PO brushed on the paint for my dash and I'd like to repaint it. My wife and i don't like the color or the brush stroke ridges in the paint. This is not a frame off and I'm a newbie to this auto thing. I'd like to have my truck back together and running before the summer fishing/farm season. Well, really I'd like to have it going by spring, but it doesn't seem realistic at my knowledge and budget level.

What are my options? I don't have an air compressor so a DA air Sander is out of the budget right now when I take in account all the required pieces and cost. I only need to sand the dash, glove box front, ashtray front, and inside doors. Is there an option for me that can get me there reasonably?

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

You can do it by hand with wet/dry sandpaper if you protect all the *****, switches, radio, etc. Plenty of water and start with 220 and work you way up to 600 of finer. Then rattle can paint primer and what color you want. Self etching primer has small amounts of acid that bond to metal and can be had in rattle cans. Build primer is also available and can help slightly filling scratches.

 

Thanks topmoo. I have everything out of the dash as it is going to be rewired so that's one of the factors for thinking we should tackle this now. I appreciate your advice and looks like I'll be buying some wet/dry sandpaper in varying grits today and filling a bucket with water.

 

I agree . For the interior hand sanding is the best . I would suggest that you make some sanding blocks out of scrap blue or pink closed cell foam .

 

Plus one for a sanding block. For some areas a piece of garden hose wrapped with sandpaper will work best.

 

Instead of useing a bucket of water get you a quart size squeez bottle or a spray bottle and use warm water and keep squrting/spraying as you sand, helps the sand paper from filling up with grit and scratching the metal, do not sand with finger tips, lay sand paper on metal and use you palm flat on the paper to form a flat sanding surface,almost like useing a snading block, Garry

 

Follow Gary's advice, but add a couple drops of dish detergent to the water in the spray bottle, and wipe the surface regularly with a shop rag or microfiber towel rinsed and wrung out in a bucket of clean water. You'll be surprised how fast the wet or dry paper cuts thru the paint. Start with 220 or 240 grit and sand to bare metal. shouldn't take more than an hour to do the entire dash. Wipe down with hot water soaked clean towel and follow with a wipe of shellac thinner or denatured alcohol and dry with a dry towel. Prime right away or if not go over the entire dash with 400 wet or dry used dry to remove any light flash rust and wipe down with alcohol or lacquer thinner (don't use lacquer thinner if there is any old paint still on the dash!) DON'T touch the bare metal with bare hands before painting! After a couple coats of primer, scuff the primer lightly with 600 grit W or D used dry to remove any dust or overspray nubbins and wipe with a clean dry rag before spraying the color coat. When you spray the dash start at the front top of the dash and work towards the windshield spray the full length of the dash with each stroke. Then do the front of the dash from top to bottom angling the spray pattern downward to minimize the overspray onto the freshly painted top. For a pro quality job, tape a piece of masking paper (butcher paper or plain white rolled paper over the dry top of the dash holding the front edge of the paper about an inch above the front edge of the dashto keep the overspray off but holding the paper off the surface at the front will give a softly blended edge instead of a hard edge like tight masking would give. Read the directions on the can carefully, many paints have a recoat time window. Do not violate this time window or the paint may never dry. Let the paint dry a week or more and you can very lightly sand the surface with 1200 paper used wet, being very careful to not sand thru on the edges. Just sand until any overspray is flattened. Finish with a rub out with 3M Imperial Hand Glaze.

 

So, I've sanded, and sanded, and sanded. On some areas, I have been able to get to bare metal and on the ash tray cover and glove box. In other areas, I can only seem to knock down the ridges from the brush marks. I'd also like to do the inside of the doors, but previous owners have totally crimped the springs holding the handles on the window regulator and door handle. To top that off, all the little dings in the door are making it difficult to sand effectively any more than knocking it smooth.

I don't want to sound childish, but I do want this to be a daily driver. I want tis truck back on the road. Is there a sealer that I can paint on the current paint job now that it's smooth (some bare metal, some original paint, some first PO repaint, and some last PO repaint with brush) that will allow me to use an off the counter rattle can if I use proper technique?

The rattle can I'd like to use that matches the paint outside says its an acrylic lacquer which I read cannot be used on top of enamel (which I'm assuming is original).

I always was going to prime it first. What can I use to seal or prime it to get me back on the road with an acceptable looking dash and doors? I'm not expecting to win shows, but it would be nice to drive this truck again.

Sorry for the slight childish rant attitude. I just went to Springfield MO this weekend for the show and want mine back running so I can "participate" and have for errands around town. Today is one of those days and I guess it's got me down. I realize I'm trying to shortcut slightly, but there has to be a solution out there that will last while I save up the scratch for a full repaint in 5-7 years. Thoughts, suggestions, encouragement?

Thanks. - Sean

 

I just redid my interior to get the inside comfortable. I won't lie it took time, but it was well worth it. I think you should slow down and do it right now, vs rush to put it on the road. What's and extra 3-4 weeks? That puts you at early summer for use still.

 

Sean, I can't uderstand why you are having so much trouble!?! I can't imagine it taking more than an hour or two to sand the entire dash down to bare metal. To strip it completely start with 80 grit wet or dry and a rubber sanding block. Get one of the blocks that are about 3x5x2 high, flat on the bottom, curved on the top, they have slots on the front and back with sharp nails inside the slots to hold the paper. They sell them by the sandpaper at your local DIY store. I like to put 2 or 3 layers of paper on the block at a time. When the layer I'm using starts to wear out I just tear off that layer and keep going.

