Still at it working on the adhesive; can't find that 3M eraser anywhere around here, so I'll have to go into town to look for it.

Unfortunately, despite my best efforts with heating and gently removing the trim, there were small sections of paint that lifted off with the adhesive! I kept the gun at low temp to avoid excess heating causing bubbling and lifting. I need to get a hole of some paint to fix this.

Speaking of paint, the original owner mentioned that the truck had been repainted in recent years; that's why they had the pinstripe tape to hide where the lines to quite match up on the two-tone. You can't really tell unless you're really close to the truck, and even then it's not obvious.

It looks at though only the cab was ever painted in some sections as the bed appears to be all original. In the future I may choose to repaint the whole truck in just the deep blue metallic, but right now I really love the two-tone, so I need to fix that issue!

 

I hope it turns out good for you. If you don't like how the adhesive areas turn out, perhaps a good paint shop can hit those areas and give you a good job. A good shop should tell you if it is doable to the degree you expect. Hopefully that will be a moot point. Sandy

 

Thanks, Sandy.

The areas that need to be patched are actually fairly small, I want to get better at paint and body work, so this is a good chance for me to do that.

Just got home and managed to get that 3M adhesive eraser; barring it doesn't rain, I'll try it out after I eat something and report my results. For $35 it better be as awesome as the videos I've seen.

 

If the 3M eraser is the type you use with a drill motor, I used one for the first time a few months ago. It worked good removing old pin stripes but it wasn't easy by any stretch. But I'm old so it may be easier for you.

 

Yes, you chuck it up to a drill and go to town.

I managed to get about 5 minutes in before it started to pour on me... worked great those few minutes, though!

My pinstripes came off like butter using the heat gun, not even any residue was left over.

 

Here it is now:



Looks much better to me, more sleek and utilitarian; those little black spots are where I need to repair. Not too bad.

I'm still debating on removing the chrome around the wheel wells as well.

 

I agree it looks great. If you are not going have it painted by a shop, I would try to stay close to the area that would be covered by the removed parts. Then if you are not satisfied with how it turns out you can put them back on like it never happened.

For me, I would leave the chrome on the fender wells. I think the chrome looks good and brings out the wheels, which I like. If you do take them off I would wait to see how the doors look after you paint as you will be getting into the dark blue also.

About the only thing you could do to make that truck look bad is throw all your yard rocks at it.

 

Thanks!

Yeah, I may take off one side and just to do a comparison to see. If I do the bullnose clip, the chrome will likely make way. Interestingly, I saw a bullnose with an OBS bed, and painted right it didn't look all that out of place!

My hard is a work in progress... been xeroscaping for years now because I'm big on DIY and short on time, heh. This truck will help me finish it once and for all!

Then I can get back to building furniture.

This is a built-in entertainment center I built for my home using cedar; had to have the mill pick out the pieces because I didn't have my truck yet, and I don't like renting vehicles. Turned out alright for a rustic look. Made sure to CAD it all up first using the latest version of AutoCAD.

 

Very nice. Yep you need to get back to furniture. I'm impressed. And how did you get my picture on your TV?

 

Nice looking entertainment center, I love the rustic look.

If you do get rid of the chrome on the wheel well trim, don't throw it away(maybe sell them). They are getting hard to find in good shape. At least in my area anyway.

 

I suppose I have my ways

Yeah, that's the look I was going for. I've since made some changes since I took that photo to tidy it up. I also made that "coffee" table in the foreground, which is actually 7'x4'

I do plan to hang on to them, they're in pretty good shape.

 

My truck is being painted now. The guy I am working with sent this pic today and it shows the wheel wells without the chrome. Maybe this will give you an idea of what you will have. My chrome is going back on especially with the black Paint. Obviously I am going back with the grey on bottom and the tape pinstripe.

 

Wow! Looks great! Black is my next choice for a color, but I'm really loving the deep blue metallic.

I like the look without the trim, but I just need to see how it looks on mine.

 

Thanks. I would go for that deep blue metallic in a heartbeat Mine was black to start.

 

I saw a brand new F150 today in a really nice, vibrant blue. I love it.