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Need advice on repairing paint and repainting fiberglass top on a '90 Jimmy 1500

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scpaul

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Well, since I was told that It wasn't a problem for me to post a body/painting problem on this thread too,so, it looks like y'all are stuck with me for a little while longer. Don't ya' just wish that some people would learn to keep their mouths shut. It seems like there's a pretty decent bunch with real experiance that frequent this thread so, here I am !! I just hope that I haven't run the experianced people off !

The 2 main problems that I've got is that where pine straw and leaves accumulated in the rain gutters and the fiberglass top has faded to almost white on the very top and faded some on the sides but not nearly as bad almost original, but I guess that I'll have to spray them so that the match. In the gutters there is a little surface rust, no pits or holes. I was thinking about the new stuff that I've found named "Evapo-rust". I do think that I would have had to find another name, but his invention, his name, I guess. It says it's nontoxic, enviromentally friendly, you can keep using it until it slows/stops working, and you can pour it down the drain to dispose of it. Anyone used it before?

I planned to lightly sand the rust and the edge where the paint chipped back some for a smooth adheared edge. The primer looks ok there. I still bought a can of gray Dupli-Color primer that fills minor scratchs and nicks and it says that it drys and sands easily. I bought the matching Dupli-Color spray paint to spray it. O'Reiley's actually had everything that I thought that I needed including the paint codes. I saw on one of the car TV shows that showed there was a way to spray the area and it would gradually blend into the other paint. I'm sure that there's some light sanding and multiple coats, but other than that I'm lost. I really do need some advice especially if you saw the same program. It seemed too easy, I remember that much.

The fiberglass top is almost white. It's sorta textured but it seems that the fiberglass sealer still on it. I'm not to getting fiberglass in my hand at all. I plan pressure washing it again. If I sand it the texture (original?) isn't going to let me get to sand it right. I bought some Lacquer thinner to wipe it down. Will this be good enough to get primer to stick, if it needs it. I had thought about a wire brush or steel wool (0 or 00) to rub it down.

This is the list of stuff that I had or bought

Misc. wet sand paper, 80 to 1500 grit
Qt. Lacquer thinner
1 can of Dupli-Color primer
1 can of the Dupli-Color silver (For roof)
2 cans of Dupli-Color gray (for fiberglass shell)
1 Dupli-Color touch-up kit for the silver
1 roll (60') of tape
1 roll (18" x 60') of paper for taping areas and objects off
Steel wool
1 can of 1200* flat black paint for the auto locking hobs
JB Weld putty to repair the screw holes and tap them for the chrome center pieces

I think that's it. Now all I need is for one of the guys that know what I'm doing to accept me as their "Pata Wan" (Star Wars referance for student ; don't know about the spelling, almost never remembered that he was called).

Any and all help/suggestions will be appreciated. When I was hot rodding, I left the thin spots in the paint and didn't wax it often. Can you say "Sleeper", as long as they didn't notice the flat black fender wall headers in the back of the wheel well. Reliving ACHIENT (long time ago) fun times.

Thanks everybody, Paul
 
I would just sand the surface rusted areas down until the rust was gone... might be able to knock the rust down with some scotchbrite pads, a little less harsh than some methods, don't know if it would be abrasive enough though.

I almost bought some evaporust... kinda expensive though, your supposed to let parts soak in it, idk how well it would do just out in the open sitting on the body, would probably drip off and evaporate.

May I suggest rolling the paint onto the topper? Seems like an easier way to paint a larger area like that than with spray paint.

All you need is a small foam roller, some rustoleum in a can and some mineral spirits to thin it out.
 
First, Thanks, The Evapo-Rust says for things like the rain gutter, put a towel (paper?) soaked in it and cover it with plastic wrap so it can't evaporate. I wish that Rustoleum made the color match for it, but I'm trying to make it look as original as possible. It's all numbers matching. If I wind up rebuilding the engine and trans. (eventually, hopefully not now) I'm going to specify that I get MY stuff back. I'm thinking about a little more power but nothing extreme.

By your name I think that we share another hobby. I finished a full custom rifle and built a 7mm/300 win.Mag. wild cat ctg. (with help of course), it's bad and deadly accurate. My best 3 shot group is .220. Some of the others that did most of the design are on line. Look up 700 Valkyrie, the one based on a 300 W.M.

