The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop How Much Paint

As a guy contemplating doing my own painting of my truck after some of the sheet metal welding is completed by a body shop I was wondering, how much paint is required for a typical truck? I would be using an HVLP gun attached to my compressor (6.25hp, 30 Gal tank, 130 psi max). After seeing the body shop estimate (ouch!!) I am trying to save money where I can. This is to be a driver truck not a trailer queen and for what he wants, I'm not sure I could in good conscious drive it after the work is done. Please advise. Thanks.

It depends on what color and what type of paint. A solid color will use less paint. My 37 took a gallon and a half to cover everything except the fenders and running boards. I used 2000 Honda Huntsman Green Pearl Metalic over a dark grey sealer. The paint was kinda thin so I had to really pile it on to get a good even coat with a good spray pattern. The black for the fenders will cover almost anything with one or two coats.

I painted my '53 about 5 years ago. It is Burgandy Maroon with black fenders and grill. The fenders and grill took about 1-1/2 quarts and the cab and bed took about 1 gallon. That figures about right since the catalogs generally say to figure about 1-1/2 gallons for the whole truck. I just painted the interior of the cab and it took 2 quarts to do it right. What I hadn't counted on was the cost of the additives (reducer was about $30 and hardener was $55 for just a pint! You need both, though, if you want to do it right and have it dry in a decent amount of time. The interior I just did was Champaign which was the original for that year. I did it in Acrylic Enamel which is supposed to be hard for an amateur to use. I had no runs and no orange peel and am feeling pretty proud of myself. But I also mixed it exactly as the directions said with the reducer and hardener. I'm fixing to repaint the exterior because the guy I had do it for me a few years ago left a few runs. It also wasn't the right color for original burgandy maroon. I'm thinking of trying something different. This is a little long-winded, but don't forget those other additives in figuring your cost. Also, primer isn't cheap. Good luck.

Thanks for the info. I wasn't sure about the reducer and hardener so that is good info to have now. I will most likely be using an acrylic enamel as well in something as close to the original Juniper Green that I can find.

My paint for the interior came from Chevy Duty and was manufactured by Sherwin Williams. They recommend using reducer and hardener from the same manufacturer. The ratio was 8:4:1 with 8 parts paint to 4 parts reducer to 1 part hardener. Also, if you're looking for Juniper Green or any paint close to the original, you might look at Jim Carter or Chevy Duty. I can't find anyone that has Burgundy Maroon except Carter. However, when I had my paint mixed last time I painted it, I didn't go to an old car/truck store. The paint was too red and it taught me a lesson. If you want it right, go to the vintage parts places and buy it there.