Hint: cutting the paper with a pair of old scissors is better than tearing it. If you must tear it, fold it tightly grit inwards and rub the fold with a wood block or smooth tool handle on a hard flat surface to make a very sharp crease. Refold it inside out on the same fold and again press the fold tight. It should now tear easily and smoothly. The blocks are sized so they use a sheet of sandpaper exactly divided. Make sure you take the time to put the paper on the block straight smooth and tight.

Dip the block in a bucket of warm water with a couple drops of dish detergent in it and/or liberally spray the dash surface with the same solution and sand. Redip the block regularly to keep it clean. Wipe the dash off regularly with a wet towel.

Hint #2: DO NOT apply heavy pressure on the sandpaper! Let the grit do the work! If the paper is getting paint build up on it, you are pressing too hard and/or not keeping the surface wet enough to wash away the residue. Press only hard enough to keep the paper in contact with the surface, usually just the weight of your hand without pressing.

One possibility is that the PO painted it with latex house paint, if so the paint will be thick, gummy and roll up like pencil eraser dust when sanded. If that is the case, come back and I'll give you help on removing it.

Once you either get all the PO applied paint sanded off or find out what kind of paint was used Come back for painting help. (try some lacquer thinner on a rag on some of the sanded paint and see if it dissolves it. Lacquer thinner will dissolve or wrinkle enamel or lacquer. If it doesn't, you can try a product called "Oops!" available in the paint chemicals area of your local DIY store. Oops will dissolve latex paint but not lacquer or enamel. The older the paint the slower the solvents will work.)

 

That is pretty much what I am doing. I'll keep going. I m using the rubber block you describe as well as a foam one wrapped in 80 grit for the tighter areas. Maybe I am just too impatient or not applying the right amount of elbow grease but I have logged about 30+ hours on dash with no end in sight and probably 20 or so on inside of doors. And when I count those hours, that's not generic evenings and breaks, but hand on block, block on metal time.

I'll keep at it. Thanks for continued advice and encouragement.

Sean

 

Hi Sean
The Springfield show is a good place to come to get you excited isn't it. There were some really really nice cars and trucks. Keep in mind a lot of those cars had 15 to 20 thousand dollar paint jobs and thousands of hours of work on them. Wish I had known you were there would have yelled and gotten together. Keep after your truck it just takes a lot of time.
Larry

 

Larry, the Springfield show was a great show. If your truck was there, I probably saw it as I walked the grounds on Saturday several times. I will post a note next time going to something as it would have been great to talked in more detail about trucks since I'm a total newbie at this.

My dad has restored several cars and he and his friends are more than generous with encouragement and advice, but I am also somewhat independent like my dad and that often makes things difficult for him to advise me. I know it's probably and mostly on my side and its the same with most father and sons. I guess that's why I feel pressure to get this truck up and going. He's about to purchase a '56 and start his first truck. He has more budget, a lifetime of skills and practice and since he is retired, more time. He doesn't put these pressures on me, I do. But I would like to have mine back on the road before he one ups me like he has all of my life.

Well, back to sanding. I think the POs laid this stuff on thick. Of course, one of the POs was the US Army so maybe it was on extra thick for durability for all I know. If I could just get the dash, I could get it painted and the wiring back in. I might be able to live with the inside of doors for the summer and maybe even take them off next winter for media blasting somewhere. That might be a good plan to get me back fishing in my truck sooner than November. LOL.

Thanks everyone.

 

Are you using enough water, the dust should at least stay wet or float away.
Are you rinsing the paper often enough? The less water you use, the more often you need to rinse the block. The paper should rinse clean with a dunk and swish.
Is paint building up on the paper? You should not be getting paint building up on the paper. If you are, test for latex with Oops!
If the paint is that thick, I might scrape the majority off: Use a new utility knife blade only (the ones with a angled point at each end that normally go into a handle.) Hold it with firmly with both hands so the blade is perpendicular to the surface. Draw the blade towards you. It should scrape off a layer of paint. This will work even on thick paint or latex. If the blade digs in or chatters, reduce the pressure on the blade. You can remove a lot of paint in a short time by scraping, The only difficult areas to scrape are concaved areas. You can buy a curved cabinet scraper at a wood working store. it's a thin flat piece of steel cut into a french curve (or paisley) shape. It is used similar to the utility knife blade scraper except you match the curve with the tool and angle the scraper towards you at about a 45* angle so you are scraping with the sharp corner of the edge. You can learn how to sharpen a cabinet scraper on the internet, a large round screwdriver shaft can be substituted for a burnisher for sharpening.
You can also try a clean and strip wheel mounted in a drill. They are available at DIY stores in thetool dept around the sanding and grinding disks. It is a wheel that looks like it's made from grey course plastic steelwool made by 3M. They remove paint very quickly without thinning the metal. I can completely strip a fender in less than an hour with a clean and strip wheel. The disadvantage is they produce a cloud of dust especially if you use it to remove old bondo (it does a good job of removing bondo from dents and depressions!) so wear eye protection and a dust mask. Work outside or use a fan to blow the dust away from you out an open door.