The clean(er) exterior starts to make the rusty interior bits look rough by comparison
OK, when I originally bought the truck I actually thought that it was
pretty cool for having the no-nonsense vinyl floor covering instead of
carpet. I envisioned going to the treasure yard, getting good & dirty,
getting into the truck, getting that dirty also...and after returning to home
base just hose it out if need be. No muss, no fuss, no worries.
It's not that I didn't look, but more like nothing really caught my eye
on the interior. But after all the clean up on the exterior, I opened the
door, and now the interior of all things had become the visual sore
thumb. Hey, where did all this rust all over the bench seat supporting
frame suddenly come from?
Driver's side rust at floor level, no doubt from salty splash from PO's winter boots? Much worse than passenger side.
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With the seat removed, it was easier to see what the recovery plan would entail.
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Too long to fit in the blast cab, resorted to old school low-tech surface prep on the bench seat frame. 90/10 rules in play.
(90% improvement in 10% of the time required when striving for Perfection.) Git-R-Done!
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Note: This is a work-in-process shot of initial rust removal. Final prep sanding using 220 grit on an air-powered DA sander not shown but done.
Sometimes you paint something in order to make it stand out. THIS is the paint you use when you paint something in order to make it disappear from sight!
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For more information, here's an Amazon page. (
link) IMPORTANT: Prices for the exact same thing are all over the place -- shop around & save! (
link)
Easter Egg alert: If you are wondering if you can clear coat over this & would like to see what that looks like, that's what I did to the quad box cover on far right.
It's definitely not a single hue battleship gray like the plastic cap color might suggest. Actually much closer to my all-time favorite Corvette color -- Steel Cities Gray. (
!)
I have come to rely on this paint for all the items that I need to paint in
order to protect from corrosion, (accessory brackets, etc) but at the
same time I don't want to draw undo attention to the part itself.
Shiny paint tends to emphasize the tiniest flaws in the surface/surface prep.
This dries not exactly flat, but more of a matte finish. Actually, it looks
like freshly cleaned cast iron. Super forgiving!
Here's a side by side photo of the passenger side -- 'as found' on the left vs. post sanding/prep/Cast Blast paint on the right:
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OK, hit the 5-photo limit. In the next posting, I'll get to show you the finished product.