I would fix the hole by cutting out the rotton section of metal and weldinig a new piece in. You will find that trying to fix rust holes with body filler is not a good idea, it is more of a temporary fix. I am not much of a painter so I cannot help you in that department. Try lookin gin in the yellow pages for local paint supply stores. Good Luck!

 

what color is it?

i think your gona spend the weekend stripn the paint down, to mostly just primer, then spray primer one day, block sand the next, then sealer i think, then paint.

i dont see it being a weekend job.


is the paint flalking like crazy, probly so, if so then you can cut your paint stripping time in half by finding high high pressure washer and blowing the paint off

 

Im not exactly sure of the color, but its kind of a light blue. I think i may paint it a dark blue!....I have a high pressure washer that I could use....I found an article on off-road.com about re-painting a full-sized vehicle and it said about $350!....thats not bad compared to shop prices....I think i'll do all the prep work in the evenings after school, then prime and paint on the weekend!

 

How much experience have you had with bodywork? How good do you want it to end up looking? If it's something you want to look perfect then a D/A sander would be what you'd want to use and take it down to bare metal and start over. Then a skimcoat of body filler (thin just to make the panel smooth) and prime it. After you're sure it's perfect I'd sand the primer smooth and then use some tack cloth in order to make sure to get most of the dust off, then some Prep-sol also to make absolutely sure no oils or other contaminants that could interfere with the paint are on it. At this point don't touch it with your bare hands either (IMO). Then shoot the color. I'd shoot a few coats. This is a step that is much harder to do well than primer is. Just about anybody can shoot primer and have it turn out ok, but color can be a bit more tricky.

You also need to decide what style paint you're going with in terms of a basecoat/clear coat or other paints. Makes a difference in how you apply it, etc...

Or if it's just going to get scratched up again you might not want to put anywhere near that amount of work into it and just shoot it with some cheap paint... Before spraying regardless how good you're going to make it be sure to vacuum the floor and wet the room you're doing it in down significantly with water to help keep dust down. Keep in mind the fumes aren't good for you and at least a half mask respirator with the correct cartridges should be used.

About the cab corner that's rotted away I would buy a new piece, cut the old stuff back until you get to good metal and MIG weld it in there tack welding at first. Don't weld too much at a time or you'll heat it up too much and deform it. Gradually go back and fill in along the welds until it's a solid piece. Then grind the welds down and smooth over it with filler after sand blasting the welds thouroughly. Make sure to prime it sufficiently and make sure you have it nice and smoothly fitted in there or it'll stand out with a color coat on it. I have had only marginal luck using just flux core wire feed welding to do this, MIG works much better.

You might be better off doing the bodywork yourself, priming it and sanding the primer and then turn it over to a bodyshop for final prepwork and paint. I'm sure it'd cost less than having them do the whole thing and if you're not used to shooting color it will probably turn out significanly better... Just another option...

 

thanks The_Sandman_454 for your response!....I think I can paint it myself because others say its not too hard to do!....Where could i get metal to replace the rotted out stuff?

 

I'm not sure where you can find a replacement panel for that, but I do know they exist. I'm not sure what company it'd be best to buy it from. Try running a search on the 'net for replacement panels, and perhaps even call up a Dealership just to find out how much it'd cost and whether or not they'd still have one. If I recall the cabs didn't change much throughout that bodystyle run so it shouldn't be too difficult to track one down.

What color are you going to make it and what type of paint is it? Make sure your primer is going to be compatable with the paint you're putting over it. It'd be no good if they reacted adversely and made the color coat turn out bad, then you'd have to go back to bare metal and start over again if I recall correctly... Make sure to use a good quality paint gun and an air dryer upstream from it and also that your compressor can supply the proper airflow for whichever gun you choose... They tend to use a fairly significant amount of air unless you get an HVLP gun. I never got to use one but from what I can see they're nice and you lose less paint to overspray...

 

I hope to get PPG Paint with a not too dark blue. My stock color is a light blue with a dark interior...I'm gonna go with a darker blue. Do you know where I could visit online that shows the many colors of ppg automotive paint and I could pick one? I thought I'd go with a gray primer. I'm gonna go fix some small rust spots with bondo and then spray them with rust-away primer.