Thanks again,Paul
 
What color is the top? I thought they were just all about white from the factory.

And I do share the hobby of firearms and reloading. I used to reload 9MM Luger, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, .38 SPC/.357 MAG, .223, .308 and 7.62x39.

I had a Redding T-7 Turret press... cranked out a lot of rounds on that thing.

Sold it awhile back and haven't did any loading since, I was gonna try and start some 3 gun competitions and then kinda lost interest, sold quite a few guns and bought a few that I felt would fit my needs and cover all grounds.

Never got into anything custom.

I plan on getting back into the swing of things one day and buying a nice Dillon Precision press.
 
If you look at the other 1990 GMC Jimmy thread that's real close to this one on the list, it's on the 5th or 6th page. The first entry will explain things. It was special ordered and paid for w/cash. That might have had something to do with it. The paint job has a dark gray band down the sides and the fiberglass top was the same gray. Disenough was good enough to post it for me since I don't know how and I don't think that I can do it with a flip phone. I don't understand a computer well enough to understand the instructions if I can.

The rifle that I built with help has a 31 & 1/2", 1 & 1/8" diameter barrel. It is a little stronger than a 7 STW, or at least that what a multiple 7 STW owner said. I depending on what all I have going on sometimes have as many as 7 presses set up at a time. One is a Lee 1000 that uses interchangeable turrets. I guess that I have 20 or so sets of dies set-up in them. I've been accumulating loading equipment for about 35 years. I can load from a .25 to a S & W 460 Mag. pistol and a .223 to 300 Ultra Mag, .338 Win. mag. and the 7mm Valkyrie Magnum rifles. I've never used a Dillon, and have heard mostly good things they are very good quality. They are just too rich for my blood and too complicated to keep changing calibers or so I'm told.

I've got a Lyman with interchangeable turrets hold 6 dies each that's very similar to the T-7.

I appreciate the response. If there's any way that I can help with your reloading, just let me know. I know alot of loaders better than myself. My contact Info is in my profile if you want to talk to me. Identify yourself and subject quickly, I'm sick of calls trying to sell/give/show whatever. That goes for everybody; no offense. I've got a company that has been wanting to lower my C.C. interest rates. One problem; I don't own a credit card. The closest I come is my debit card, and they won't take me off of their list. DAMM !!!!!!! sorry.

I guess that the fiberglass top is the biggest un-known for me. The paint I think that I can work through. I'm going to use the Evapo-Rust, then sand and smooth the top back into the original paint. Prime and sand until it's slick then light layers, fine sand paper in between paint layers.

The fiberglass, I don't have the slightest. I'm going to look on this thing, but I don't trust it much. It's too easy for a small step to be accidentally be left out.

Thanks again Y'all, Paul
 
Well, I just did the drivers door with Evapo-Rust. I used some small wire brushes (originally for gun work) wiped it with lacquer thinner, sanded the spots that were chipped until the edge of the paint was smoothed into the primer/light rust. Then I put the paper towels soaked with the Evapo-Rust (still think that surely there has to be a better name) then covered it with plastic wrap. I'm going to give it until tomorrow to see how it does. I also did the door edge where my wife hit our brickwork because I wanted to see how it does on a vertical surface.

One thing that I learned was that I had to open the passenger door to keep the plastic wrap in place. It didn't matter how easy I closed the drivers door, it still blew the plastic wrap out of place. I was using the weather stripping to hold the lower part of the plastic wrap. I'm trying to not use tape because of our humidity/heat making the tape gum off of the finish. When I have to use it, I'm going to use it at the panel joints. That is unless somebody that knows what I'm doing tells me the right way.

Thanks, Paul
 
Thanks 90, I haven't run into him yet that I remember. If you "see" him, ask him to look at this. You said that he might be able to help me with this. Are you talking about the body work, the fiberglass, the little kink in the hood, or all of it?

If you read the thread from earlier today, then you know about me trying the Evapo-Rust. Man it would be nice if it did work.

I might be around for a little while depending on how I feel.

Thanks, again 90, Paul
 
I think the highest percentage of top color is black, but white is probably a not too distant second. I've seen some blazers that had a blue, red, and gray top but I am unsure if they were factory colored or not.
 
