1980 F150 4x4 Flareside Project

[ArdWrknTrk]

Bummer about losing the workshop.
It's been a great perk while it lasted.

Yes, all concrete slabs are going to crack (over a certain size)
That's why you cut control joints every* 10'/3M

Trying to seal old dusty, greasy concrete is a losing battle.

[FuzzFace2]

That is a bummer on loosing the shop but when you said it had new owners I could see that coming, it always does.
Do we see a work slow down coming because you guys lost the space
At least you got most of the big parts done on the truck.


On the pockets I hear you. Mine don't have lips so you cant hook hooks in them to hold stuff in the bed with out them things that go into the pockets first. I do have a set but I don't like the look of them installed so they sit in storage behind the seat just in case I need them.
Dave ----

[Gary Lewis]

I built my shop ~10 years ago and used U-Coat It epoxy on the floor.  It was a huge effort and a fairly large expense, and it is wearing off.  The tires haven't lifted it, but 10 years of use have pretty much worn it out in the high-use areas.

If I had it to do over again I'd consider having the floor sanded and sealed like they do in Sams or other similar buildings.  I don't know how that stuff stands up to brake fluid, gasoline, and brake cleaner, but they leave significant stains on the epoxy.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Just be glad none of you have the pyrrhotite (iron sulfide) problems Ron does.
It's a nightmare 40 years in the making, where the actual aggregate decomposes once it is mined out of the ground.

There are many ways to get a dense and hard concrete surface.
Plasticizer to minimize water, and a power trowel are a good start.
Conditioning with sodium silicate and a cure sealant are pretty inexpensive too.
Concrete 'is what it is' and trying to make it something that it isn't is just stupidity I see all the time.

Nothing is going to keep all stains away.
And no coating is going to last forever.
There are plenty of acid stains that become part of the slab.
This (IMHE) is the best option.
It's a damn garage floor after all.
If you don't like grey, just add color to the slab.
Yes, it will vary some. It's not opaque.
But (obviously) concrete itself is a composite with many variables.
If you can't accept that use something else.

[grumpin]

I understand about the garage with stuff being piled in there because of the Mrs.!

I’ve worked on a few white hangar floors. With grit in it for non slip. Very expensive and done with machines. Saw one for the USAF Reserve done wrong and they had to do it over.

When the last company I worked for built a 30,000 square foot hangar, it was built by the founder’s son’s construction company.

I saw them painting the floor white with a special paint from Sherwin Williams. They did do their homework and prepped it. But when I saw them painting it by hand I told my boss that I didn’t think it would last.

To my surprise 15 years later it was still good! One small area was a little messed up where some sealant came up.

The non slip was nice if you got oil, hydraulic fluid or jet fuel on the floor where you were working. We had a maintenance bay that would look pretty bad after a long inspection. But our building maintenance man knew how to clean it, we had a Tennant walk behind floor scrubber, we’d come in the next day and it would be glistening!

[ArdWrknTrk]

Most residential garages don't have the budget of Area 51, and most home contractors wouldn't have a clue.
Specialist Trades and aerospace/chip forge specs aren't for the fainthearted.

I've used/maintained a three wheel golf cart sized brush & scrub Tennant.
With grit on the floor your cleanup guy must have been VERY familiar with the underside of that machine!

[Rembrant]

Well, for good or for bad, I decided to weld the top "faux curl" tubes 100% of the length (80.75"?). While I'm not having any warping issues...the tube and flat sheet can take the heat no problem, grinding the welds down smooth is a problem. It's so hard to get it smooth...I'm getting some dips and valleys. Anyway, it's too late to change course now, and I really wanted there to be no gaps for water/moisture to get in behind the body fill. The only way to eliminate that was to weld it all the way.

I'm hoping it can be skim coated with body fill and block sanded out to a fairly smooth finish. Thoughts, good or bad?

[ArdWrknTrk]

You're making it too smooth if you intend to use polyester (Bondo)

36-40 grit until you get past filler.
60-80 use on filler, with a guidecoat.
100-220 for surfacer and spot putty
360 or 400 for final blocking.

The welds look nice.
Use a big flat file to level them and you will only knock off the peaks and not create valleys..
Something like that, that's right up in your face, with no pockets, really, REALLY needs to be straight.
But maybe that's just the trim carpenter in me cringing at wavy crown and baseboard.

[Rembrant]

Thanks Jim. I’m pretty sure I’m going to have a shop do the body fill and paint so hopefully they can pretty it up for me.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Don't get me wrong, Cory. I think you're doing a great job!  

But if you're taking it to a shop for fill and paint you might as well just run a 36 grit belt sander up and down those bed lips.
At least they will be straight, flat and scuffed to where the plastic has a tooth, or key.

I'm excited to see how the floor of the bed comes out

[Gary Lewis]

I'm no body man, but I agree it is looking good.  I think a pro will be able to smooth it nicely.  Well done!

