You should be able to buff out the black streaks. Where it scratched the paint some careful sanding and brushing on the matching paint, then sanding with fine grit paper, and it shouldn't be noticeable.

 

Ross is correct. It's not the end of the world. A quick polishing will remove the ugly marks and make it look presentable from at least 10 feet away. The troublesome part is the bondo cracks which will allow moisture to infiltrate and cause the bodywork to fail from rust underneath. If you can take some of your touchup paint and seal the cracks, that would hold off the failure for awhile longer.

 

Thanks for the encouraging advice. My goal will be to get the repairs done by the Fourth of July. Right now my garage, which I usually keep well organized, is overwhelmed by a delivery of a bunch of old tools and stuff from one of my grandfathers. My brother was storing and using the stuff for 30 years but decided he wanted to get rid of it. My house and garage it seems are the last resort final repository for family heirlooms, so now there are lots of new treasures to work into an already crowded space. Sometime later this summer I've been invited for pictures and a tour to a Coast Guard Station in the U.P. that is being converted to a museum. I'll want my truck looking its best for that occasion.

Jim

 

This is way cool!

 

X2...

 

Congrats, Jim! Well deserved.

 

It is cool. A retired Coast Guard guy that served in Sault Ste Marie like my dad did lives in a neighboring town and saw my truck out and about a few times. He never quite was able to catch up to me but somehow found out about FTE and responded to a military truck thread that surfaces every once in awhile. In his response, he posted his cell phone number and encouraged me to contact him if I was interested in meeting up with him. It turns out this guy is heading up a restoration project of a CG 36 foot motor lifeboat. The boat is in the U.P. at a Coast Guard station that's being converted to a museum. I'm invited for a tour and some pictures. I've invited a friend to come along and drive his 66 Thunderbird. My son Michael is also hoping to come and drive a classic vehicle. Michael's father-in-law has 3 classic cars, and he might come too. We just need to figure out a date (and my truck needs to be ready). It should be a great experience.

 

I have a new computer, and everyday it posts old pictures from my photo file. This came up today taken in 2012. I don't think I've posted this one before:



My truck spent a lot of years parked under some white pine trees that my grandfather planted on his lot line. The little rust repair above the headlight I did when I was just a kid. It's certainly not up to forum standards.

 

Jim, did you ever get up to Sault Ste Marie and post about it?

 

I did go the UP to meet this guy with my truck, but the whole affair turned into an unexpected flat failure and near disaster.. My friend with the Thunderbird came along--that was good. His wife came too, which was also good. Because his wife was going, my wife Donna in a moment of weakness consented to go too. That was a big mistake. I thought my wife could ride in the Thunderbird when she had enough riding in the truck. That was a faulty assumption. The back seat of the Thunderbird was full of stuff like coolers, groceries, and clothes.

My wife rode the whole way in the truck. When we arrived at the destination, she was completely shot and went directly to bed. We didn't see anyone or do anything. As the night progressed, Donna became more ill, and the focus shifted from what we were going to see or do in the morning to how are we going to make it home or to the nearest ER. As it turned out, my daughter who is a pharmacist married to a doctor ended up coming from 6 hours away and got Donna home. A hospital visit was avoided, but I sure thought we were headed in that direction.

So I never saw the guy or his restoration project. He never saw the truck, but I'm hoping to try again this summer. I'll go alone this time with maybe a grandson or two.