Hi all,

Here is the deal. My rig, which I dearly love, had a one ton bale of hay fall onto the bed rail from inside, so I have to replace my bed. I found a new take off for 450.00 from a dealer, but it is blue, my truck, which has 170K on it, is black. So,

I am looking for advice on what primer/paint to use if I shoot it. I have painted before, but am no expert, dont mind elbow grease for the prep work, and dont need a show truck. The new 06 yellow I really like, so I know the primer has to cover well. My question is what is the best combo to shoot over the factory clear? Should it be sanded off for best results? Can I sand, seal, prime, and paint?

Any advice would be great. Also thought about sanding myself and paying someone to shoot it, but kinda like the idea of doing it myself.

Thanks, Digger T.

 

Do you mean you want to paint the hole truck yellow? If the that is the case sand with a da sander with 320 grit. As long as you dont have any body work or deep scratches you wont have to prime. I am most familiar with the DuPont system which is very user friendly. When you go to get your paint the paint supplier will know what shade of sealer to use. I would go with the Chroma Premier sealer, and with a yellow you are probly looking at a value shade 1. Let me know if you need anything else.

 

Cool, thanks. No primer is a bonus. What does a value shade 1 mean?
The other bed is a metallic blue with silver trim if that makes a difference, and yep, the whole truck yellow. I really like the looks of the new 06s, and with 170K, I aint gonna need a show truck.

Appreciate the help so far.

 

value shade is duponts system for the shade of primer or sealer to use for best coverage. Basically they mix primer or the sealer color to come up with the shade which will be easiest to cover (there are a few different colors of primer from white to black they mix to get the value you need), they should know what shade when they look up the colors mixing formula. Yellows can cover poorly, blacks usually not too bad. PPG and other paint brands have similar systems. Most likely white or a light colored primer or sealer for yellow, black or dark primer for black. Although it is not often recommended, most brands of 2k sealers, epoxy primers and urethane primers seem pretty compatable with other paint systems. I would personally sand with a little finer grit then 320 dry for final sand before paint, expecially for a basecoat paint in a metallic color, but it should be okay if you are sealing just prior to paint. I have final sanded with 400 wet and scratches covered without a sealer, but most basecoat metallics recommend 500-600 wet for basecoat metallics, I am not sure exactly what that equates too if dry sanding, probably somewhere around 400 dry. Check the p-sheets(product sheets, tech sheets, what ever you want to call em) for the paint you are going to use, and they should tell you final grit and other good information on mixing, applying ect. You can find many online, dupont.com, ppg.com, ect. You might be in for a shock when you buy that yellow color though, one of the most expensive pigments, blacks are one of the cheapest.

 

Cool, good info. That helps a lot. I may keep it black, it would be easier around the jambs, but I do like the yellow a lot. I figured on hitting it again with 400. I have more elbow grease in stock, might as well use it.
Thanks!