Order of Operations - Painting

[ckuske]

Hi All,

I imagine this thread will have some back and forth, but here is the basic story.

The current color on my truck (Medium Blue?) is not the original.  The original color is Midnight Blue Metallic (Code 3L, I think), with a light blue/dark blue stripe running down the fenders and bed flares.  Mechanically, the truck is "almost there" (a few things, but nothing critical)

It turns out my wife and kids have been squirreling money away for a couple years (because I'd tell them "no way" if I knew what they were doing) for me to get my truck painted and have it "finished" (again, is it ever really finished?).  My wife finally couldn't take it more the other day and told me because she couldn't stand not telling me that she/they have saved up roughly 10K.  

I still honestly haven't made up my mind over pulling the trigger, as that is a good chunk of change and there is always somewhere else to put the money.  The Dad in me is having a hard time with this part - but that's my own internal issue haha.

That amount lines up with a quote I got about a year ago to have the truck painted (not strip to bare metal, but do some body work, and "paint over").  The shop would remove all the major pieces of the truck, address any dents/dings, and prep the current surface for a new layer of paint (sanding etc) and paint the items individually, and then reassemble and set the gaps on the panels. So, this is better than a Maaco or Earl Scheib sort of job.  

I would love to get it done the "right way" but I've had 20K/25K bids for that.  That's just too much for me to justify.  I think the 10K job will look good.  I'm not hoping for a "Concours" paint job, and I don't want it to never be driven.  I want a nice looking paint job for a weekend cruiser, and the paint guy I've worked with said that should be doable.

Ok, all that said, I have a couple outstanding items.  In what order should I do these things?  Before or after the paint job?

1.  Door weather stripping/rubber replacement
2.  Rear window rehab (windows don't slide well, the rubber in the tracks needs to be replaced)
3.  Replace wood/strips in bed (this is a flareside)

I think #1 and #2 are "before"s.  #3, I could see it either way.  Is there anything else that should typically be done before paint as far as the exterior goes?  

[Gary Lewis]

Your family is awesome!  Wow!  

But I think all three things should be done after the painting.  They'll probably pull the weatherstripping to paint and may pull the window tracks & trim.  And it would be easier for them if they didn't have to worry about your new wood in the bed.

But I would ask whomever is going to do the painting.  They, and others on here, may disagree with me.

Having said that, doing these things after the painting puts more of the burden on you as you have to be more careful with the new paint.

[mat in tn]

this is how "I" have done all trucks to date. removal of weatherstripping for sure to seal off the interior with plastic. remove the rear window to do the same. it's a gasket only fit. remove all wood to put back after all paint has cured not just dry. I also remove the windshield too. I always do a new windshield on a restoration as the new glass make such a huge difference and the early black adhesive dries out and leaks eventually. so, this is the time to get the windshield bed as good as possible also.
all that said my cab is still sitting stripped in the corner waiting on me. I have got to get caught up.

[BigBrother-84]

The two times I did a serious new paint job for my vehicles, I took off everything I could, so there can’t be any "hidden" spot.
One was a Jetta in 1996, and Big Brother in 2019-20.
- Weather stripping;
- Fender aprons;
- Windows and windshield;
- Moldings, fuel door;
- Bezels, lights.

And if you paint the interior…  well I stripped everything.

[ckuske]

Thanks for the feedback so far everyone.  Yes, it was completely unexpected in the best possible way.

I think I will probably try to supply the bed wood kit (Mar-K is the "gold standard", right?) and weather stripping and see if they are willing to install when they reassemble the truck.

Any recommendations on a weatherstripping vendor?  It seems none are perfect, but any hints would be appreciated.

[Rusty_S85]

For paint if you want to do it right you want to remove the glass and the weather stripping so you can paint and clear behind the weather stripping and you dont have to deal with the glass getting paint on it.

Lots of places do quote $20,000+ for stripping down and painting.  You can strip it down yourself quite a bit and save money, a local paint shop quoted me $15,000 starting to strip all the paint off my dad's El Camino, but only $5,000 to 80 grit sandpaper the entire car and respray it.  Cheaper option I realized is to contact one of those dustless mobile blaster companies that charge under $1,000 to come out to you use a water-based blaster to strip all the paint off your vehicle and then take it in for paint.  There is no reason to pay that much money for them to strip it down when you can do it for a fraction of the cost.

