Help me paint my bed.

[y5mgisi]

I have this bed that im going to paint for my 78. Im going with the original russet brown and white that came on my 78. I'm making this thread to get some guidance. My hope is that it will turn into the "Ryoken's guide to the average man's driver quality but still nice paint job" thread.

To begin, Here is the bed.

 

[y5mgisi]

So where i intend to start is by fixing this dent on the bed side. This truck will be a driver and will still get used and abused a good bit so im not concerned about having to lay on a little bondo. From my research, (and as advertised on the bondo brand web site) bondo can be applied up to a quarter inch thick. I'm not going to be willing to do that. But i think i could sleep well at night if i had a max depth of 1/8". So what i need advice on out of the gate is, what approach would be best to fix this rippled up dent area?

 

[diesel4me]

A stud welder gun and slide hammer works wonders,without having to poke holes for a dent puller...if you can access the back side a large dolly and body hammers work too,but they require some skill...

 

[y5mgisi]

I'll have to check our the back side. It might be possible to snake my hand up there to hold the dolly. I'm not terribly concerned about making it perfect. I just want it perfectly bondoable! So if I can just minimize the waves with some metal work, and come back and make it perfect with body filler, I'm happy with that.

 

[Chief Brody]

I agree with pulling out as much as you can, and for God's sake when you use filler use the good stuff...it's well worth the minimal extra cost.

 

[y5mgisi]

Im happy to pay for good filler! What do you consider the good stuff as opposed to the bad stuff?

 

[diesel4me]

The dolly would need to go on the outside,and the dent hammered out from the inside...which may not be possible if its double walled or you cant get at it from behind...you may be able to pry the dented area out with a hunk of wood or 2x4 used as a lever..body work is tricky,I am not very good at removing dents..
I leave them in for "character"...

Cheif Brody is right about bondo too,I only use fiberglass bondo that is water proof,not the crappy talc based stuff that sucks water in like a sponge and makes it rust under the bondo,or pops it off when it freezes..

 

[y5mgisi]

Interesting. Im thinking a stud gun and a stud lever to get it mostly decent and then fill the remaining imperfections with filler. How does that sound? I would like to know what fillers i should be looking at if regular old bondo is not the best for the job.

 

[max 02]

 

[brans87]

use all metal over bondo for a filler. Yes the name of it is allmetal. Don't put on thick and have a cheese grater handy to block it down before it get's fully hard or it will suck to do.

 

[ryoken]

plenty of dollying is done from the inside... as a matter of fact, it's a more common technique... I would strongly suggest at least getting some spotblasting going to clean up the rust...

there are cheap alternatives to a stud welder if you have a mig.. invest in a cheap hammer/dolley set, make sure it has a shrinking hammer... a map or oxy torch is helpful for shrinking/dent removal too.. i'll post more when I get some time.. nighty night...

 

[Chief Brody]

Interesting. Im thinking a stud gun and a stud lever to get it mostly decent and then fill the remaining imperfections with filler. How does that sound? I would like to know what fillers i should be looking at if regular old bondo is not the best for the job.

Of all the ones I used, DuraGlas was the best. Allmetal will crack if you use it in thin sheets...I think that stuff is best for plugging deep holes, then using fiberglas over top. The Duraglas flexes and is tough as nails as long as you have prepped it properly it sticks well too.

 

[Chief Brody]

for light finish stuff I liked the RAGE Gold

 

[max 02]

Of all the ones I used, DuraGlas was the best. Allmetal will crack if you use it in thin sheets...I think that stuff is best for plugging deep holes, then using fiberglas over top. The Duraglas flexes and is tough as nails as long as you have prepped it properly it sticks well too.

I use that!...It works great! Hard to sand though.

 

[Chief Brody]

I use that!...It works great! Hard to sand though.

It is hard to work, but the results are worth it. It is very durable. It's dang near as good as real sheet metal when finished.

 

[max 02]

It is hard to work, but the results are worth it. It is very durable. It's dang near as good as real sheet metal when finished.

