Painting is a Biatch!

[Corey 78K5]

I started in on the task of repainting the Blazer, what a pain. I started last Wendsday and have been hard at it the last three nights. It's your typical 70's era Blazer with all the stainless trim on they body which I could never stand, not to mention it's was just another place for rust to rear it's ugly head so I removed it all. I then got rid of the door mirrors which had been rattling for about the last ten years and had actually started cracking the sheet metal. I removed the grill assembly and both bumpers door handels and locks and all the emblems. After removing the trim I found that the original color was two tone white and red under the curent black paint, which means with the original primer there is up to four layers of paint in some places. So I decided to strip the entire body to bare metal and start all over. The last thing I want to see later down the road once a scratch or chip is in it is another color.

 

[Blazer_Boy]

Be sure to use an etching or epoxy primer before the regular primer to get a good hold on the metal. I put mine into dry dock for a refit here waaay back in May 2001 and I'm still not done. I got the new floor and all that crap in last summer, but ran out of summer. Then I had to find a new quarter panel and blah, blah, blah. I'm so glad its taking this long because I found a guy who paints on the side. He has a freakin booth right next to his garage! We got to talking and he needed a bunch of motor work done. He got a bad rebuild and install on an engine at a local machine shop. I got to put in a new 4.3 crate motor into his wife's S-10 Blazer. Then I had to change a head on his daughter's cavalier. Now all he wants is supplies and $350 to hand the quarter panel. I think I'm getting stuff done here for cheap.

 

[fr8train]

I used this stuff called Jet stripper, I think its now under the name airplane stipper. Stuff removes ANYTHING. Wear all the necesary protection. Only took us a few gallons and 5 hrs to strip a K5 to metal. /forums/images/icons/shocked.gif It helps to use plastic scrapers.

 

[DieselDan]

Tell me more Fr8t. My '89 Jimmy is peeling badly. I need to paint it but I don't want to peel again. I familiar with sanding and how much labor that entails. What else is required of stripping? My truck is not super sano, I just want it to look decent and not rust out on me. /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

 

[Chaz88K5]

dont know if this is much help or not but try to find a place that could media blast it...around here one of the chevy dealers dose the whole truck for right around 450..not a bad deal...considering everything would be clean and ready to paint...except for any dents or rust you have to fix.. /forums/images/icons/grin.gif

 

[Corey 78K5]

I could blast it like you say. I have all the stuff to do it my self. I do plan on doing a few things that are easy to take off but as far as the whole body goes that would be to much of a pain. For one thing sand gets every where and you take the chance of it getting in your intake system. Also it's been known to happen where someone is painting and blast a pocket of sand that they missed.
I did strip 2/3 of the body Saturday with Napa's brand of paint striper and it did an awsome job. Today I welded up all the holes on the passenger side and got most of them ground smooth (enough for body filler).

 

[Corey 78K5]

Yeah I plan on shooting the whole thing with sandable epoxy primer as soon as I have all the holes welded up and all the old paint striped. Then I'll do the body filler so it's not applied to bare metal.