For my truck however, what I planned on doing when I get to the paint stage I am going to pull the bed off and drive the truck to whoever I have paint it and have the glass removed (need new weather stripping for back sliding glass window) and then have the truck repainted in its proper Midnight Blue Metallic and Argent Silver two tone.  Only thing is I haven't priced out how much I would be charged to have the pinstriping painted on, I got a NOS passenger side set of light blue/medium blue factory pinstriping but rather use that as a pattern and a source for the proper color blues.  Once the cab is done then I was going to trailer the bed in have the bed done, and I would put the wood in and place it on myself.  This will save money and it will ensure the paint shop don't try and cheap out by just misting clear between the cab and the bed.

On the wood bed it depends on what your plan is, if you plan on doing like the factory and have the wood and bed rails painted body color then replace the wood before paint.  If you plan on doing like me and going with polished stainless bed rails and stained wood then replace the wood after paint.  Doing it after the paint allows for the paint shop to make mistakes and get over spray on the old wood vs getting it on your new wood.

[Rusty_S85]

For bed wood, take a look at www.bedwood.com, they have good kits in various types of wood and the pricing is pretty good as you can get OE wood type all the way to exotic.  They also sell the stainless-steel bed strips both in OE type with the exposed button head carriage bolts or the hidden fastener design that the bolt heads are hidden from view.

For my '82, I will be going with thier 1980-87 Flareside short bedwood kit in Cypress with traditional punched polished stainless bed rails with a complete polished stainless bolt kit, the bed side rails I won't do stainless they will remain painted with painted steel bolts.  Price of this entire kit without their pre-finish/finish kit is going to cost me $1,440.00.

https://bedwood.com/products/1976-1987-ford-short-flareside-bedwood-kit?rq=yr_1982~mk_ford~mh_short-flareside&variant=39445970354230

I picked Cypress for my truck for a few reasons.

A) Cypress wood is sourced from the Gulf Coastal region which here in Texas I am in the Gulf Costal Region and would like a regional wood for a truck that sold new in Texas and spent all its life here.

B) Cypress wood is a leafy grain that is strong, light, and durable.

C) Cypress wood is naturally resistant to decay.

For the stain, my goal is to go with a light stain not a dark stain, my truck is Midnight Shadow Blue Metallic and Argent Silver two tone, I want a light colored bed for two reasons, one is it will not get too over heated from UV rays being a light color and two it will contrast the dark Midnight Shadow Blue Metallic inside the bed vs being yet more dark coloring.

Weatherstripping I couldn't say, seems like anything that is not OE Ford never lasts as long as the OE Ford rubber.  I replaced my weather stripping on the door glass channels as they rotted away, the replacement lasted about 5 years before it started ripping in the corners at the top of the vent window channel.  For the door itself I don't know where I would get it mine is OE Ford still and its soft and doesn't require you to slam the door hard to get it to close.  I probably would look at Dennis-Carpenter however as he is licensed by Ford and most of what he sells is made on the original Ford molds that made the parts originally for our trucks.

[BigBrother-84]

Rusty_S85 wrote

There is no reason to pay that much money for them to strip it down when you can do it for a fraction of the cost.

I fully agree.
Matter of time.
Stripping doesn’t take so much time.
But in my case, considering family and job, it took me several weeks to reinstall everything.
So, matter of time… and patience.


And at the end, it’s also matter of pride.

[BigBrother-84]

For weather strips, I went with LMC.

https://www.lmctruck.com/door-components/door-glass-parts/fd-1980-96-door-glass-and-components

https://www.lmctruck.com/body-components/exterior-rubber/fd-1980-96-hood-door-and-window-rubber

[Rusty_S85]

BigBrother-84 wrote

Rusty_S85 wrote

There is no reason to pay that much money for them to strip it down when you can do it for a fraction of the cost.

I fully agree.
Matter of time.
Stripping doesn’t take so much time.
But in my case, considering family and job, it took me several weeks to reinstall everything.
So, matter of time… and patience.


And at the end, it’s also matter of pride.

Nope it doesn't, and if you don't want to strip it yourself you can pay a mobile blasting company and come out still ahead.  I won't be using the paint shop local cause they are getting insane on pricing and the quality has gone down over the last 5 years to the point we weren't recommending them at the shop I used to work at.

For me I plan on doing everything in steps so it allows me to schedule time that I know I will need for each stage.

