for round 30-40$,will be more than sufficeint enough for what you are doing,if you have any questions you need help with immediatly & cant wait for a reply in such as this forum,call the local "body shop supplies & equipment" dealer,there usually very helpfull & truthfull since there's a chance your gonna buy some things off them,lol,DO NOT CALL A BODY SHOP,they wont give you good advice because they are afraid of maybe you taking some of their bussines one day,wish ya good luck
P.S.,i used a good soft type wire wheel on my 4 1/2" ELECTRIC GRINDER TO REMOVE SURFACE RUST,gets most of the rust off & a little out of the pits with out taking any metal off,just make sure you run over those spots with a sander after words because the wire wheel tends to "polish" the metal also

 

Thanks FordCwazyGuy!

I guess it doesn't matter what course of sandpaper I use to get the old paint off to get it down to the primer. Just when I add my sealer/primer to get ready to paint it, right?


Thanks again!!

Rompin 78

 

use whatever grit it take to do what ya want to get to the primer or metal surface,after primered use a light grit to make it real smooth,then after you paint it,you can wet sand with 1500-2000 grit to smooth the final paint out ,then,after a couple weeks when the paint is hardened,buff out with a grinder/buffer to make it real smooth,then an orbital buffer with a swirl remover buffing compound,then a good polisher,woola!,beautifull paint,lol,but,you said you was getting maaco to paint it which is good because they have all the pro equip to spray real good,then all "you" have to do to make it real nice is the buffing

 

One last question.

There are some spots on the hood and on the roof of the cab, that someone did a really shotty job of what looks like bondo.

Should I remove all the bondo all the way down to the metal, use some kind of etching primer, then re-patch (probably with bondo) then primer, then ultimately paint?

or

sand off the paint they put on, re-patch till is smooth and then primer?

I guess the really what I am asking what you would you do, if you noticed a shotty bondo job? Keeping in mind my skills and tools!

Thanks FordCwazyGuy!!

Rompin

 

if the bondo loose, or looks like it wont hold up & crack or come loose later on,i would personaly take it down to the metal since your wanting to keep the vehicle for a while,if it just "looks" bad but seems to be holding up well,you can sand the bondo good & clean & add more to make it smooth,once you have gotten pretty close to being smooth with the bondo,remember,you still have the option of sanding primer after the sealer to smooth it out even better,always remember one rule though,"bondo only sticks to metal" and glaze putty will stick to both & glaze putty is much easier to sand,so make sure when you put the bondo on,dont add too much hardener so it takes a long time to dry & that gives you plenty of time to work with it & plus,the longer bondo takes to dry,the harder it gets,better long run results,dont try to put too much glaze putty on something,doesnt hold up as well as bondo when its thick but works great for a thin coat to smooth it out,for instance,little dings or dents that are small or a warped panel,ect ect,also,when working with bondo,dont put thick layers on,thin layers,let it harden good,then more,too much at a time will leave big cracks from shrinkage,you sound like you have good common sense,you can most likely do a good job if you just take your time & be patient,it's all well worth doing yourself when your done & stand back & say"i done that!",lol,good luck bud