Big6ft6
1/2 ton status
Hi all. I'd like to share my project that I'm having fun with and pretty proud of. If anyone hasn't heard of the "rustoleum" paint process for a cheap paint job see this thread.http://www.rickwrench.com/index79.htm
I"m doing the same thing, but hoping to speed up the process significantly by using a less than $100 self-contained HVLP turbine sprayer (no compressor needed!!) instead of the roller application.
I bought this 3/4T 89 Burb for $500 thinking I would use it as a beater and educational truck where I could experiement without worrying about ruining a nice valuable vehicle. I vowed to always try the cheapest way to fix anything that was wrong and fabricate solutions, instead of buy parts, any time I could.
Well, $5000+ later (long story..but sure you can all relate) I decided to tackle the rust. I bought some new sheet metal and practiced my welding. I had to fabricate a solution to create new inner wheel wells as mine were so rusted that using OEM metal wouldn't work. I did end up trying to covery my welds with some old POR-15 bondo stuff that had been in my garage for years. That was a mistake the result looked worse than my weld seams. So some of the nasty wrinkled-looking areas are not the paint, but my poor body working skills.
Then it came time to paint. I bought a Harbor Freight HVLP Turbine Kit for $65 (using 20% off coupon) and picked up some Rustoleum Regal Red enamel and went to town! All photos are before any wet sanding or buffing.
I used the smallest needle/nozzle combo that came with the gun, and mixed the paint 50/50 with mineral spirits. I've made plenty of mistakes...but I'm having fun. I'm also a huge POR-15/Chasis Coat fan..and while I had access I liberally coated every rusty surface I could with the stuff in hopes of slowing down future cancer.
I've edited this first post to include pictures from throughout the thread so people don't have to click through all the different posts to find pics of final results. There are update pics later on to show how pain is holding up.
Here is how it started
1) THis pic shows hwo I repaired the inner wheel wells using k5 wheel wells (not same as suburban) I used some angle iron across the bottom to create a 90 mating surface with the floor of the burb, after everything was coated with POR15 I bolted the wheel well assembly together to avoid creating welds in this rust-prone area.
2) Here was the fender repair, cheap repo fenders off rock auto for $38, welded these in. You can see the POR 15 liberally coated on the inside of everything.
3) Other panel repair, decided to try my hand at fabbing my own rust-repair panels with sheet metal I had laying around.
4) Masked along the factory two-tone line leaving the factory grey above.
5) This was after the 2nd or 3rd coat start getting solid color.
6) shows the surface dondition a few minutes after a coat was laid down, self-leveling (Also slow drying)
7) Final result
I"m doing the same thing, but hoping to speed up the process significantly by using a less than $100 self-contained HVLP turbine sprayer (no compressor needed!!) instead of the roller application.
I bought this 3/4T 89 Burb for $500 thinking I would use it as a beater and educational truck where I could experiement without worrying about ruining a nice valuable vehicle. I vowed to always try the cheapest way to fix anything that was wrong and fabricate solutions, instead of buy parts, any time I could.
Well, $5000+ later (long story..but sure you can all relate) I decided to tackle the rust. I bought some new sheet metal and practiced my welding. I had to fabricate a solution to create new inner wheel wells as mine were so rusted that using OEM metal wouldn't work. I did end up trying to covery my welds with some old POR-15 bondo stuff that had been in my garage for years. That was a mistake the result looked worse than my weld seams. So some of the nasty wrinkled-looking areas are not the paint, but my poor body working skills.
Then it came time to paint. I bought a Harbor Freight HVLP Turbine Kit for $65 (using 20% off coupon) and picked up some Rustoleum Regal Red enamel and went to town! All photos are before any wet sanding or buffing.
I used the smallest needle/nozzle combo that came with the gun, and mixed the paint 50/50 with mineral spirits. I've made plenty of mistakes...but I'm having fun. I'm also a huge POR-15/Chasis Coat fan..and while I had access I liberally coated every rusty surface I could with the stuff in hopes of slowing down future cancer.
I've edited this first post to include pictures from throughout the thread so people don't have to click through all the different posts to find pics of final results. There are update pics later on to show how pain is holding up.
Here is how it started
1) THis pic shows hwo I repaired the inner wheel wells using k5 wheel wells (not same as suburban) I used some angle iron across the bottom to create a 90 mating surface with the floor of the burb, after everything was coated with POR15 I bolted the wheel well assembly together to avoid creating welds in this rust-prone area.
2) Here was the fender repair, cheap repo fenders off rock auto for $38, welded these in. You can see the POR 15 liberally coated on the inside of everything.
3) Other panel repair, decided to try my hand at fabbing my own rust-repair panels with sheet metal I had laying around.
4) Masked along the factory two-tone line leaving the factory grey above.
5) This was after the 2nd or 3rd coat start getting solid color.
6) shows the surface dondition a few minutes after a coat was laid down, self-leveling (Also slow drying)
7) Final result
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Oh well, evena moth in the paint will look 100 times better than the original 8 inches of rust around each wheel well!
the rest is history. Again WAY more work than planned..almost sold the truck for $750 when you could see the lawn from inside. But now I"m putting more money in it! Go figure!