[Rembrant]

Courier just arrived with a 16 gallon side tank and sending unit. I’m getting stoked. Funny story....you know where I live, do you know where this order was shipped from??? Ontario, California...3600 miles away LOL (the other side of the continent, basically). What irks me is that this same tank, same brand, is in stock locally at the manufacturers warehouse, right here in the industrial park I work in, and I can save almost $100 buying it from a different country on the other side of the continent LOL. I do support the local auto parts shops when I can, but $100 is worth saving thank you very much.
PS: the manufacturer is a Canadian company by the way, but I’m sure this stuff is made in China.

[ArdWrknTrk]

It is pretty crazy that Spectra can sell it to Rock Auto, who can then ship it across a continent and a border, and still sell it for a hundred bucks less than you would pay direct from Spectra's warehouse.

And RA isn't in business for a loss, so think what they must be getting them for?

[Rembrant]

ArdWrknTrk wrote

It is pretty crazy that Spectra can sell it to Rock Auto, who can then ship it across a continent and a border, and still sell it for a hundred bucks less than you would pay direct from Spectra's warehouse.

And RA isn't in business for a loss, so think what they must be getting them for?

 
Ya, local price last time I checked was $230+tax, and it was in-stock at the local warehouse. It was $104 on RockAuto, and shipping was $60, which included the shipping for the sending unit which was a separate package (Sending unit was half the cost as well). So I saved 80-100 bucks, plus the tax on that money (another 15%).

This one was a bit odd, but I ordered the exact same tank and sending unit for the other truck a couple years ago, and at that time they were shipped out of Phoenix, AZ. However, it seems like 90% of my Rock Auto orders are shipped out of Upstate NY...usually Rochester area or there abouts, so there must be some big warehouses up in that area.

Maybe things like fuel tanks are just dead stock in the southwest, and they sell them off cheap just to get rid of them??>..I dunno. Fuel tanks are a fairly common replacement item here, but I can't imagine they are in AZ and CA, are they?

[Rembrant]

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Don't get me wrong, Cory. I think you're doing a great job!  

But if you're taking it to a shop for fill and paint you might as well just run a 36 grit belt sander up and down those bed lips.
At least they will be straight, flat and scuffed to where the plastic has a tooth, or key.

I'm excited to see how the floor of the bed comes out

Jim,

I don't have a belt sander, but would this B&D unit do the job OK?

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/black-decker-7-amp-3-inch-x-21-inch-dragster-belt-sander/1000162379

I've been using a flap disk on my grinder...I think 60 grit, and it is pretty aggressive as it is, but not even, obviously.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I wouldn't think there's nearly as much market, because they don't spend 3+ months a year covered in salt and slush.
But then, warehouses won't stock items that don't move... so?

Ontario, CA is popular because of its proximity to the ports of Long Beach and L.A.
LOTS of stuff shop out of there, because it's close to where the containers clear customs.
Same for Bellingham, WA.

Rotchester, too is very rustbelt. So it has railheads, empty industrial buildings, and a starving labor force.
I'm sure RA would try to ship from the closest warehouse (or the warehouse closest to the border crossing)
You see a lot of this type of synergy, where Amazon -for example- will build a fulfillment centre right next to a USPS sorting hub.

[Gary Lewis]

That is CRAZY!!!  Yes, there is "buying locally" and then there is "needless expenditure".

[Rembrant]

Gary Lewis wrote

That is CRAZY!!!  Yes, there is "buying locally" and then there is "needless expenditure".

Well, I should note that the local price is from an auto parts store that would buy it from Spectra's local warehouse. Spectra doesn't sell retail here, so I have no choice. How much is the auto parts chain margin? It would be at least 30%, and probably more like 50%, so that accounts for much of the price difference...but still. Rock Auto might be making only 5% on it...who knows. After all, all they're doing is digitally processing the order...not physically handling anything.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Cory, I wouldn't got out and buy a tool just to dress up your bed rails.
If you would be using it for other projects around the house I could definitely see investing in a useful tool.

That is an intriguing design! I've never seen a 3x21 belt sander with a tiny front wheel like that.
Usually band sanders like the Makita or Dynabrade.

I really meant to point out that you shouldn't spend a whole bunch of time with a rotary tool trying to make a linear panel flat.
Nor getting a finish that the body shop is just going to have to grind (harshly) before they add filler.
If you spent a bunch of time 'perfecting' that rail and then watched a guy attack it with a 7" 24 grit disc what would you think???

I don't work in a body shop, but I've known quite a few good bodymen, and they wouldn't apply plastic to anything with a sheen.

[Rembrant]

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Cory, I wouldn't got out and buy a tool just to dress up your bed rails.
If you would be using it for other projects around the house I could definitely see investing in a useful tool.

Oh, I do have other things I can do with it...and I understand on the bed rail smoothness, I'd just like to even it out a bit more myself before I hand it off for finishing, that's all.