The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop priming my truck

how hard would it be to just prime my whole truck myself?

63custom,


If you have a garage or shop, compressor and spray gun, the only other item needed besides the primer is good hard labor.

If your primer job will be the final coating, it must be impervious to the weather...this means a 2k, or two part primer.

If you are going to eventually paint the rig, the foundation must be sound. This means the primer you lay down must be firmly attached to Mr.Truck.

Sanding, bodywork and related prep stuff is laborious...squirting the rig if fun and pretty easy. If you do it properly, it will turn out great.

This is all advice from another novice..good luck.

Stuart

any recommendations for primer? i just want black, and im not looking for anything to be completely final, ill get it painted sometime next year probably, just want to get it all one color for now.

I have the same question I am new to fixing up truck. I need to know a good primer for the body and then the frame. The frame will get a finish of black and the body will be mostly turquoise with a white top. The thing is the finish coat on the body will be a year away and down here in Brazoria we have a real rust problem. She will be a 61 apache 10 shortbed.

Gents,

I am not the last word on the bodyshop stuff, but this is how I see it.

If the truck is to be driven and exposed to the elements, the primer must be impervious to rain, fog and somewhat to the UV rays of Mr.Sun.

The only type of primer I know of that fits this bill is a two part system..2k primer.

This stuff isn't cheap, but is tough. If this were to be applied with the intent of painting a year or so later, it must be applied properly as it would be difficult to remove later for a "permanent" primer/finish paint.

What this means is the only way to prep the rig and apply the primer would be as if you were going to finish paint it....but you don't!

I guess the other route would be to apply a cheap, single component primer with the intent of sanding it all off and getting back to square one in a year or so. You could end up with rust peeking through if there had been bare metal under the primer before painting.

There are more knowledgeable folks on this forum, so hopefully another opinion will be forthcoming.

Stuart

primer is only a base coat. it doesnt stop rust,in fact its very porous. it attracts moisture. put it over bare metal and youll see very soon what i mean.

The newer epoxy primer will hold up outside & seal the metal, but it is nasty stuff to breathe & it is not cheap. Brian

Maybe try a black enamel paint with a flattening agent.
Dan

i mean i just want something that will seal the metal, and be relatively cheap, without ending up at maaco or something. if the epoxy primer is gona cost more than painting then ill just paint. i just need some sort of recommendation as to the direction i should go in like brands, etc. i just want black, dont need anything special i just want something that will last til next year sometime when i have the cash to bring it somewhere to get painted.

Patrick,

Use the search function at the top of this page[ it's between Post New Topic and Post Reply ] and type in the phrase 'tractor paint'.

There are lots of posts that list brand names, outlet locations etc....this is down and dirty paint, but seems to go on easily and be quite durable.

Stuart

alright cool thanks a lot i really appreciate it.

Hi Patrick,

Are you going to strip the truck down to bare metal before you prime it? Or will the truck be stripped down completly before paint?
if you just want a single color truck:

Spent $11 for some flat black tremclad seen here.

The truck will be stripped down completly before paint so we didn't care what was on it...we just wanted it one color.

Just a thought.

Good luck.

An epoxy primer would work well. PPG makes a primer called DPLF90 you could spray a good primer base with it then for the second coat thin it and it acts as a sealer. It has a very even satin finish to it. As delux54panel stated primer is very porous and will let water pass right through it and you will end up with rust under your primer so you would want to finish it with a sealer or paint.

Godd luck with it.

and just an add-on.....when you take your truck to get painted,,they'll look at it and say" all that's gotta come off" or they wont guarantee their paint job.
they wont guarantee someone elses prep work,which is what their final coat is going over.

im actually doing john deere blitz black now myself, so im priming it with their stuff and painting it myself. thanks for the help, any pointers on my first paintjob would be helpful too.

JC is in the process of painting a '66 C20 and over the phone I was scratching my head about the product and process, however after seeing the work in person, I was truly amazed. JC, I would like you to chime in and give a play by play of the the product and process you used on Ol' Green. Regardless, I believe it was a Rustoleum product and "get ready", it is applied with a brush!!! I was amazed at how smooth and durable it seemed to be. Before falling off your chairs in laughter, let JC tell you about it.

I used the DP as the first coat on my bed, then a coat of primer over that. I have been informed that with the DP, you have 7 days to paint or prime or it. So now my top coat of primer is a sandable primer, which should be able to scuff up and prime again before the coat of paint, Check with a paint store for further info, Mike

My Ol' Green 66 C20 is getting the "Rustoleum with a Roller" paint "4-5-6 Chevy Trucks" is talking about. It is working out well so far, but I am only about 75% finished. I went directly to the paint without primer and so-far-so-good. Lots a prep work is the key. I'll do a full report when I get done in the next few months.