Hello Mr. rpcraft,

During all of the looking around for info on this thing, I've found out that there were 3 main paint patterns. Mine has a band in the middle of the sides about 18" wide. The main color on the cab roof, hood, top and bottom of the sides and tailgate is now called "Ultra Silver Metalic" and the secondary color down the center of the sides now called "Gunmetal Metallic".The original paint codes in 1990 were 96 for the silver and 83 for the gray and the top was called "Gray" according to the original window sticker, so it came from the factory that color. The top of the "Gray" shell has faded to almost white. If I don't find someone who is familiar with this fiberglass top, I'm planning on breaking the slick surface with something like "0" steel wool. Then spray it with the Dupli-Color gray primer that also fills scratchs and buff that lightly with steel wool, but I can't make up my mind which steel wool to use after the primer is dry.

These colors have their names changed 3 or 4 times, and they claim that they are the same colors with newer names, Hmmm.

Are you familiar with repainting fiberglass? Even though it has faded so bad it still feels like unwaxed fiberglass. You don't have to worry about getting fiberglass in your hands, at least I haven't found anywhere like that. On the top it's textured like the inside sides of a less expensive boat. The sides of the shell are flat/slick if waxed.

If you aren't familiar with repainting the fiberglass, help me find someone who is. Surely I can't be the only one whose shell roof faded.

It's going to be interesting to see how the minor rust has done with the Evapo-Rust that I put on yesterday afternoon. I'll put the results here so maybe someone else can use it if it works like I'm hoping.

Thanks, Paul
 
After the primer is dry I would wet sand starting with 800 grit "wet or dry" sandpaper and work up to 1500 or 2000 grit. I wouldn't use steel wool to knock the primer down before you put the top coat on.
 
I understand what you are saying and I'd normally do something like that, but the texture isn't going to let paper get to the areas right beside the high spots in the texture. The next time you are around one of them, about a '90 model, slide your hand across the top. You have to reach a ways past the area where the side rounds and becomes the top. I didn't know about the texture until I got up there to pressure wash it. I'm short.

That's why I'm looking for someone that has worked with fiberglass with this kind of texture. I also thought using a wire brush. I'd have to buy 3 or 4 to get the right stiffness of the wire. I just need to scuff it for primer to hold. I want the primer to fill any of the deeper scratchs. That's why I bought the Dupli-Color primer that also helps fill scratchs. I do have a 40 year old belt sander. I just bet that I could get rid of the texture. GM probably didn't smooth it to save a few cents.

What I'm hoping is that someone that has done it before tells me it doesn't matter, it's not that critical, just scuff it.

Thanks again, Paul
 
I just went out to the Jimmy to check on the Evapo-Rust. If it keeps working like it did overnight I might have to go buy a 5 gallon jug. It not only changed the rust into whatever they say it is, if you sand the area before you use it, you get a smooth surface that isn't supposed to rust and paint supposedly sticks to it. I haven't got to the paint part yet. It'll be a couple of days for that. It's not supposed to re-rust for a long time.

The top of the shell is mostly smooth, the fiberglass is going to need to be resealed. There is an area that is like I have been describing. I will sand that down, it's not but about 1/4 of the top toward the center.

It apparently never had any jell coat. I think it was sealed, painted, then shot with some sort of sealer. It doesn't feel or look like regular jell coat that has been eat up by the sun.

Sorry about not looking more closely at the texture on the top of the shell. I'm real happy that I was wrong. With my random sander it won't take but about an hour (famous last words) to smooth the area that has a texture, I hope.

Thanks, Paul
 
Handloader90,

You say that you wouldn't use steel wool on the top until after I put the sealer coat on it? Educate me, why and what would you use for each step? I've never done any body work/paint. I was planning on block sanding and maybe use a viberating sander if the sanding is harder than I'm expecting. Where the flat top rounds off into the sides, I'd planned on using something like foam rubber or a sponge with sandpaper (not the hard/stiff ones you buy) to sand that rounded area. What do you think? I was thinking about the steel wool because I thought it would scuff/smooth surface pretty well for the primer. I was also going to try the different grades of it to see which one was a good compromise. I have a good selection of sand paper, dry and wet/dry. I don't know how many coats it's going to take and I'm going to have to refinish the sides of it for it to match and look right. The sides still has the gray on it, it just looks like it needs wax. I'm planning to just scuff the sides, not sand them to fiberglass.

The more that I've looked at it, the more I think that the texture on top was something that got through Q.C. or maybe it wasn't deemed bad enough to refinish the top. I hadn't noticed it until I actually got on top with a pressure washer and still had to put my hand on it to really know what it was.