[ckuske]

I hadn't thought about having it blasted at home! That is tempting, as I'd feel a lot better about having a fresh surface to get painted.  A few questions about that:

I'd probably only take the bed off (to get the back of the cab), and the maybe the front fenders.  Good enough?  I haven't taken the doors off before and don't necessarily want to try to be honest.

After blasting, how much do I need to work about flash rust?  Should I try to primer myself and deliver it to the painter like that?  Or get it to them the next day sort of thing if I don't primer it?

I have a flareside - is the blasting safe for the fiberglass bed flares?

[ckuske]

Thanks Jeff!  I'll check it out.  I have to look into replacing the felt/track of my sliding rear window.  The outer window gasket is pretty easy to find, but I need to rehab all the surface that the panes slide on as well if that makes sense.

[ckuske]

Regarding the pinstripe - have you seen this kit from Phoenix Graphix?  Even though it sounds goofy, I'd prefer to keep the vinyl over a paint pinstripe.

[Rusty_S85]

ckuske wrote

I hadn't thought about having it blasted at home! That is tempting, as I'd feel a lot better about having a fresh surface to get painted.  A few questions about that:

I'd probably only take the bed off (to get the back of the cab), and the maybe the front fenders.  Good enough?  I haven't taken the doors off before and don't necessarily want to try to be honest.

After blasting, how much do I need to work about flash rust?  Should I try to primer myself and deliver it to the painter like that?  Or get it to them the next day sort of thing if I don't primer it?

I have a flareside - is the blasting safe for the fiberglass bed flares?

On the fiberglass you will have to verify with the blasting company but generally it doesnt hurt bright metal trim or glass so I assume it shouldnt harm fiberglass but still Id verify before though.

I dont know what I might run into on removing the fiberglass fenders I never removed them before but I know on mine I want all the old paint removed so if there is any hidden rust that it can be properly treated.  I also know the bed rails will have to be fixed as well as I currently have a camper screwed down to the bed rails so those holes will need to be welded up also.

You could primer yourself but you have to be careful cause some primers will cause issues with the color coat.  I got my paint for my hood from a local paint shop they sold me acrylic lacquer primer and enamel single stage paint top coat.  Went on fine but with in a few weeks the top coat split and curled up down to the primer.  That was a reaction between the acrylic lacquer primer and the enamel top coat.

[Rusty_S85]

ckuske wrote

Regarding the pinstripe - have you seen this kit from Phoenix Graphix?  Even though it sounds goofy, I'd prefer to keep the vinyl over a paint pinstripe.

Yep Ive seen that pinstripe before, it would be more work to cut it and shape it like the OE than to simply mask off and paint the pinstripe on.

See mine is not a simple horizontal stripe like they are showing, mine creates a box on the cab and the flare side fenders then I have a curved S shape piece to break up the two tone roof and lower cab.

I dont have a stock photo from the ebay auction for the pinstripe kit I purchased and its currently put up and I dont like taking it out of the box as the decals are a pain to get back in properly.

But my truck uses the following two pinstripe designs which I could in theory duplicate with their pinstripe I just dont know how I would duplicate the curved pieces for the cab roof and around the wheel arch.





As far as decal vs paint goes, I personally prefer paint it makes for easier polish/waxing as you dont have polish/wax trying to build up along the sharp edge of the decal.  It also is more likely to get caught and scratched off being raised up.  My plan was to have the pinstriping painted on before the clear then have it cleared over then block sanded and cleared again in a layering process to give a smooth finish without being able to feel the edge of the painted on pinstriping.

Something like that will cost more money but I am willing to pay for it.

[Rusty_S85]

ckuske wrote

Thanks Jeff!  I'll check it out.  I have to look into replacing the felt/track of my sliding rear window.  The outer window gasket is pretty easy to find, but I need to rehab all the surface that the panes slide on as well if that makes sense.

hit up ebay and look for NOS parts.

I picked the following up off ebay, this is the weather strip for the back stationary glass.





I haven't looked lately however to see about the other weather stripping for the sliding back glass, but my plan is to get my factory back slider removed without damage so any rust damage can be repaired and then I am going to put the back glass back in using NOS rubber pieces where possible to essentially rebuild.  They do sell a reproduction back slider, but it has its own latch and doesn't use the reproduction latch.  I wouldn't go with that unless the body shop screws up on removal of the back glass and breaks it.