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So I'm now on my fourth coat. I wet sanded after three coats with 800 grit. I learned that you're really not supposed to sand metallic colors at all because it leaves dark spots, but I figured that just sanding it out before I do the last two or three coats would make for a better finish. The only thing I'm worried about is that it will be difficult to remove roller lines if I can't sand. The paint does a pretty good job of filling in and removing those marks but there are inevitable some visible. I guess we'll see how it goes in the next coat.
I'm quite happy with how it is coming out all things considered.
Today I also started pulling things apart in preparation for the timing chain replacement.
When you said roller I thought "oh no", but I have to say that after seeing how it's coming I'm surprised, in a good way. I know you said the pictures present it better than it looks in person, but regardless, the coverage looks even, not splotchy like I would have expected. Given that you're trying to make your truck last, not win trophies, the choice you made seems appropriate, and the fact that it's coming out so decent makes it that much better of a decision.
What will be the grit for the final sanding, and will there be a final top coat, a buffing-out, or are you going to leave it alone after the next sanding?
So did every person I told about it. I had my own internal struggle about it. I figured that I had nothing to lose; anything, ANYTHING would be better than the mishmash of colors that it had. Two-tone is busy enough as it is. As long as the paint doesn't dry into a likeness of Jesus on my tailgate and people don't start coming over to worship my Dodge, well then I'm happy.
Originally Posted by ragged89
but I have to say that after seeing how it's coming I'm surprised, in a good way. I know you said the pictures present it better than it looks in person, but regardless, the coverage looks even, not splotchy like I would have expected. Given that you're trying to make your truck last, not win trophies, the choice you made seems appropriate, and the fact that it's coming out so decent makes it that much better of a decision.
What will be the grit for the final sanding, and will there be a final top coat, a buffing-out, or are you going to leave it alone after the next sanding?
I appreciate the positive feedback! You're doing an absolutely beautiful job on your vert. I would love to restore one of those some day but I'm glad I don't have one now; I feel like I can screw up and not feel so bad with this run-of-the-mill old Dakota. It's the perfect learning vehicle (I can't hurt the resale value..haha). If I was driving around in a convertible Dak with bad body work like mine, I'd feel pretty embarrassed. And no way would I do a roller job on it!!
I have 1500 grit which I planned to use for the final sand, but if I'm not happy with the outcome of the sanding I'll roll another coat on, do some buffing and just be done with it.
The truck is looking good!! FWIW about 20 years ago, I had a 78 subaru wagon that was rusted pretty bad. I did the body work to it, and then used rustolum spray cans and painted it. I used a dark green.
Got the truck painted and all the tape pulled off. It got dark but I should have pictures tomorrow...
So I finally got all my engine maintenance done, which included the timing set, distributor cap and rotor, and spark plugs and wires. It was amazing to me that the truck was running as well as it was. The spark plugs were trashed and the plug wires were all corroded inside. And the timing chain was rattling like mad which made the motor sound like it was about to assplode.
I also decided to replace the temperature sending unit because my temp gauge has never worked. I had a bit of a scare because while trying to remove the old sensor I busted it and lost the sensor end down inside the head.
So I ended up removing the whole intake manifold. The piece was visible down in the head and I tried to grab it with forceps but succeeded only in pushing it out of sight.
I figured I was reading to give up and put the engine back together and hope for the best. My dad suggested using a shop vac. I had no faith it would be able to suck the piece all the way up and out. Well ****, I was wrong! He put duct tape on the edges of the vacuum hose so it would seal as well as possible against the head. Sucked it right outta there!
My dad was like that. He stopped by one day while I was in the middle of a serious trouble shooting session; basically a mission I had been on for a week. This truck I had at the time would just die at times, very intermittent. I was so determined, I even had an O-scope I borrowed from work hooked up to it. He leaned over the fender, grabbed a handful of the harness then laid it down, at which point the motor died. He picked it up again, twisted it upside down and said "You've got bare wire shorting out on the valve cover son". He showed it to me, smiled and left.
The truck is looking good!! FWIW about 20 years ago, I had a 78 subaru wagon that was rusted pretty bad. I did the body work to it, and then used rustolum spray cans and painted it. I used a dark green.
Rattle can paint isn't too bad.
I'm old enough, I remember cars painted with one of these:
So I posted in the Before/After thread but I neglected to post in my own thread as well. Here she is completed. I'm happy enough how it came out but in the future I'm thinking about re-doing it in a darker gray.
The mirrors and wheels are plastidipped, and the match is nearly perfect! The original color of the wheels was very, very close to the plastidipped color; the plastidip was only for some degree of protection because the wheels were in very good shape.
As far as the roller process; I would do it again, but not with a metallic color. Sanding my test panel at the end resulted in too many dark spots, and without sanding, I foresee cleaning to be a bit of a pain. The only roller marks that bother me are on the hood; I simply couldn't erase them. All in all I am happy with the job and I certainly would do a roller job again, but NOT metallic. After finishing the job I was doing some internet research and people said that this roller method would not work with metallic colors...and I am inclined to agree. While it is satisfactory for my purposes, I wouldn't recommend it for people who are looking for the famous "$50 paint job" results.
I still got more stuff to add to this thread, so it should be far from dead. It's come a long way from this...
Good job tbug! Looks good from here. More than anything else, you saved that truck from certain death. She'll treat you well!
Cheers!
Thanks Duke, appreciate your comments. I agree! It's not a beautiful restoration or anything but I'm now super confident that nothing is going to fall off or rust through on the truck and that if I ever need to fix anything, I have peace of mind that every bolt and nut can be removed easily without extreme measures. It's a good feeling and rare to have on an old vehicle in the northeast.
I think the next project is a lightbar and I got a bunch of scrap tubing for it. Can't stand having the headlights bolted to the bumper as they are...looks ugly... but they are functional as high beams...stock headlights BLOW hard on this truck.
I had my own internal struggle about it. I figured that I had nothing to lose; anything, ANYTHING would be better than the mishmash of colors that it had. Two-tone is busy enough as it is. As long as the paint doesn't dry into a likeness of Jesus on my tailgate and people don't start coming over to worship my Dodge, well then I'm happy.
It got dark but I should have pictures tomorrow...
