mdm365 1977 k5 body work thread.Hard top writeup thread# 23

[wazzabie]

and some more.Had my son doing all this, Dr said I could do nothing !!

removing the old weatherstripping, glue and the old can of wd 40 for the window rubber.We have got some short hair glass down on it so far and most of the texture sanded off the underside and the outside.

I will be getting out there working on it myself along with my stitches in my back.So more pics up tomorrow.

This is great! For the window seal on the removable top do you need to slide the metal piece back or take it off before pulling on the weather seal? What is the trick to removing this piece?

 

[mdm365]

Just used a small screw driver and pull up on it and pop it out all the way.Do the same for the lock strip,Peel it all the way around in tell its out. Then u have to go from the inside of the top and work the rubber over the lip and the window will come out...Be careful you don't break the window.

 

[mdm365]

here is what I did on my top

First off I Have been around body work most my life as a kid having uncles in the business,they were old school masters at this art.

Today the art has changed with all the different primers,sealers and fillers and base-coat clear-coat systems ect to makes one head spin

If you want it to turn out good do your research first go sit in a paint store and ask questions ! my local paint shop rocks got all the answers I needed.

Take your time !!! cant stress this enough,Yes things may not go as one wants just step back and take a break it will get better.

So my top had deteriorated bad enough that a white film would drip down the windows and bed sides.More of a look reveled the gel coat was getting bad along with some glass showing.

 

[mdm365]

next

I pulled the windows.To those that don't know start by pulling the lock clip out,I just used a small screw driver for this.

Then a little wd 40 around the lock strip and pulled it all the way around the window like the second pic.

The third pic shows the inside rubber lip that has to be worked over the fiberglass lip.You will need extra hands here ( did not want the glass to hit the floor) no pics for this due to no one to take theseI used two screw drivers for this. TAKE YOUR TIME !!!

 

[mdm365]

After all that I had my son remove the weatherstripping.

 

[Deuling]

Nice rust repair work

 

[mdm365]

Nice rust repair work

Thanks man... had to get off that for now ! My topper was getting real bad had to deal with it. keep looking doing a little back ground on my top.

Mike

 

[mdm365]

got on to the interior next used some 60 grit,80 grit then on to primer.for the seams I found that a wood chisel worked really good.I even got my other half involved!

 

[mdm365]

I had some leaking issues in the front corners of the top I had run some silicone in the inside edge to stop it after I removed all that I found this.

First two pics show the bed side to front corner had pulled apart.gm used some kind of fiber binder here as well as every seam on the top.

The third pic is what I found inside the front area I cut open with a small cut off wheel. I guess this part had long rivets that run through to the bottom rail that rusted and snapped off.the fifth pic is the old rivets that I drilled out.

Forth pic is were the rivets went I drilled out and used 5/16 bolts ect and some lock tight.I did seal the crack with fiberglass.Also had to grind the head of the bolts on the bottom so the top sits down.

 

[mdm365]

I did the repairs to each side now I had to patch the holes.used a glue stick to hold the piece of fiberglass and wipe some in the cracks.Kind of mess here took and knocked it down than a nice thin drag of glass about half way up sanded with 36,60,80.

 

[mdm365]

got on to the roof,60 grit here did not do well I went to 36 grit on a long hand board had to remove all the old junk the 60 would get packed up fast.

Ground into the areas the showed fiberglass and filled with short hair bondo.I used some regular bondo to fill in some light scratches in the surface.I also filled in the seams in the top. I also ran a nice thin coat on each corner from the bottom to were the top curves to keep the seams from showing up and level it out.Used 36,60,80 here to.

 

[mdm365]

So some of my pics are not rotated correctly,sorry about that.I see all of you leaning the head to the side to see them
I had now got to the primmer stage I shot the areas with primer/filler no 1k or 2k primers (little more on this later ) just good ole primer/filler.

Sanded it the first time with 220 cleaned with soap and water dried and re-shot the primer than sanded with 320.

than I used some filler compound on some pin holes,scratches ect.Wet sanded with 320.

 

[mdm365]

I used this product to do the last coat a primer/sealer the manufacture states it will replace the gel coat on a fiberglass app.. Will it really ??? I went with it after calling Eastwood,Great customer service. From Eastwood's site

Premium high build formulation is a polyester primer-surfacer which can be used on fiberglass, aluminum and properly prepared steel. Eliminator HB has excellent adhesion, very high fill and superior solvent resistance when properly cured. On fiberglass it replaces damaged gel coat. This tough and durable coating resists stone chipping and abrasion and will fill 36 grit grinder marks in 2 to 3 coats. Cured primer in non-shrinking and compatible all automotive topcoats and meets all VOC regulations. 1 quart includes 2oz liquid hardener.

