What I am really interested in is your "home-made lizard skin". The real stuff looks nice but man they are proud of it.

 

As am I.

 

There are many references on the net for cabosil or ceramic microspheres. These are very fine hollow spheres that are added to an exterior grade latex paint to add volume and an insulating effect. To make your own "Lizardskin" start with a gallon of a good grade of exterior latex paint, any color you choose, and add the spheres until the paint has the consistency of cake batter. Your should find that one gallon of paint makes two gallons of "Lizardskin". Use an undercoating gun to apply. Instead of spending $179 on a 2 gallon bucket of the name brand insulation paint, you can make it for around $25 yourself.
Here is a website that might help...Ceramic Microspheres Make Paint Insulate

 

Thats good information Charlie!
Thanks for sharing that

Bobby

 

Update: I use House of Kolor paints and for this project I decided to try a new product from HOK, it is USC01 Urethane Show Clear. The promotional materials touted this clear as having more "flow" properties which translates to a smoother finish with less color sanding/buffing needed to give it a show finish. I used it to paint some small parts first, hinges, ash tray cover, glove box door, etc and was very impressed with how it flowed out and the smooth finish when dry.
So I used the USC01 clear on the cab and was satisfied with the finish...applied smoothly, flowed out nicely, and dried quickly to a nice shine. As with any finish, even those that aren't going to be show trucks, there are always nibs and some spots of "orange peel" that need attention after the clear is dry. So the next day I start on the color sanding of a couple of spots. Things are going well, the clear seemed to sand out easily (much better than the super durable UC clear line) and a sample area where I buffed showed a beautiful luster. I am a happy guy. Well I THOUGHT I was a happy guy...when I moved to another area and started sanding I found that the clear coat was a lot thinner than I expected and the sanding went all the way through it and into the base coat. WTF?

I go back and read the tech sheet and learn that the price to pay for the added "flowability" of this clear coat is that there must be more coats applied to get the same thickness. I am under no time/schedule constraints so it's not a really big deal but it is a learning experience that I thought I would share.

So now I am back to blocking out the new finish and will shoot another few "flow coats" on top to give me the thickness I want. The silver lining in this story is that this is an accepted practice which eliminates the need for final color sanding/buffing in all but the most hardcore show paint jobs. I am anxious to see how it plays out. The weather is supposed to break here this week so maybe it's a blessing in disguise...cooler temps and faster reducer.

 

Have you ever tried the SPI brand of clears?
Home
If you haven't, you really should. They have a really good product, and a very reasonable price. The customer service has got to be the absolute best in the business. When you call, you get to talk to the owner, who just happens to be the chemist/engineer too. He will take all calls if you ask for Barry. I'll be willing to bet that once you try it you won't go back to anything else.
http://www.southernpolyurethanes.com...ersalclear.jpg

 

I have heard/read others recommendations for SPI products. I checked out their website and price sheet...$106 gal for clear and then another $35 (x4) for activator, that's quite a bit more than what I pay for what I am using now but I may try a quart just to see how it works. SPI seems rather adamant about using a 1.4 tip and shutting down the spray booth fan immediately after spraying...I may have to give George a call and see what's up with that. Thanks for the tip.

 

Charlie,
Thanks for the info and link on the "lizard skin".

 

Looks great , came out much better than ours .

 

awesome job and thanks for the lizardskin tip.......I love that color on the cab!!!!!

 

looks good charlie
keep posting pics as it comes together

 

Just finished up this cab job and thought that I would post some update photos of the colorsanded roof and the interior of the cab after the homemade LizardSkin had been applied...

 

Charlie,
You do some great work. That looks nice. Do you spray your home-made lizard skin or roll it?

 

I bought the application kit from LizardSkin which includes a siphon feed hose that you can place directly in the bucket to spray, a canister gun (the one that I prefer), and a mixing tool. The cup on the spray gun holds about a quart, you have to fill it more often but it gives you much more control when spraying the coating. The spray portion of the gun is simply a Schutz gun just like the ones used for undercoating. The mixing tool is a necessary part of the job since the mixture must be uniform and it is so thick that you cannot stir by hand. It is possible to thin the mixture a bit more if you wish...that will make the finish smoother but it also makes the coats thinner. I don't mind the coarse finish texture so I keep my mixture on the thicker side, kinda like thick cake batter.

 

CHARLIE,you sure do awesome work i love that color,i wish that i had your talent