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1948 - 1956 F1, F100 & Larger F-Series Trucks Discuss the Fat Fendered and Classic Ford Trucks

How much paint

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Old Jan 25, 2016 | 06:05 PM
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How much paint

Hey guys havnt been on here much in the last little bit. Life gets in the way of the fun some times. Any way been driven my 52 around for the last few years in the tinted green primer. I can now afford to paint it and was wondering how much base coat and clear I would need? My paint supply guy says to get 2 gallons of base. Thought that might be a little much. Whats your guys advise?
 
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Old Jan 25, 2016 | 06:12 PM
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Haven't painted a car or truck in a long time and am certainly not an expert but I would think a gallon of each would be plenty. Unless you want multiple coats or count on respraying some of it. How much primer did you use?
 
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Old Jan 25, 2016 | 06:31 PM
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Does the base get reduced or is it sprayable as is? If you are painting the inside of the cab and inside of the bed then 2 gallons of sprayable material does not sound unreasonable. Better to have extra for future touch ups and not to run out in the middle of the job. Also helps if coverage is not good, you wont know that until you spray it.
 
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Old Jan 25, 2016 | 06:58 PM
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This is almost like asking "how long is a string?". I bought 10 qts of base to do my 56 but I wanted to be sure I had enough AND I was painting EVERYTHING, inside and out. If you were doing a paint job on an assembled truck, ala Maaco, then the amount needed would be less. If you are spraying yellow then plan for more, much more. If you are spraying a metallic then that brings another variable into the equation. You can see where this is going...need more info before I can give you a netter estimate.
 
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Old Jan 25, 2016 | 06:58 PM
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Get the 2 gallons and don't spend any time worring about 'saving' on paint. We novice painters are not the most efficient.
 
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Old Jan 25, 2016 | 07:58 PM
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I was told two gallons too so that was what I bought. I painted the truck myself ( first time painting) ended up taking five gallons at $800 per gallon.
(OUCH). Needless to say I messed up alot. LOL. Corvette Torch red base coat clear coat.
 
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Old Jan 25, 2016 | 08:13 PM
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Wayne did you spray over a tinted sealer or over a darker primer? That is a lot of paint!
 
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Old Jan 25, 2016 | 08:17 PM
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Originally Posted by drptop70ss
Wayne did you spray over a tinted sealer or over a darker primer? That is a lot of paint!

Black primer.
 
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Old Jan 25, 2016 | 08:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Wayne S
Black primer.
That explains that!
 
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Old Jan 25, 2016 | 08:23 PM
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I can't speak for Torch Red, however, a very pure red will just eat paint. To avoid the problem a pure red as I understand it needs a bit of black in it to get coverage. I had a friend try to paint a car with a very pure red and it took a lot of paint. I painted my 49 with Porsche Guards Red and did not have that problem but still bought and used 2 gallons.
 
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Old Jan 25, 2016 | 09:36 PM
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That is WAY too much paint and far too expensive. House of Kolor KD-3004 is a red primer/sealer that will cover ANYTHING in two coats. I spray that first and then SG-104 Euro Red base coat followed by clear. Sealer with catalyst and base is about $65 a quart, much less than $800 a gallon.
 
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Old Jan 26, 2016 | 07:14 AM
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I just painted my truck. I was told that one gallon would do it. Wrong. I don't think the guy who made the one-gallon recommendation unerstood that EVERYTHING gets painted...interior, under hood, inside fenders, etc. I ended up buying another gallon. And, of course, the color was not a perfect match. I used one gallon for inside of hood, inside of fenders, cab interior, firewall, etc. I used the other gallon for the exposed exterior. Even with two gallons, I have just enough left over for minor touch ups.
 
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Old Jan 26, 2016 | 10:06 PM
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Originally Posted by jvmcc
I just painted my truck. I was told that one gallon would do it. Wrong. I don't think the guy who made the one-gallon recommendation unerstood that EVERYTHING gets painted...interior, under hood, inside fenders, etc. I ended up buying another gallon. And, of course, the color was not a perfect match. I used one gallon for inside of hood, inside of fenders, cab interior, firewall, etc. I used the other gallon for the exposed exterior. Even with two gallons, I have just enough left over for minor touch ups.
Just painted my '50 F2. Ditto on the 2 gallons of uncut base. I used 2 gallons of my main color and two toned it so my fenders and running boards are a different color.
 
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Old Jan 28, 2016 | 05:46 AM
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When I did my 56 it took 2 gallons of Ford performance red....

or as I call it "ticket me red". This was base clear Dupont. I did inside and out, bed aswell and it took 2 gallons of read and a gallon of clear. At the time (7yrs ago) it was $1000 in materials.
 
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Old Jan 30, 2016 | 09:15 AM
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I used 1 Gallon of colour , 1 Gallon of reducer , 2 pints of Hardener and 2 Quarts of Black for the fenders . That gave me 1 light coat and 2 full wet coats .
 
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