The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Paint Prep Questions

I got the body panels for my truck back from the shop a couple months ago and have been waiting to start the final prep for paint. The panels on my 55 1st series were returned with primer and guide coat already applied and I was told I only needed to sand prior to painting. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to approach this? I have heard a lot about block sanding, but what does this process entail? What grit sandpaper should I be using? Wet or dry sand? How do I clean it after sanding prior to painting?

I guess you guys get the drift, any info about this process would be helpful. Thanks.

You need to talk to the primer installer for his advice. You need to know what kind of primer it is. Some are really hard and take awhile to sand, and some are soft and you can sand right through them. In general you would sand with 400 grit wet/dry paper.You will need sanding blocks made of rubber or wood covered with a soft pad. They need to be straight and stiff, but not have, hard sharp corners that will dig in. Sand till the orange peel is almost gone. You will notice as you sand that the water beads up when you first start sanding. When you are at the right spot it no longer beads up. This is trial and error till you get the feel for it. Is the guide coat a black spotty looking spray over the whole truck? If it is, this also helps when finish sanding. It lets you know where the high and low spots are. Try not to sand any deep areas with your hands, this is a low spot and the body man needs to see it. I would do my best at sanding then take it back and let the body man tell you if its enough or not.

When done sanding the whole truck, use dishwashing liquid and hot soapy water to wash. This cleans any grease from your finger prints and the grit left from sanding. Blow dry the cracks and door jams if painting anytime soon after. I used a leaf blower and it worked great. You can never have enough hot air ! Joe

Joe,

Thanks for the info/tips. The primer is pretty soft stuff from what I have tried so far. I could see what you meant by the water not beading up any more. The guide coat is a black spotty spray as you mentioned over the entire truck.

Once I finish with the 400gr do I need to go over the truck with anything finer than 400 prior to painting or is that fine enough? Thanks again.

I have never gone finer than about 320 for my final sanding, but there may be others who say that 400 would be better. What you are trying for is a consistently smooth finsh. Any flaws in the sanding process will show after the paint is applied.

It sounds like you are on your way! The final paint needs something to grab on to and 400 grit seems to be about the norm. The final paint should say on the can what the surface should be.

Hows the sanding going, is your back tired, and hands worn smooth? Fun isn't it :p . Is the guide coat helping?

Keep with it and you be driving a show winner come spring. Joe

So far so good! Thanks for the advice and comments, they have helped. I started with 220 and found that it was cutting the primer too quick so I need to switch to something finer (I have 400 at the house). It is much more messy than anything else and the guide coat is a great help. It really helps show where the small flaws are in the body.

I Have only had one instance of sand through to the metal on the edge of the hood so far. That was easy to touch up and add more primer. I will resand that area later this week. It is a slow process, but it is nice to be at this point. I actually took the weekend off from sanding to put the engine/transmission back on the frame of the truck. It is starting to look like progress is being made again!