35 year old original paint?

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Daniel Rodemsky

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I’ll probably get this painted someday but in the meantime, how should I start restoring a 35 year old with original paint. Being in Las Vegas the whole time has baked the paint but there’s zero rust. Scratches in the bed. Should I line it? Funds are limited and there are a few mechanical issues. Bad gas, a few leaks. Nothing major.
 
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Sandblast the whole truck then you can primer it and you wont have to deal with any uneven surfaces ... my uncle used to sand blast anything that was old and wasn't this new fiberglass crap ... that way you can get into all the tight spots ...
 

ramportin1

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If you're planning on eventually repainting then woukdnt be a bad idea to get it stripped and in epoxy. But for just worrying about the outside body theres no need for blasting, can easily strip the outside body with a DA and or RO sander especially if it's original paint because that means theres only one old layer to strip, comes off easy

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ramportin1

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For example this took me about 2 hours to strip all that down on both sides, top and deck lid with a DA and thats including taping off, beer brakes and changing songs on the phone and texting and blah blah lol 9010487d1d2e5917a5f95454ab4415d0.jpg6d87d08254f1ff9a9b212d03b347f19f.jpg

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reek

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restoration as a whole on a 35 year old vehicle? start with steering and brakes. if you mean specifically the paint, I'd leave well enough along especially if you plan on painting in the future.

One thing to consider, if the truck is a keeper but a driver, paint it yourself. I priced out local paint shops and it was cheaper to buy an 80 gallon compressor, run lines in my shop, paint gun and paint than pay for a low end paint job. If you have the space, it's worth the investment and a few test sprays and for a non-show quality paint job, a DIY works fine.

Will agree with above, a DA palm sander followed by a polyeurythane epoxy primer, would be the way I'd go. SPI (southern polyeurythane) makes a great epoxy primer that will essentially seal your entire truck and any remaining poor quality paint that remains on your sheet metal. as long as the paint is not peeling, you don't necessarily need to go to bare metal, thus saving the galvanized layer of your body panels. After the epoxy, you do filler work, reseal, 2 k primer and then paint.
 

ramportin1

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Read through your original post and think I kinda misunderstood your question a little.
Restoring old cars is a passion of mine and I've been lucky enough to be able to learn from some of the best.
Cant tell from your post what exactly your expectations for this truck is, what your wanting out of it, how nice is your end goal for this truck? This a long term project or something you want done sooner rather than later with not a lot of time and money invested? Is it something that you're planning on completely tearing down or just trying to piece little stuff together and staying on a timeline and budget?
Theres so many ways to start a "restoration" but it's really dependent on what your plans and goals are for it and what you are trying to do to it and get out of it.


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ramportin1

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What Reek said about paint jobs being expensive is 100% true. Vast majority of people have no clue how expensive quality paint materials actually cost, just the materials alone not including all the work.

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Pull Ya

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What Reek said about paint jobs being expensive is 100% true. Vast majority of people have no clue how expensive quality paint materials actually cost, just the materials alone not including all the work.

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It doesn't take long at all to get to five figures for custom paint and materials.
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Daniel Rodemsky

Daniel Rodemsky

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Thanks. Right now I think I'll try polish and touch up. I know this is no collector but there are those who say "it's only original once"
 

ramportin1

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Thanks. Right now I think I'll try polish and touch up. I know this is no collector but there are those who say "it's only original once"
O yeah for sure man, I wasnt sure what exactly you were asking or wanting to do so was hard to answer. I loooove detailing and there are a few members on here that do also and are really knowledgeable in that area. You mind posting a picture or two of the rig? I'd like to see it

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reek

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Thanks. Right now I think I'll try polish and touch up. I know this is no collector but there are those who say "it's only original once"

I wouldn't necessarily count the old Dodge's out. when I started my truck restorations on my 72 and 73, pretty much everyone was asking why I was throwing away my money. I have a personal connection with old dodge trucks. I grew up around them so it was worth the money to me.

Well, recently, the old D100 and D150s are starting to gain some traction. may take awhile like mopar B bodies but my guess is the collectability of these old truck are likely to start rising. of course, that is if we're not all forced to go electric.
 
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One thing to consider, if the truck is a keeper but a driver, paint it yourself. I priced out local paint shops and it was cheaper to buy an 80 gallon compressor, run lines in my shop, paint gun and paint than pay for a low end paint job. If you have the space, it's worth the investment and a few test sprays and for a non-show quality paint job, a DIY works fine.

That is what I did , bought me an 80 gallon compressor and did my own bedliner on my bumpers, grille, fender flares and bed ... I also did my buddie's @the_goodguy07 which saved us a lot of money ... I will be using the compressor later on to paint a power air ram hood when i get it ...

It's not hard to paint and most paint jobs are just that, low end paint jobs ... paint it yourself and you know how much base and clear coat you added and you can also touch up and correct it if you feel like it ...
 

reek

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best money I ever spent. since I set up my compressor and bought paint equipment 3 years ago, I've painted 2 complete trucks and 2 car. each paint job keeps getting better. and this is not to mention a bunch of other small projects like my home cabinet doors, etc.

it all gives you a real degree of freedom if you are a DIY kind of person. I'll be spraying the rear bumper of my 2017 Mustang GT, someone was nice enough to back into it at work and leave a fake note on my windshield.
 
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