Paint On Underside of 86 SWB Bed

[11555wally]

Having a little work done on my 86 SWB bed while I have it off the frame. I'm going to have the bottom sand blasted lightly to remove some of the scale and was wondering what to spray it with before I put it back on. I'm not going to do the fender wells, just the flat part of the bed. If I remember correctly whe I did 55"s and 57's passenger cars they had like a red oxide primer. Not interested in doing POR. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[cadillac_al]

All the 80's trucks I have seen have silver paint under the box. I will be using SPI red oxide on my 76 Camaro because that's what they were using in 76. I used MCU (moisture cured urethane) under by box. It has lasted better than anything else I have tried yet but still can't stand up to the liquid calcium chloride that we use on our roads.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by cadillac_al

All the 80's trucks I have seen have silver paint under the box.

Forgive me but this makes no sense to me.

By the 80's trucks were elpo dipped (which is a flat black finish) and the the body color sprayed on the exterior surfaces. The bottom would have this flat black showing with body color overspray around the outside. There never was any silver paint applied to the underside during the process (unless the primary exterior color was silver).

http://www.73-87.com/7387info/Assembly%20Line.htm photos 8, 9 and 11

Do you have a theory on the silver? Were the trucks unrestored? Lastly do you know which assembly plants they came from?

Note: the above are sincere questions being asked to aid in understanding and engage in mutually beneficial dialog.

K

[cadillac_al]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Forgive me but this makes no sense to me.

By the 80's trucks were elpo dipped (which is a flat black finish) and the the body color sprayed on the exterior surfaces. The bottom would have this flat black showing with body color overspray around the outside. There never was any silver paint applied to the underside during the process (unless the primary exterior color was silver).

http://www.73-87.com/7387info/Assembly%20Line.htm photos 8, 9 and 11

Do you have a theory on the silver? Were the trucks unrestored? Lastly do you know which assembly plants they came from?

Note: the above are sincere questions being asked to aid in understanding and engage in mutually beneficial dialog.

K

Well Kieth, you got me thinking. I don't usually pay that much attention to the underside of beds unless they are clean and beautiful. I used to drive a 83 C20 company truck and I used to lay under it all the time drooling over that nice clean box. It sure looked silver/gray to me and made me think it could be galvanized. I tried to buy it but I was at the bottom of the butt kissing list.

I wanted to look at a couple truck I have in the yard before replying to you but I kept forgetting and it's raining today. I will easily take your word for it that they are supposed to be black, and they are usually quite weathered by the time I see them. I really swear that 83 was silver/gray though. I don't know if I will be able to make out any color on my parts trucks, probably rust colored, but I will take a look in a couple days. Cheers.


Oh yeah, I love those pics too. That was always my dream job in high school, to work in a GM plant. I guess my first plan would have been my best plan.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by 11555wally

Having a little work done on my 86 SWB bed while I have it off the frame. I'm going to have the bottom sand blasted lightly to remove some of the scale and was wondering what to spray it with before I put it back on. I'm not going to do the fender wells, just the flat part of the bed. If I remember correctly whe I did 55"s and 57's passenger cars they had like a red oxide primer. Not interested in doing POR. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Red oxide primer would be fine, from a preservation standpoint.

If you are going for a more authentic look I would recommed flat black, per my comments above.

K

[11555wally]

Thanks for the info. The truck is pretty original from what I can tell. The bottom of the bed is a flat black now. The wheel wells are not however. They are a much lighter color, almost a silver color, but I'll have to get in and clean them to see what color they really are. The bottom half of the box has been repainted and it may have some overspray in the wheel wells. Thanks again.

[esbstuff]

On the truck I redid a few years ago I just used spray 3M bed liner in a rattle can. Worked great, held up very well. I did prep the surface real well. Id say blast, apply adhesion promoter and spray the bed liner on it and be done.

[KQQL IT]

I shot some duplicolor ready to shoot silver. On the bottom of the floor.

[mrolds88]

I would avoid using primer as a final coating. Primer is porous. If you want the look and color of the primer, I would top coat it with a clearcoat. Either a flat or satin/eggshell finish. That will seal it.

[KQQL IT]

Cheapo silver. Made working under there a bit brighter

[Malo83]

This 86 looks great with everything painted one color, the cab and box undersides are painted
http://ls1tech.com/forums/conversion...m-preview.html