So I've had this truck for 2 years now. It runs and drives great, it has a few issues here and there, but has it where it counts.
It barely gets driven, mainly just short trips here and there, dump runs, helping people move, maybe tow a boat a few times a year.
I got it in pretty rough exterior shape, the interior could use some care too, but not as bad as the outside.

When I got it, it didn't have a front bumper on, the passenger fender and the matching side of the chrome grill was dented up real bad, and the plastic grill inserts were weathered and cracked in a few places.
The drivers side of the bed has a decent amount of damage other than that it is pretty straight. The entire truck was originally a 2-tone, but that had gone way to a 3-tone of red, white, and rust.

The owner I got it from gave me a spare hood, fender that wasn't dented, and bumper in the bed of the truck when I got it. I have decided to take on the project of a quick and dirty paint job to get it more presentable and not look so bad.

When I first got it, I put the bumper on, glued the grill back together, painted it flat black (the theme of the truck) and made a mesh black insert behind the grill. I then put in new sealed beam conversion headlights with 6000k Hi/Lo HIDs.
As of late, I sanded down the hood, painted it flat black, put on the new fender and painted that flat black. I am doing this panel by panel. Since there is no clear coat left, I am just hitting it with 180 on my orbital sander to make the surface uniform and them just rattle canning it with cheap flat black spray paint.

I'm not trying to do a full restoration of this truck. I'm not trying to make it win any beauty contests, but I am trying to make it not look so horrible driving down the road or sitting in my driveway. Also when I show up to the boat ramp towing a boat that cost 30x more than I bought the truck for (under $1k), it looks a bit odd to say the least.

My plan is to murder everything out, get rid of all chrome that I can and plastidip what can't be pulled or painted, such as the front bumper. I'm not worrying too much about the insides of the panels. This isn't a frame off restoration truck, just want it to look better than when I got it.

Here's how it started out after the grill work and the bumper got put on





and here is the progress on the paintjob




So far I'm into the paintjob a whole $4! Not too bad for less than a cup of coffee. It has taken me about a hour per panel in prep and paint. I think I'll be about $50 in when it's all said and done.

 

Looks good so far, keep it up.

 

It probably never had a clear coat... just catalyzed enamel.

I was in the same situation with my '73 4x4 but went camo instead. Touch ups are super cheap and easy - especially after Mother Nature's fingernails (tree branches) lays up on 'er.

It's a funny thing about going camouflage... no one parks next to ya and eyes shy way... Maybe the gun rack up against the back window has something to do with it?

 

Nothin wrong with you or your truck, just your geographical location...

 

I have a 77 F150 4X4 that is simply painted primer gray and flat black. I see no reason to put a expensive paint job on it that I'll just take out and ruin but I do keep it respectable looking and clean

 

Looks like you are doing good work. How much are the rattle cans adding up to? How is the paint holding up?


On a gun stock I tried Duplicolor's Perfect Match rattle cans and their clear coat. It looked great but ended up being extremely soft. As in putting it in a gun case put enough scratches in the paint to cause a haze and chipped off in parts. Is your paint this soft?


This past weekend I tested Summit Racing's single stage paint. I painted a friends Miata in white. The idea was a quick and decent paint job to get the car ready to sell. We scuffed, masked, and painted the car in 24hrs so he could drive it back home in a few days. We were very impressed with how it covered and how good it looked, even with no body work being done. Since it is acrylic urethane it should hold up rather well over the years. The paint kit was $100 and does come in black like you are doing.


My point being that you might be more satisfied with something like this. Spraying with a gun makes things go much much faster and should hold up to the elements longer, while staying on budget.


Either way, keep up the good work! And don't forget to post up more pictures of the process.

 

I have rattle canned before, and found that a roller and a quart is cheaper. I just did my crew with a satin green. The nice thing about these cheap paint jobs, regardless of how you do them, is that they can make the truck look a little more respectable, but you aren't out a lot of money. Keep it up!

 

Well I have the front clip done. I got the hood, both fender, the cowl, rest of the grill, and front bumper all painted. Everything except the lights and windows is going to be black.

The paint I'm using is just the home depot $0.99 cent special. I find it works a little bit better than the wal mart brand as the spray is more consistent and doesn't start sputtering.

I probably should get one of those can holder spray deals as I'm doing so much as well.

The funny thing is I actually have free access to a full shop with all the bodywork tools, painting supplies, etc. I can use. I just choose not to do that because it's from my dad. He has done bodywork and painted cars for the past 30 years, including some projects we have done together.
I learned everything of the proper way to restore and paint a car from the ground up. I know what are the important steps I need to do and ones I can skip.
I just do not have the time to do the entire truck at once, having 2 kids. It's been a struggle getting the time to do this much so far.
I know if I took it in there to do it, it would be a huge time sink that I cannot do right now and he would want to take over the entire project.
I would rather do something that looks good from 10 feet and do it myself with limited resources (basically an electric orbital, some scotch bright pads, and a bag of spray paint) than have this dragged out to a few months long project.
Instead of just leaving the holes where the chrome trim has come off, it'd be breaking out the welder, filling them, grinding it down, bondoing it all, sanding it, primer, blocking, wet sanding, painting, wet sanding, clear coat, wet sanding, buffing, waxing, etc.
He does full on restorations and show cars, which have won best in paint in car shows, lowrider shows, etc. He wants that for all the work he does. I just want it to not look like a rust bucket.

Sorry for rambling. I just wanted everyone to know why I'm taking the steps I am.

Anyways, here are the updated progress pics.

One more thing. Any advice on the doors. Those are next, but I'm not sure if I should paint the insides and outsides, or just the outsides and do the insides when I get to the interior.

 

Since you are already on to the paint job, I would say just do the outside and worry about the interior later. In my experience, the quicker it can be one color, the happier the neighborhood will be

 

Been making some progress. Got the roof done and then the rear quarter panels. Just need to get the doors, bed, and tailgate.
I haven't been doing any masking. I'm just going to scrape any off the glass. Everything is going to be painted anyway, a lot easier not worry about it.
I have been sanding the sides Of the panel next to where I'm working and just getting the edges done at once.
Doing part of the door jams because of this.

 

Just for histrionics sake, when Henry Ford first started making cars he let you have any color you wanted. As long as it was black.

 

Technically at first, Ford had different colors. Then a few years later he wanted to speed things up, and keep prices down, black paint (enamel?) dried quicker than anything else, so that was the deal.

 

And thats the rest of the story.

I seem to remember the line "any color you like as long as it's black" and kind of thought it was a depression era story that got exagerated.

 

It has always been my understanding and experience, that black is cheaper because of the pigments that make up the color are far less expensive than other colors like the reds. I purchased 8 oz. , yes 1/2 pint,of a particular tone of red last year for $102 my cost!!! I took a beating on that little touchup job because of it. Yup,black is the cheapest color hence Henry Fs thinking on color choices I presume.. Gary

 

Paint has really skyrocketed, they transport that stuff by armored car??