I was thinking of priming my dash and interior metal of my 55 F100 with No-Rust green primer paint. It's going to be painted a dark forest green. Anyone have any opinions on this? I know Por-15 is a good paint but it's very temperamental . I have to watch out fumes (birds). What do you think?

 

What color is the exterior?

 

edsf100: It's going to be the same color as the interior, a very dark green; like a british racing green of some sorts. I'll probably paint the running boards black. I saw an old truck that was painted a dark green, but the fenders and running boards were in black. It looked good.

 

I agree. Sounds like the color will work well.

 

Why are there birds in your truck?
Are you spraying, brushing, or rattlecanning?
A paint job is only as good as the prep under it. Remove the instrument cluster, switches and any other parts you're not painting. If the paint is sound original paint, then do a thorough sanding with 280 grit wet or dry paper until the entire surface shows no shine at all, paying very close attention to all seams, Take off the defroster deflector and paint it separately, if there is any rust, scratches or chips be sure to sand them down to bare metal, feathering the paint out at least an inch around the bare metal. vaccuum completely especially the seams, and wipe down with the proper solvent for the paint you'll be using on a clean rag. if the sanded paint starts to wrinkle or lift or if it has been repainted before stop and sand the whole thing down to bare metal. Do not touch the dash with bare hands once you have cleaned it. Use a high quality automotive primer sealer, spot priming any bare metal first and then give it one or two coats overall. If you are using rattlecans go to an automotive parts store and buy Duplicolor paint and primer, don't use the all purpose stuff from the hardware store! Use a dark color primer if you are painting a dark finish color. After the drying time recommended on the lable, give the primer a light sanding with 400 grit wet or dry, being very careful not to sand through the primer especially on any edges. Pick up a tack rag while you are at the auto store. Vaccuum then wipe all the surfaces down with the tack rag use plastic gloves when cleaning so you don't leavy any skin oils behind. Now you are ready for the color coats. First coat should be a light fogging over the surface that barely shows color, don't try to cover the primer in one coat! read the label as to the recoating window and adhere to it!!! Wipe it down with the tack cloth and give it a little heavier second coat and then a just wet third coat to finish covering and bring up the gloss.
Control yourself, don't touch it or try to do anything with it for a couple days to give it a chance to harden completely. Do it right and you'll only have to do it once.

 

Sierraben

I'm assuming you want to do this with rattle can aerosol paint? If so, there are many aerosol paints that can do an acceptable job if you aren't pursuing a show truck. For automotive use, it is usually best to use something that dries fairly rapidly. There are many automotive primers with clearly marked labels for intended use. (such as the Duplicolor AX mentioned) You have to be cautious when using rust preventing primers. Many of them such as Rustoleum, stay soft practically forever. Almost like an oil based paint. Hard to get an attractive topcoat finish on that. Safest bet is probably to get some automotive touchup in an aerosol at the auto parts house. I have shot British Racing green and it covers pretty well. You can use a readily available gray automotive primer.

 

Hey AXracer & fatfenders, thanks. No birds in the truck. They're upstairs, but fumes do manage to seep upstairs. I'm thinking of using an HVLP touch up gun. Rattle cans don't seem to have much pressure or paint volumn. The previous owner(s) used rattle cans, so looks like it's going to be down to the bare metal. Thanks for the info.

 

Well in that case, I change my answer. I recommend you warn the birds you are about to shoot some smelly epoxy primer.

 

For the safety of both you and the birds I'd recommend doing your spraying outside if possible.

 

The birds will be warned, but painting outside may be a problem. One neighbor is a pain in the ****; can't blame her though. Also I live on a very busy street. The houses are butted up together. I don't want EPA breathing down my neck. So I have to be careful. Think I'll go with using a hvlp gun, but going to do some homework on the type of paint. Thanks guys

 

For sanding to bare metal there is a special sandpaper that works very well especially if you are power sanding. It is usually called "no load" or "no fill" paper or sometimes paint and varnish removing sandpaper, and is available at paint stores and better stocked hardware and DIY stores. It is easily recognized by it's light nearly white color (not to be confused with common sandpaper for wood which is light tan in color). Start with 80 - 100 grit to remove the major amount of paint, then finish with 240 - 280 grit to remove the last and smooth the metal while leaving a good tooth. Keep in mind that bare metal rusts very easily and amazingly quick. Be sure to keep any moisture and bare skin away and get some paint on it as quickly as possible. If you must leave it more than a day or notice ANY discoloration or light rust starting or for good measure go over the metal with some 240-280 wet or dry (dark grey color with an "oiled" looking back) and then a tack rag once more just before painting. Here's a trick I learned for doing the last stages of the sanding: go to the footcare section of your favorite drug or discount store and look for thin foam sheets with a peel and stick back that are sold to pad shoes where they rub, they are ~ 4"x4" x 1/8" thick, pick up 2 or 3. Cut a new piece of each grit of your sandpaper to fit and stick the foam on the back. You now have a soft foam hand sanding pad that works well for contoured areas that your power sander can't reach. The foam also makes the sandpaper last a long time.

 

Thanks AXracer, I'll do that. I'm learning something new everyday( actually every hour). Thanks