Lots of good ideas, thanks guys. The bed is on the truck so I can only work from the rear. Lots to think about, thanks again.

 

Aren't you going to paint the front of the bed? Isn't there like six bolts holding the bed to the frame?

 

llya, very funny, but I painted the front of the bed before I installed it. So the jerk who did my paint job didn't go near it. Luckily. I'd love post some pics of my progress prepping for paint, but I can't seem to figure out how. Frustrating.

 

Email them to me.

 

Zoot. Jack up the front of the truck, you don't need much elevation for the paint to run down hill. With a pint or two of paint and a good restrictor ( cork or rubber)to pull through it will still work. Pull slowly. chuck

 

As 51panelman mentioned, I used sand paper on a broom stick, cleaned w/solvent then used a cloth and the broom stick to coat with POR15 it's been a couple years and no rust.

 

...funny.....although...

...I must admit...it worked fairly good cleanin' out all the "stuff" out
of the axle tubes on the Franken-Nine after all the grindin' and media blasting...<O</O

Thank goodness for the 5-foot handle...

About $5.00 at Lowes...

-

 

I have replaced the rolls on a few beds using 1-1/4 inch tubing. The factory roll is a little larger diameter so I am thinking that you could get a length of the 1-1/4 tubing to run through the existing roll. If you didn't want to go the steel route, you could buy a 10 ft length of PVC sprinkler pipe at your local HD or Lowes and use that instead. wrap a sheet of 100 grit around the end of the pipe and go to town. After sanding, use the same pipe and place a wad of sponge in the end, soak in POR 15 or whatever sealant you chose and swab it in the roll. I would mask off the side of the bed below the roll before painting...but that is probably obvious.

 

Just a thought, but nobody has mentioned the wire cleaning brush for a 12 or possibly a 10 gauge shotgun mounted on 2 or 3 sets of cleaning rods. Then you could just switch over to the cotton swab that comes in every gun cleaning kit I've ever seen and use it as your "paint brush" once you've got it cleaned out.

 

I used a new product from Eastwood Co. It's for coating the inside of a boxed frame. It comes as a spray can with an 18" long small diameter tube with a fan type nozzle on the end. I masked off the roll to make it a closed tube, punched a hole every 36"(18x2) snaked the tube in and sprayed as I pulled it out. Worked great. Used it on the boxed sections of my frame too.

 

Okay......so did you patch the holes you punched, use filler, or what?

 

I punched the holes in the masking tape covering the bottom (open) part of the bed roll. Then I just pulled off the tape when dry.

 

Oh oh okay. Dang man you had me wondering there for a second. When you said you "punched" the holes I was hoping you didn't mean the sheetmetal. LOL

 

I know I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but not that dull LOL

 

I used a sponge to get some paint in there. Like wayne said you can't see it anyway.You can get your fingers under the edge. I caped the ends off so you can't see in there also.Works for me.