I am thinking of painting my truck and would like to know what the prices of things are. How many gallons of paint would it take to do inside cab, bed, and engine compartment and do all of the outside and between the cab and bed and clearcoat on out side and anywhere else reasonable. By the way it is a 78 f250.
the base color would be a dark ford blue with medium dark gray on the side where two tone would be. also what is the cost for a gallon of priemium paint for each of these 2 colors and 2gallons of gloss black and clearcoat. what all do I need to prep the truck like sandpaper and cleaning supplies scrapers and such and how much does this stuff cost I can get a garage and air compressor do I need a pressure washer any help would be appreciated

 

Sounds like your doing a complete paint job. My two-tone '79 Supercab took a gallon of the red which was in the center and if I remember right two of the white inside and out. The white cost $80 a gallon. I got the metallic red for $35 because it was a mismatch they were trying to get rid of. If you don't care about factory accuracy, then look for gallons that the paint shop is trying to get rid of becuase it did not match what someone else wanted. You'll have to get reducer which I think is around $20 a gallon and hardener. They make different speed hardeners. I live in AZ and have to use a slow to medium hardener because of the heat. The paint needs time to dry so we cant go too quickly. In a cold climate you should use a fast to medium hardener. A good paint supply house will supply strainers and stirrers. The strainer is critical to keep your gun clean and avoid clot from hitting the truck when you spray. You probably have to do some body work, hopefully not a lot and hopefully no rust repair. This is crucial to a good look. You can always sand down bondo and reapply. Get it perfectly smooth. Once the paint is on, it will be hard to rematch it. Take care that you completely sand. Take it down with 150 grit, then 220, then down to maybe 400. Make sure to wash it down each time. First with water. Then soapy water. I recommend Palmolive dish sop because it cuts grease really well. Once the final wash down is done, tack cloth it. You can buy tack clothes, or use mineral spirits. Just be sure to keep it absolutely clean. Prime it. Sand it lightly with a 400 grit. Clean it again and then shoot your final coats to it. Remember not to end the stroke of the gun on the truck. This will leave spots that are ugly and annoying to get rid of. Dont be too hasty to remove your masking and paper. You'll end up sticking it to the newly applied paint. At the same time you dont want to leave the masking tape on to long because the residue, hardened by the paint will be hard to remove. You can do this with laquer thinner, but be careful because the thinner will remove your new paint. All I can say is good luck. The biggest thing is the prep. Please take your time. That truck's panels should be smooth like glass before you paint. The primer will take out alot of the little imperfections and allow you to start with a uniform base. Good luck to you.

 

arusj,
It sounds like you know what you are doing. Where do you get your paint at? I also live in Az and I am trying to restore a 67 F100. It is an original az truck so I thought it would be rust free but when I got home I noticed rust in the front fenders, radiator support, floor boards and cab corners. Do you know where to get some of these parts? The outside of the truck is fairly straight except for the roof of the cab. It had something droped on it and it was crushed in a little. If the truck is dissasembled and painted piece by piece will the paint match or it hard to get it to match. I hope to totally redo the truck in about 2years. Thanks Eric