It is tough! I used it on my old Landcruiser...on one of the 1/4 panels just after I painted it I hit it with my quad, bent the panel but it didn`t crack!

Pulled it out by hand and It still looked good!

 

[y5mgisi]

use all metal over bondo for a filler. Yes the name of it is allmetal. Don't put on thick and have a cheese grater handy to block it down before it get's fully hard or it will suck to do.

I'll check into the allmetal!

plenty of dollying is done from the inside... as a matter of fact, it's a more common technique... I would strongly suggest at least getting some spotblasting going to clean up the rust...

there are cheap alternatives to a stud welder if you have a mig.. invest in a cheap hammer/dolley set, make sure it has a shrinking hammer... a map or oxy torch is helpful for shrinking/dent removal too.. i'll post more when I get some time.. nighty night...

Thank you for checking in! I promise, this will be no dead end thread! And im hoping it will apply to more of us average folks and hopefully motivate more people to paint their trucks!

I will be picking up a HF spot blaster. The research i have done on them leads me to believe that it will work perfect for what im doing and be easy to use. I do have a mig welder. Its a pretty decent unit but im running it on flux core wire. Would one of the standard HF hammer/dolly sets be ok? Like this one?

http://www.harborfreight.com/7-piece-body-and-fender-set-31277.html

I have nothing in the way of torches. But i would be happy to pick up a map setup if you think it will help me out?

Of all the ones I used, DuraGlas was the best. Allmetal will crack if you use it in thin sheets...I think that stuff is best for plugging deep holes, then using fiberglas over top. The Duraglas flexes and is tough as nails as long as you have prepped it properly it sticks well too.

So is that for deeper stuff? Or is it just an alternative to bondo? Does it perform the same job as bondo but add strength to with the fiber glass?

for light finish stuff I liked the RAGE Gold

And this would just be for very light, see through, skim coats? Like to go over the duraglass?

I use that!...It works great! Hard to sand though.

Which one is hard to sand through?

It is hard to work, but the results are worth it. It is very durable. It's dang near as good as real sheet metal when finished.

Sounds good! Keeping in mind this will be more "average guy" oriented. Im not going for show quality, but i want it to look good sitting in a parking lot or out in the woods!

 

[Chief Brody]

So is that for deeper stuff? Or is it just an alternative to bondo? Does it perform the same job as bondo but add strength to with the fiber glass?

In my opinion nobody should be using Bondo brand...the fiberglass filler like DuraGlas is just a far superior filler. It is hard to sand, but it just takes a little longer and you get great results. I believe it is a marine grade product which is probably why Ryoken recommended it.

And this would just be for very light, see through, skim coats? Like to go over the duraglass?

I think Finishing Glaze is what you use to fill pinholes in the DuraGlas or fiberglass fillers. The Rage Gold I think is a very easy to sand but not as strong filler that you would use in areas that don't flex or take a pounding. It is way easier to sand but is nowhere near the strength or flexibility of the DuraGlas.

I used both...but I always used Duraglas first. Anything with any depth needs the DuraGlas.

I could be wrong but I just don't see Bondo as being a professional product. If you use the Rage Gold alone, you better really scratch the surface and give it something to grip to...like maybe 40 grit...and remember that the filler goes on first, then the primer. Filler won't stick to primer (ask me how I know)

Sounds good! Keeping in mind this will be more "average guy" oriented. Im not going for show quality, but i want it to look good sitting in a parking lot or out in the woods!

IMO even average jobs deserve professional chemicals and products...particularly the foundation of the repair.

Rage Gold quart = < $20.00

DuraGlas quart = < $20.00

Bondo quart = $10.00

Your Time + Labor = Same

 

[Chief Brody]

all that said, I don't think I had to do a "wavy" spot like you got there...I replaced the metal in all the real bad spots.

 

[y5mgisi]

Fair enough! Those seem like good progress, and I'm not concerned enough about the budget to pinch pennies of such an insignificant amount.