Restoration project prep question

sprint_9

Rookie
I have a 72 C10 I am getting real close to being in the process of prepping for paint. I have a couple questions before I get there though.

First off I have seen some recommendations from others to work with the existing paint that I have, which is in pretty good condition, a few scratches here and there, but no major damage that I can see, but I am by no means an expert on this topic. I have a couple spots I am going to media blast, cab floor, firewall, underside of cab, stuff like that. Part of me says to have the entire thing blasted and start with for the most part bare metal on the entire truck, but Im not sure that its worth the added expense and potential headache to take things that far. But this is something I want to look pretty nice and have last good while so I have conflicting feelings on the subject. Would there be any downside to scuffing with an 80 grit DA on the easy spots, and blasting the difficult spots?

As far as painting I was planning on epoxy first, then 2k primer, base and clear, using SPI for the primer and clear, and an undecided base.

Ive attached a pic of my truck so you can see what the original paint looks like, currently the truck is in pieces and will likely be prepped and painted in pieces. Thanks for your time.
IMG_20130704_151721_583.jpg
 
The type of result you want should dictate the steps you take to achieve it. Do you want something that will last and look good for a long time? Or do you just want a quickie type paint job so it looks decent for a while?
There are no shortcuts to a high quality job. If you want something nice prepare for a lot of hard work. If I was doing the job I'd take the entire thing down to bare metal. 45 year old vehicles usually are hiding some sins underneath.:) How you do it doesn't really matter. Media blast, 80 grit on a air or even electric sander, paint stripper or a combination of those methods. Main thing is to get it to steel and see what's hiding underneath. Always use epoxy for a base and follow Barry's guide to a Perfect Paint Job (find it on the SPI website or in the back of the paper catalog) and you'll have a nice job that will last (provided you know how to do the work).
 
Restoration or Repaint?
A true restoration is much more than simply painting a vehicle. It will require stripping everything (interior, carpet, wiring, heater box, engine, transmission, glass, etc.) out of the truck. If doing a Restoration then I would start by taking pictures of every square inch, assembly and component of the truck while making lists of parts that need repair or replacing.
 
Thank you for the guidance, I had always figured on going to bare metal but got a little side tracked when I read some information. I wanted to come here and get good feedback from people that have actually used the products I want to use.

My truck it is torn completely apart already and I have done a bunch of metal work to it, so the next step is getting it prepped to bare metal and then following the perfect paint job guide. That guide really is fantastic, Ive read though it a hand full of times and plan to use it religiously during my project.

Another question I had that is slightly related to my first question is what would you do with new metal that is e-coated? For example I am converting my long box to a short box and in the process Im buying an entirely new aftermarket box, which should be e-coated. If it passes the test to be considered good e-coat what would you recommend there as far as an initial prep? Ive seen people go both ways here as well so Im unsure on what to think. Thanks again.
 
Most restorers don't trust aftermarket part e-coat, but if e-coat is done right, it's a very good basis for quality work. The quality of aftermarket primer has been trending upward in recent decades, it seems to me that many of the factories over there also supply to OEMs. You'll have to trust your own judgement, but I think most here would say to remove it.
 
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If it doesn't wash off with lacquer thinner then you should be able to scrub it with soap and water using a maroon scotchbrite pad to put some scratch in it. I found doing this removes most of the e-coat if it is of poor quality. The good stuff will just dull slightly and be ready for a coat of epoxy.
 
Thanks guys. I will see how my ecoat is and go from there, it will be a while before I even have a box, but its nice to plan ahead and have an idea on what to look for and expect. On the outside surfaces of the box I may just remove it to be sure as to not have any problems, it kind of goes back to what was said above, if you want something nice you have to work for it.

Ill be sure to post up some progress pics in the next few weeks, and Im sure I will have another question along the way.
 
I have a couple questions that I thought I would post here vs. make a new thread.

1. Ive been spraying some epoxy and noticed today when hanging a part that had been coated in epoxy for about 5 days that it scuffed or scratched really easy. Just to the point it would look bad, not like it scratched way down to the metal or anything. Im assuming its just not fully cured? This is kind of a high traffic area under the hood that I wanted to leave in epoxy, so Im a little concerned about it scuffing and looking bad. For reference it was induced for 30 min, 16oz of epoxy reduced with 1oz of reducer, metal and can temp at 68 for the entire time.

2. Would it be advisable to clear the piece I talked about above? I have read epoxy is the toughest and most likely best in an under hood environment, so Im not sure what direction to take.

3. Would scratch and scuff resistance be better without the reducer? I figured one 1 oz wouldn't make a huge difference but Im very new to this. It does help it spray out, so maybe that is affecting it?

4. On a separate underhood piece I have 2 coats of epoxy on blasted steel, I then added filler and have feathered that. I want to spray some 2k regular build next and do some blocking, but I have some sand though marks to bare steel again. If my final coat is epoxy over the 2k primer do I need another coat of epoxy before the 2k to cover these bare spots, or since I am putting epoxy on after the 2k as a top coat does it not matter?
 
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I would have to assume unreduced epoxy would be tougher in the end than reduced, especially since it probably in thinner in the end.

Just curious as to why you reduced it unless it was meant as a sealer?

I too have the same (hypothetical in my instance as I've yet to start spraying) about sanding thru the first two coats after body filler prior to 2k. I would assume a seal coat wouldn't hurt prior to the 2k?
 
The epoxy has an open window of 7 days.
I put two heavy coats of unreduced epoxy on my horse trailer frame and after a few weeks I tried to chip it off with a hammer and screwdriver. Could hardly scratch it let alone chip it.

On question number 4 it depends on how big the bare spots are.

Normally, I shoot two coats of epoxy on all bare metal and then just lightly block sand to reveal the low spots. Apply filler directly over the epoxy and work from there.
 
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I ended up having a run in my reduced coat so I sanded that out and gave it an unreduced coat.

My scratch resistance has gone up alot, it's been about 6 days on an unreduced coat of epoxy, with metal temps around 68-70 depending on where I measure. I'd like to put it out in the sun, but temps have really dropped.

On my question 4 I ended up running out of the 7 day window on that piece, so I'm just going to epoxy it all again after a quick scuff. Then 2k sanded to 320 then my final coats of epoxy. On any other panel I would have done just this but with an under hood piece I want nice but doesn't really need to be perfect, now I won't need to worry.
 
Just curious as to why you reduced it unless it was meant as sealer?

Reducing it helps with sprayout, getting it to lay down smooth. My reduced coat was only reduced 6%, and it did look a little better than my unreduced coat. But I was able to get a pretty good sprayout unreduced so I went that route since strength is more important than looks where this is. I'm not sure how much reducer affects strength but I'm sure it doesn't help.
 
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