I am seriously considering doing the work on my 64 truck myself. I think I could do a decent job since I'm not building a show truck but a daily driver. I have done some painting on a smaller scale with some good results but never this large of a project.
My questions are many but I will start with just a couple this time.

1. What are the pros and cons of resealing the seams on the cab and bed verses welding the seams in and grinding them smooth?
2. How would I go about protecting the stripping and primered panels over the course of severasl months while I still drive the truck? I've heard the primer will absorbe moisture and cause rust to form between the primer coat and the metal?

Any help would be appreciated.

Krosati

 

Good questions Krosati, lets take the seam one first. I have done welding on seams with mixed results. Seam are junction points were two panels come together. By thier very nature they are flex zones. Typically when you weld them one usually applies filler. My experience has been the filler cracks under the flexing. I have applied seam sealer to the seams with factory results. I tend to use 3M sealer which works great. I do small sections at a time. I always dip my finger in thinners or reducer and run it over the seam. This is the trick. It works great. Also putting tape on each side of the joint gives you a factory appearance. Remove the tape and run your finger over the taped area one last time to remove the edge that forms.
In terms of working on and driving your vehicle at the same time I have been experimenting with this problem for some time now in my shop. My paint rep tells me some guys are spraying epoxy primer on the bare steel and then putting body work on the epoxy. I think I need to do more research on this though. What we are doing is roughing out all body work ie., doing all the hammer/dolly and file work first. After this we do the body filler in sections. After each section has been completed we apply PPG waterproof epoxy over the filler. You are correct that most primer fillers are like sponges. But so is body filler. When the customer brings back the vehicle we pick up where we left off.
Russ

 

I understand the flex/stress points but from the appearance factor, how would the seam sealers fare against prepping them for paint?
My experiences with paints against rubbery/silicon based materials is that they tend to shed away from these products.
I am not familiar with the seam sealers but I thought I would ask.

Krosati

 

most seamsealers are paintable.
just be sure to use automotive types
there are plenty to choose from.
any reasonable brand will do, 3m is good!

1. drip check heavy or light.
has the ability to flow a little. comes in tubes.
a.. heavy for out of site,hard wearing seams
eg. under body, cabin
b.. light for external visable seams
2. seam sealers.
good for under body and none visable seams
used more on newer cars.can get in tube or
brush on.
3. sikoflex.
can also be used but probably not the best.
4. seam sealing tapes.
use on door skin external seams and places like that.
probably not wise to use on under body.

need i say more.
all of these products are paintable
just check with the rep.
on most occasions sealers should be applied after
final rub down before topcoat.
remember to follow directions on data sheets.

holeshot..