PAINT HELP!!!!!!!

[THE SILVERADO KID]

Hey Happy Holidays to all! Here is my situation The paint and clear on my truck have either peeled away to the primer coat or has faded to a dull sheen. I know 1992 was a bad year for Chevy truck paint and in a common occurrence especially on a 26 year old factory paint job. I had a an estimate on a paint job and i was told it had to be stripped to bare metal primered,blocked and primered again then finally painted. Now this would be a top notch job no body waves a real head turner. But $8000-$10,000 is out of my budget. I could live with a primer spotted patina look. My question is how can i bring out whats left of the Bahama blue on my truck? I know I have to wash then clay then what? What are the next steps all help in this area will be greatly appreciated.

 

[michael hurd]

8-10 grand.... for a regular cab.. yikes. Might want to take a drive to some area that it less expensive.

Yes, if it is peeling, you will need to strip to bare, but there isn't much sheet metal. ( at least if it's the truck in your picture )

Inside of one day I would have most of the paint stripped off it with chemical stripper, if it didn't come off easily with an air hose nozzle and a razor blade. ( likely ) While the stripper is working on the panels, remove the mirrors, grille and filler panels.

Day 2 would be prepping jambs and finishing up the edges of the panels where chemical stripper wasn't used with P80 on an orbital, then sand to P180 on what is left of the E-coat, fix any minor imperfections before masking and spraying a light coat of epoxy then 3 coats of high build polyurethane primer.

Day 3 would be blocking all of the panels, buzz over with p600 on orbital, then clean, tape and roll into the booth. Spray, short bake cycle ( depending on what the products used require ) then cool down, clean up, start installing accessories.

In my area, that should set you back about $ 4000-4500 CDN, with about $ 900 or so in materials alone.

CDN $, not USD,

XE.com exchange rate for today is 0.73929.

Even rounded to 75%, $4500 CDN would work out to $3375 USD

 

[michael hurd]

Depending on what you want to do with the blue, a good wash job and some plain old elbow grease by hand with a light abrasive compound on a clean terry towel would do wonders. Make sure the towels you use are washed, and the stitching does not have nylon thread ( some real inexpensive ones have nylon, which will scratch )

I have used a few different compounds over the years, right now what I have on hand is Mothers cleaner wax. Not too abrasive, but good if you aren't sure of what you are getting into.

You can also use a polisher, but they have downsides as well. Without protecting adjacent panels, you can create more mess to clean up with spatter from the pad. Too long in one spot ( if you aren't used to using one ) and you can damage the paint, also what type of pad you use will affect your outcome. Less likely to burn through with a foam pad.

 

[df2x4]

8-10 grand.... for a regular cab.. yikes. Might want to take a drive to some area that it less expensive.

In my area, that should set you back about $ 4000-4500 CDN, with about $ 900 or so in materials alone.

Man, you're lucky. Anywhere around my neck of the woods would be close to OP's estimate of 8-10K. Especially if there's any rust to be taken care of.

I took my Suburban around to a few reputable shops in my area, and the lowest estimate I got to return it to it's factory glory was around $8K. Granted that involves cutting the entire roof out and welding in a new panel from GM, plus a ton of lower body rust repair...

Anywhere less expensive than that I'd be hesitant to trust, as I've seen what comes out of their shops first hand. Body work is something that can either be done amazingly or god-awfully, depending on the shop.

 

[michael hurd]

Rust repair is expensive, and time consuming.

This appears from the pictures as a straight strip and paint, nothing to get worked up about.

A suburban has a metric crap ton more sheetmetal to prep than a reg cab pickup. A lot more taping as well.

More materials, more labor, more money.

 

[df2x4]

All very true.

What pictures, though? The only pic I see is the one he's using for an avatar. Pretty hard to tell the condition of the truck from something that small.

 

[michael hurd]

The picture in his avatar is small, yes.

The location listed is SoCal.... and judging by that alone, unless he lives right by the ocean, it should be pretty minty.

Looking at the picture of the interior ( he replaced his dash ) and the inside of the driver's door, I would say that it is in pretty decent shape compared to most other locations.

 

[df2x4]

Ah, didn't notice the SoCal location tag. Yeah I'd say that's a pretty safe assumption, then. Carry on!

EDIT - Also might be a factor in why his estimate was so high, though. I hear everything is expensive around there. Pretty sure I saw someone posting on here a few months ago about how a Bay Area member paid something like $3K for a bone stock 4L60E rebuild. Not saying it's right, but just something I've noticed. Might be worth it to him to shop around out of state if it's feasible.

 

[michael hurd]

Absolutely, shopping around is worth it.

Markets dictate price. Lots of high paying jobs in the area = higher prices for products and services. My main gripe in our area is the high price of auto parts and tires.

I purchased a fuel tank assembly with straps, pump and sending unit ( made by Spectra Premium in Quebec ) from RockAuto for about 1/3rd of what it would cost me to buy the same damn thing here.

Made here, can be exported, ( bonded at border crossing ) shipped to a warehouse in Texas ( where the RockAuto ship from location was ) purchased, shipped ( from Texas to Minnesota ) then imported ( by me ) for 1/3rd of the freaking price we pay as Canadians for the same product.

Tires? Don't even get me started on the absolute rip off market here. 1/2 price, or less down in the U.S.

Balancing is another crime against humanity. $ 100+ for literally 15 minutes ( 4 wheels ) worth of work and a few bucks in weights?

Thank god for Tire Rack... even shipping and importing myself, still comes out cheaper in the end, although with the dollar so poor, not so much anymore.