I have a 1978 F-150 and had a guy come over to give me a quote on a paint job. He said that he thought the current paint was lacquer and would want to completely strip the current paint off rather than painting on top of it.

Is my truck's paint lacquer? Does it NEED to be completely removed for a new paint job?

 

It probably does not NEED to be completely stripped. I like to know that my paint is going over a base paint that is / was done correctly. Sometimes, stripping the whole thing is easier than sealing what is there. It is not always a good idea to strip a vehicle, someties you create more problems this way, you must be prepared so moisture does not get into the metal & start corrosion, etc...

 

If the paint is sound I would think there is a primer or sealer avalable to provde a surface for a top coat. A complete strip is not a lot of fun . Is it a chemical strip or is going to be sanded to the bare metal.I would avoid if possible. Be careful because if you are paying to have the vehicle stripped make sure you see it stripped. It seems like an easy way for a dishonest person to pull a fast one and paint the vehicle without stripping.I guess the condition of the existing paint determines your course of action. Get a couple of other painters opinions.

 

The guy said he would do the truck in parts and I would pay for each 'part.' Something like I pay for $1000 of work, see the results, then another installment, and so on until the truck is finished (for a quoted $4800 for a complete repaint). The current paint is original, but it's been scratched to heck in some places and is worn down to the metal in others. Only one bad spot of surface rust about 1.5 inches in diameter on the hood. So unless the paints are incompatable I don't think it would need to be completely striped, but it would probably need to be sanded down to the metal in some areas.

Anyone know what type of paint was used on these old trucks?

 

If you do the truck in parts the colour may not look the same even if the paint is from the same can. It seems like an odd arrangement .I wish I could help you with what you have on the truck. I am not familiar with the older models.

 

I didn't mean parts like that, the last part would be the paint. I don't know exactly how he would do it, but especially with the paint I was going to get, a pearl metallic, it would have to be all at once. I think he meant more of steps like he would first disassemble everything, next he would strip the paint, next he would do the body work and finally he would paint. Something like that.

I've forgone that route though, too pricey for me right now and if the paint gets scratched, I wouldn't be able to touch it up. I'm going to go for the original color now, a basic orange and not have the bed or hood removed, or interior painted, etc. This way I can spend money fixing up the interior, seats, trim, etc.

 

Ok.Now I understand. I looked at your gallery. Truck is in excellant shape.The chrome on the front is perfect. I like the rims.

 

It has always been my point of view that if it's not broke, don't fix it. In other words if the current paint is still adhering well, then why remove the protective layer is has provided thus far? I recall in the mid 60's Plymouth putting out some paint jobs that I surely wouldn't put paint over (those olive green leporsey looking Belveders and Dodge Darts) but as for 78 F150's I drove one for 325,000 miles and the paint held tight.

Sounds like your painter might be wanting to drag out the job for all he can. With todays sealers and base coats, there really is no reason to completely strip the existing paint, unless it has been painted several times, and feathering it out to the areas that have been ground to the metal for body repairs proves to be to much burdon. (or the old paint is peeling loose) In addition, exposing the bare metal any more than nessasary is opening up a protective seal that has been working for the truck since 1978.

There are many things in the air around us that can cause you greef down the road. For instance if you live near a paper mill, there are little demons in the air that showed up in a pearl white lacquer job I did about a year after I completed the paint job.

So my advise (for what it's worth) is why unseal the metal just to try to get as good a seal again if there isn't a real need for it?