As you can see from my picture gallery, my paint job sucks. Whoever put the clearcoat on put it on to heavy and it sagged. They also didn't bother with masking tape.

I'm thinking of whether to sand it down to the primer or use paint stripper and re-prime. Which would be cheaper and less labor intensive? For sanding, what should I use? I have a good air compressor to a nice air sander could be purchased.

Thanks

Edwin

 

The best thing to do is get a DA sander and take it down to bare metal and repaint the whole truck. To do places like door jams and stuff you would most likely need to do it by hand as the DA probably couldn't get all the way in there. I personally would prefer to do it properly but others have different opinions.

 

What grit paper should I use? Should I do it wet or dry?

 

not wet, wet is usually for buffing and very fine things like that. Im not sure exactly what grit I'd say a pretty rough one maybe 60??

 

Not sure of the paint job on your truck but if the clear is the only problem you can wetsand with #1000 grit and buff to get rid of any runs or sags, providing there is enough clear. As for repainting, unless you have rust or peeling paint I see no reason to take down to bare metal, just scuff sand with a DA and then wet block sand,prime and apply sealer then repaint.

 

The clear coat was applied so thick that it cracked and sagged in whole sheets leaving cracks as wide as 1/2 inch. The entire layer needs to be taken off. I want to paint it white anyway since I just don't like black. I would think that sanding off the black would be a good idea also since there's no telling how it was prepped and it's peeling in places anyway.

This is truly a dreadful paintjob.

The metal underneath seems solid though with very little rust and very few dents. I wouldn't even bondo the dents since I figure minor dents show character. :-)

What about if I use a fairly coarse paper to take it down to the underlying factory paint then use finer paper to smooth it out?

Edwin

 

Sanding the clear off unfortuntly is the best option, the paint will have oxidized and may not take new paint well. Dont ever strip a vehicle thats assembled, the stripper will get in areas and leech out after your finished and admiring your paint, till it falls off. Striping is fine on parts you can remove.

I also would never sand to metal unless the existing paint wont feather, bare metal painting makes a lot more work and costs a lot more. As for the grit, the finer you can use and it do the job thats what id try, start at about 180 on a good DA, using to rough a grit, you can see the scratches in the metal even with a DA.

 

OK, now what is a DA?

 

Dual action sander...

That typical body shop lookin' sander...rotary sander with a disconnct latch on the sanding head to allow the head to sorta' float...causes the head to do little curly Q's instead of spin.

Vinny

 

If you have overly thick clearcoat, I would get a course paper like #80 grit or it will take forever, finer paper like #220 or #320 will clog. If you want to be real careful, when you get close to metal (when you see primer) in an area switch over to #320 . A good high solids primer should fill in any overly aggressive sanding marks. A cheap 6" Harbor freight type DA will work, use PSA type paper for economy, the velcro type is expensive. Mirka and Norton are the best value. Spend time on the prep, it's the key to a good job.

 

might be able to get a DA at Sears, maybe Wally World. Might not be the best sander but then again, for the 1 time clean and paint, it might be worth it then spending over $100 for a good DA sander that would last.

But true, if you plan on changing the color. Get rough paper (80 - 100 grit) and go to town. No need to bring to metal unless you plan on fixing the really rusty spots. Then go over everything again with a 320 grit to clean up the scratches from the rougher paper. Then primer and epoxy (if possible) to seal in the primer. Then pick your color that you want.

Just remember, the smoother (600 - 1200 grit), the better the final paint job will be. It is ALL in the preperation of the body that counts.

 

Thanks guys! I'm looking to do this as soon as the weather turns nice. I can erect a tarp pole shade maker and do this a little at a time. Then when it's ready drive it down to Maaco and let them shoot it.

Thanks for the info on the Dual Action sander. I have seen pics of them in the HFT catalog but I didn't know they had a floating head. I thought it was a spinning disk type and that would be way to harsh.

Regards

Edwin

 

Not to throw a monkey wrench into your plans BUT..... ck out this thread here
http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/...fpart=all&vc=1
Make sure you also ck out the pics of 69chargeryeeha`s cars, pretty outstanding work for so litlle money. It sure got my wheels turning.

 

My budget is a lot lower dollar wise. I just want it to be reasonably shiny and white instead of black. White is cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter at night.

Edwin

 

Low budget? The guy spent 50 bucks on paint Look at his pics of the Charger, it`s outstanding for a budget paint job. I am seriously thinking of doing my truck this summer...if i can scrounge enough time.