QuestionQUESTION: I have a 93 Chevy half-ton truck that I adore. I with my friend have rebuilt the front end and pulled the engine to have it overhauled then put it back in. It has 14 years and a lot of midwestern salt driving time so the body has some rust starting and paint is in bad shape. I have some equipment steel brush sander. I want to know the best way to go about getting rid of the old paint. I will have the rust repaired by a body shop but want to do the paint job myself. I've been told not to sandblast so do I sand or chemical strip it? Can you roughly outline the process I should use to go about returning my pride and joy to its youthful luster?
ANSWER: If the paint is mostly original then just repair the bad spots, rust, dings, scratches ect. No need to strip it unless you have a lot of material buildup. I would put that wire sander away and invest in a good orbital sander. You have a big job ahead of you, you might want to think again if you do not have the right tools. From 88 to 98, Chevy made those trucks a pain to work on. I am a strict Chevy man myself and still put up with all the screw ups on those models.
If you still decide to go on with the project, you will probably need more of my help, I'll be waiting to here from you, Good Luck.
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QUESTION: So you are saying that I just need to lightly sand the original paint on it instead of removing it? Then prime it and repaint? What potential problems might I run into. What if I really want to take it down to the steel to start over, is that wrong to do that?
ANSWER: There is really nothing wrong with stripping down to bare metal, just a lot of unnecessary work and material. Just repair the bad spots and prime those spots only. You can not reproduce the quality of the factory primer. Wet sand the old paint with 400 grit along with your new primed areas and shoot. Make sure you use a sanding block or it might look like Lake Michigan on a windy day
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QUESTION: I understand what you are saying about the old paint being a lot of work to remove. If I prime the bad spots but don't prime the old paint won't the final color turn out different? What if I want to change the color then should I prime the whole thing? Lastly, and this is a stupid question but what is a sanding block? I think it is a square block that you use to sand with. Can I assume it is very fine grit? Should the sand block be done wet?
Answer There are no dumb questions. A sanding block is a rubber block that holds the sand paper. Using the block helps prevent ripples.
Some painters will use a primer-sealer before the color and I do once in a while, but you shouldn't necessarily need to prime the whole truck. If you sand the whole truck with 400 grit paper and paint it, It should look good. Follow the instructions to the T on the paint can. Temperature is very important to what reducers and activators you use. Keep it inexpensive as possible, you might have to do it twice if this is your first time.
