How soon should I paint? Should I EVEN paint?

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RustyTruck

Newbie
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Sep 23, 2017
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Utah
My truck is a pile. Everyone tells me not to put money into it. Why? Its got 260k miles on it, the paint is chipped, fading, scratched and rusting. And the entire front end is garbage. It couldn't go straight if you towed it. Probably needs an alignment as well.

I enjoy it though. I have done a lot of work to it, and would like to see it "restored" one day. More of a resto-mod is what I'm thinking. However, I bought it for $2000, and don't want to pour $5000 of paint into it. Nothing is rusting other than replaceable parts (tie-rods) and the body itself. Most of the body rust is on the roof and in the door panels, and started about 2 months ago.

How soon do I need to paint it in order to keep it from rusting away? Is it possible for me to do a paint job for $500? $1000? I'm like most people, and don't have money to throw away on cheap stuff, but can't afford the BEST way of doing it. I've never done paint before, other than using rattle cans. Is it worth painting? Is everyone right? Should I let my truck die and go get a different truck?

I have replaced the rear axle, replaced idler and pitman arms, replaced half of my electrical connections, new radio head unit, and other random modifications. Just curious what everyone's thoughts are, and what other would do in my situation. Sorry if I wrote complete nonsense. To many thoughts, to early in the morning!
 

deadbeat

Centurion Crew Cab
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The problem is, most of your bad rust will come from the inside out. I agree that stripping the roof and painting it would be a good idea, but if those doors are rusting on the bottoms like most they need the metal cut out and replaced. Then they need the inside of the doors treated to prevent this from happening again. Other problem areas are gonna be rocker panels, cab corners, fenders, and bedside, as well as the bottom of the tail gate. Simply spraying paint over these areas will only prevent surface rust, not fix the underlying rust that comes from the inside of the panels out. If your rockers and cab corners don't have rust now, it would be a good idea to get a paint gun similar to this:
http://www.buzzweld.co.uk/521981.html

and remove the rubber plugs from the inside and spray a cleaning agent such as lacquer thinner in, then spray some of the rusty paints heavy in those areas, until it runs out the drains. The front fenders are cheap, just replace them but paint the new ones inside with the gun the same way. You need to prevent rust in these kind of ways to make your truck body last.
 

lamogo33

OBS Enthusiast
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Jan 16, 2017
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Lakeview, Or
Ultimately the decision is yours to make. When I tell someone it is not worth putting money in to I am trying to impart wisdom rather than give them orders. In some cases it is just better to find a different truck to start with, that will save you money in the long run, perhaps that is all people want you to see when they tell you that. But I also put more money into some of my trucks than I should and so cant smite someone for doing the same thing. ;)

When I do extensive rebuilds, ones that require a respray, I typically paint second to last. Last usually being wheel/tires/lowering (its hard painting the rockers on a car that sits to low). This is because things might get to easily damaged when changing other parts and rendering your paint job pretty useless. In your case take some 80/180 grit sand paper on a DA, sand the entire panel that has surface rust, making it clean metal. Then spray a good coat of primer over it and leave it until you are ready to paint. See ya!
 
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