I used some more of the Evapo-Rust on some thin surface rust and a pretty deep stone divit on the front edge of the hood. It went through the clear coat, paint, primer and put a dent 1/8" deep in the metal. It's still working real good. That spot had the deepest rust that I've found. I sanded down into the divit as good as I could without messing up too much paint. It was almost done, so I put a few more drops of "E-R" on the piece of paper towel that was covering it. I covered all of the wet paper towels with plastic wrap. Wet it and it sticks to the paint pretty good.

I really do appreciate any and all help and suggestions because I don't have the slightest idea of what I'm doing. If it ain't spraying a deer stand with flat paint, I'm lost and some say that I can't do that either.

Thanks, Paul
 
Thanks,

We're supposed to have some weather (temp & wind) that's going to keep me from it. So, don't hurt yourself. It's going to be a couple of days before I can do much. I really do appreciate it. Paul
 
scpaul said:
Thanks,

We're supposed to have some weather (temp & wind) that's going to keep me from it. So, don't hurt yourself. It's going to be a couple of days before I can do much. I really do appreciate it. Paul
Click to expand...



actually, it will probably be easier if you ask me any specific questions now.... ;)

are we on fiberglass tops, rust or both? the tops are textured gelcoat, overcoated with paint in some cases...
 
Sorry Ryoken, I didn't realize that you had responded.

The rust seems to be minor. I'm soaking paper towels with Evapo-Rust. It does something chemically that removes rust and changes the metal and it's paintable. I'm smoothing the surface rust with fine wet/dry paper, then putting the wet towels on it and covering it with plastic wrap. Seems to be doing real good. When it's done wash it off, maybe scuff and then prime.

The fiberglass top has been bleached from a simi-dark gray to almost white on top. I thought that I had a problem with the texture and found out it's only a small area. The sides are still gray just dull. It doesn't appear to have had any primer on it from the factory. I have some gray primer, should I use a couple of thin coats of scratch filling primer? I planned to scuff the top with about 3 different grits of paper ending with about 800 and the sides just lightly with a fine grit so the paint can stick where it all will match. I've also thought of using steel wool. I'm going to block the flat surfaces, use a vibrating sander to remove the strange texture on the top ctr. and use a kitchen sponge to sand the top where it rounds into the flat sides. After everything I'm thinking about spraying it with a satin clear coat. I don't remember it being shiny from the factory. I know that I probably went into too much detail but I don't want to keep bothering you.

Thank You, I an stoopid about bodywork and painting, Paul
 
ok, we'll start with the rust... I have to assume the evaporust uses a mild form of phosphoric or oxalic acid combined with some other stuff..... either way, if it is removing the rust to raw steel, great.. here is will I will interject... this will apply moreso to the topper, but, keep in mind, different coatings need/like/require certain grits for proper adhesion... I haven't seen any pic's, but if you have, now raw steel areas surrounded by factory paint, you will need to featheredge the paint.. not so much just a scuff... you can do this with a palm sander with some 220 grit to feather/blend the paint into the raw metal.. than damp towel/dry towel with denatured alcohol and spot prime..... if that is smooth, wetsand with 320 for paint..

the topper... as I alluded to, that is a factory applied texture with gelcoat.. you really don't want to "sand" that.. unless you want to get rid of ALL the texture and have a smooth finish, which some people like..

if you want to maintain the texture, wet scrub the whole thing with a maroon scuffpad thoroughly (you could use course steel wool, tho I always recommend bronze wool if you're using water).. wash and dry.. prime... repeat scuff.. wash.. paint....


keep in mind, a maroon scuffpad is about 400 grit... paint generally likes about 320 to 400 grit for proper adhesion... 800 is WAY too fine for ANY coating.. stuff peels when you do that... heck, I wetsand and buff show cars with 600, than 1000 and buff....

primers tend to like 180 to 220, if your sanding a previous coating like paint.. but heck, full blown raw steel, depending on what primer, you can get as nasty as 80 grit... babying your approach is not always the best solution with bodywork...


as to satin... yeah, the finishes are semi.... usually it would be a flattened paint if they needed color other than white... if you are going to do rattlecans, I would just do the whole thing in the semi of your choice....

if I didn't cover, or brought up new ???? ;) , just ask.... :)
 
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