I used 2 quarts covered well inside and out.Wet sanded with 500 grit per paint manufacture. And cleaned with soap and water let dry.Last two pics are Eastwood's primer/surfacer.

 

[mdm365]

on to the paint.I went with the factory white off the ppg chart and used there omni base coat clear coat system. This paint is from the lower price range, No show truck here it will get used well.

I used a harbor fright hvlp gun got on sale .It has a 14 mm tip. Went with 10 psi at the cap around 40 at the regulator.

I used a prep cleaner and tack it down to remove dust then hit it with a first coat of base ( A light coat ) Let it flash off, I did about 10 min ( Used a medium reducer ) Hit it with a second coat put that down a little wetter and flash off about 15 min. Than one more wet coat and let flash off 20 min.

 

[mdm365]

Did the clear after about 45 min it was raining and humid so it took a little longer.

No sanding of the base coat. Its time to get back at the gun mixed 1: 1 hardner and clear shot a light first coat let it tack up shoot the second and let it flash off. I used all 2 quarts of clear interior and exterior. Ended up with 3 total coats. all you really need is to cover it good two should do.The 3rd coat will help when I sand and buff at a later date.

Pics taken the next day. Paint finished

 

[mdm365]

I let it sit a few days before I got into the weatherstripping.I used 3m strip adhesive, This can get messy it wants to keep running out of the tube.

Follow the directions and do small amounts at a time using a small brush coat the top and the stripping let get tacky and stick together. I had to scuff the glued side of the weatherstripping with 36 grit sandpaper to get it to stick.. I was not bonding to the rubber this solver that issue.

I got my stripping from outbacktruckparts.com everything fit pretty good except the top header seal it was long and had to be trimmed, At least it was not short.

 

[mdm365]

someone asked what I would have done different... well...

1. buy some real primmer/filler stay away from the can stuff for me it took way to long to dry.

2. never think the weather would stay nice enough the truck can be driven with out the top on.

3. Buy more than enough sand paper to do the job.. goes along with # 2

4. When you go buy blue Scott shop towels don't leave them in the house so the wife uses them in between the corn tortillas.

5.Plan on stuff not going your way !

6. For the most part it was fun to do and it will take some time to get right take your time !

Got it on the truck finally and looks good but now on to the rest of the truck so it don't look so bad.This will never end !!

 

[jghall]

Nice work... I plan on doing my top soon as well, the paint is getting a little rough...

 

[ryoken]

On fiberglass it replaces damaged gel coat. This tough and durable coating resists stone chipping and abrasion and will fill 36 grit grinder marks in 2 to 3 coats. Cured primer in non-shrinking and compatible all automotive topcoats and meets all VOC regulations. 1 quart includes 2oz liquid hardener.

I used 2 quarts covered well inside and out.Wet sanded with 500 grit per paint manufacture. And cleaned with soap and water let dry.Last two pics are Eastwood's primer/surfacer.

it's just a catalyzed polyester primer.. thats the key that lets it "replace gel", the fact it's a catalyzed polyster resin... as opposed to a urethane or epoxy...it tends to dry harder...

usually they don't sand as well as the others, due to the hardness.. but doable.. I use a similar every so often on the boats where I'm painting as opposed to gel-ing...

should do a good job for ya... urethanes and epoxy are usually trouble-free too, but a poly primer and poly paint, like Awl Grip, on glass is always a good way...



btw, looks good!

 

[mdm365]

it's just a catalyzed polyester primer.. thats the key that lets it "replace gel", the fact it's a catalyzed polyster resin... as opposed to a urethane or epoxy...it tends to dry harder...

usually they don't sand as well as the others, due to the hardness.. but doable.. I use a similar every so often on the boats where I'm painting as opposed to gel-ing...

should do a good job for ya... urethanes and epoxy are usually trouble-free too, but a poly primer and poly paint, like Awl Grip, on glass is always a good way...






btw, looks good!

Hey thanks for that bit of info.It did dry hard but seemed to sand well, Did not get to aggressive went over it three times in tell it smoothed out. And Thank you !!