 

whatever you do make sure you get enough paint on it,

lay it on as heavy as possible keep in mind youl get some runs just be careful.

id do atleast 3 coats of color layed on fairly heavy. then you can fix alot of mess ups with 1000 grit sand paper. but if there isnt enough paint on it to work with youd miseweel not even touch it with the sand paper.

Evan

 

also keep in mind what your plans for the truck are.

i also have an 89 reg cab . years ago i wanted nothing more to than to paint it and sparkle and shine. if i would have painted it back then it would have time and money wasted.

the sides of the truck now have deep scratches from trees rocks brush and all kinds of things. beds cab and bedsides area wavy

bout all i do for painting goes is touch up barre metal with primer specaily the top of the cab, it seems to be high ware area and gets rubbed down to bare metal quite often

 

This color?

 

thats the color it is now with paint peeling and rust spots(not too many though). I would like to go a little darker with some sparkle too. I'll ask the guys @ the PPG place about how much i should get. The only reason I'm re-painting is to make it look a little better. and newer....may replace the front grill to a newer style in future. also putting a leveling kit on it with 265 super sports!...unless you don't think those wear good.

 

to deal with the rust spots behind the door, i think i will get metal flashing and prime it.....then i will take out bad rust and prime the inside of it where the rust is....then i'll use jbweld to attach the metal to the body(keep the heat down)....then i'll bondo and sand so it matches....then i'll paint with the rest of the <nobr><nobr>[URL=#]truck</nobr>[/URL]</nobr>....think this will work.....I have decided to go with a tan color for my truck....only set back is that I'll have to go change my <nobr><nobr>[URL=#]vehicle</nobr>[/URL]</nobr> registration color

...please tell me if you think this metal work will work!!!! heres a link to the color i'm wanting....if anyone knows the name of it, please post.....This color....also...how do i remove the trim on my truck....is it glued on and i'll have to re-glue it or how is it held on?....hopefully that color will go with the black trim I have and my blue interior???

 

CodyZ71....i might go with that color...you know its id?

 

to replace the rotted piece behind the door, check out JC whitney for the replacement part. there already formed to fit the truck, you just cut the cancerous spots out, then weld on the new piece, grind the welds, and cover with a little bondo to smooth everything out.

 

do you think a place like napa would carry the cab rotted piece or could order it? I don't like ordering online!....I see the part you are talking about and it says it'll fit right over the rusted out part.

 

I've heard two names for it, "Light blue metallic" and "Light french blue metallic"...

I thought I had the only truck in town with that blue and silver trim, stepdide, z71... Well I saw one exactly like mine tonight, I was pissed lol...

 

anyone out there know about body work?

 

Specifically what do you want to know that has not been addressed in the above thread?

 

if i need to order the panels from jc whitney or if i can get them local somewhere?

 

The process will require two basic tools. These include a telephone and a telephone book which includes "Yellow Pages"...

The procedure is first scan the Yellow Pages for Automotive Parts or Automotive Body parts or similar. Secondly you will need to pick up the telephone, dial in the relevant numbers and talk to the person on the other end of the connection. Sometimes they will attempt to trick you with a computer driven menu, don't let this confuse you and simply follow the prompts until it gives up and makes a human pick up the phone at which time you can explain what you want to them.

 

That's why we love you Tim.

 

one more question.....how do i remove the trim on the side of my truck...does it have clips that i need a tool for, or are they glued on and how sould i remove those?

 

Glued on... some use a blow dryer and get it real hot peel it off with like pliars.. I've heard also using dental floss...

 

thanks....then what kind of glue should i use to make it stick back on when i re-install it?

 

they sell stuff called Super Weatherstrip Adhesive. Its intended for that but after glued and applied must be held in place for 15 munites atleast to dry and tack on. then on really hot days it wants to soften up and sometimes come off.

i personally would pull it off, get all the old glue off with goo-gone and rubbing alcohol and then leave it off. Not only will it have a new paint job but minus the trim will have a all new look. it will seem like a different truck.

Good Luck