Painting a 47-53 How did You do it?

[adrynalinjunkie]

Dad and I am FINALLY getting done blocking and are almost ready to shoot the 53 5 window we have been doing a frame off on. I am worried about over spray since my fans in the window are not near what a down draft booth is.

I also am petrified to paint the front fenders off the truck and then try and line everything back up and bolt it together without scratching it! we still have another month of work on the cab before top coating starts.

I do have a supplied air hood so don't worry about me getting over exposed by fumes because of my little fans.

I am just curious how you guys painted and what you would have done different since hignsight is always 20/20 huh?

[sgtusmc]

I used a roller bush...That's a no sh!tter
If you spay, just get an extra set of hands and some blue painters tape.

[Houston54]

To do it right I believe you have to blow it all apart. Doors off, hood off, front and rear fenders off, bed can be assembled without wood, tail gate off, running boards off.

If you do it this way you can do it a piece at a time but you HAVE to ensure you record your air pressure at the gun so it is the same for each piece you spray. I have attached a link to the pics of my painting process. I was using a paint booth and still could not fit it all in at one time.

Spray your base coat on whatever pieces you can easily fit in the painting area then come back over those with clear. You can then move them outside to cure in the sun after they have dried to touch. While those are sitting outside you can move the next batch in.

It is not a slow process no matter what paint system you are using. DO take your time and do not rush the flash times or try to get everything done in one day.

The time and care you put into this stage will stay with the truck. There will always be a gotcha here and there but do not sweat the small stuff. The color sanding process removes many of those issues.

This is what you have been working to so take your time and give it your best effort. I used only a 3M respirator. A supplied air system is good but not necessary for most paint systems.

Take lots of pics.

http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/18089826

[Houston54]

Some other thoughts...
If you are doing this in your garage and it is connected in ANY way to your main building, paint fumes WILL infiltrate into the living area. If you have any fish tanks this WILL kill the fish. If you have ANY ignition sources such as a water heater, space heater, furnance, etc the fumes could ignite with bad results. Turn all sources OFF.

I would not rely on small fans to remove the fumes. The fans themselves could be a danger if not specifically made for that purpose.
I would keep the garage door fully open.
Move any vehicles away from the area. Ask neighbors to move their cars if they are anywhere near the area or DOWN WIND.

I do not know what the weather is like in Washington right now but I would wait for the nicest day possible before spraying any color.

If the cab is not ready for color yet I would wait until it is. The longer freshly painted parts are sitting around the more likely they will get scarred somehow. It would be better to paint the cab first, the doors next, then the bed, then the front sheetmetal. That way you can assemble them as you go although you may have to remove the doors later for weatherstripping.

[jjjmm56]

My buddy blew the roof off his garage when a spark from the motor on his fan ignited the paint fumes. Best thing to do is see if a bodyshop will rent their booth for a day might cost $200 but worth it. Paint all your body gaps off the car don't worry about overspray. Reassamble and align, light sand any overspray and paint.

[Kid]

I agree with Houston54, you gotta take the body apart to get the best results. & maintain the same pressure at the gun!! A Sata RP digital is my favorite. The digital gage is great for insuring same pressure each session. I paint in my attached garage with a window fan to pull the fumes. Clean the place out real good, then keep the floor wet to control dust (very important) . I do the cab inside only first. next step (after cure) mask off the inside of cab, then paint the cab & doors at same time (use some method to hold doors, seperate from cab such as hung from ceiling or tool as shown), Next session do the front fenders & hood. Then bed, rear fenders & tail gate for the last session. Thats all I could fit in my double garage & still have room to walk around the parts safely. Figure on a day for each session. Painting the pieces paired up as noted will help any potential shading variation issues from haunting you. I'm not a pro painter, but this method works for poor folk like me

[buildinga55]

I have found if you have your parts hanging or on a rack, have the part hanging with the body surface aimed downstream so the intake air is not putting any more dirt in your paint than necessary. Good Luck

[adrynalinjunkie]

That stand for the doors is freakin way cool. I plan on copying it for this shoot, wish I had it when I was shooting all that primmer!

Don't worry guys this isn't my first shoot, I will take it slow. and do it in batches!

[OrrieG]

Before you set the parts and start to paint spray a little thinner up into the air to kill all the spiders and bugs that will die and fall from the rafters on to your new paint.

Unplug everything electrical, only use the lights you need and have lots of ventilation. A few years ago we lost a house painter that was spraying laquer on cabinets in a large new trophy house and a tool spark three rooms away ignited the fumes and the whole place exploded and burned to the ground. The painter died instantly, the guy three rooms over got blown through a wall as it collasped and luckily survivied without any major burns.