redoing the paint on my decklid, and need some advice

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

nerdwrench87

Active Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2012
Posts
27
Reaction score
0
Location
San Diego
Hi all, so I decided to fix the cracked paint on my 01 expy, I took the paint to bare metal on half of the decklid because I'm lazy and underestimated how much work it would take. I primered it myself and it turned out GREAT. It shocked me the quality of it out of a spraycan.

but the auto paint in a can..... tsk that's a different story. I am going to have it professionally sprayed, since I don't have the correct tools to spray basecoat. The roof came out GREAT, but this...not so much. however, I do have questions

do I have to take the entire panel down to bare metal, or can I fill the "ridge" with extra coats of primer filler and blend it in?

How long do I have between primer and actually spraying the basecoat?
how many coats of primer is too much?

granted its an old truck, I don't need it perfect. I just want it to look pretty good and not like a POS.

heres a pic of it right now.

671CD2CA-1915-453D-8243-FD95638EB061.jpg
 
Last edited:

Flexpedition

Full Access Members
Joined
May 26, 2015
Posts
1,339
Reaction score
662
Location
midwest
Anything further you do will have to be corrected by a professional, which is just going to cost you even more money.

But to answer some of your questions. There is no reason to sand down to bare metal. If the original paint isn't flaking off, the body shop would have roughened up the surface and resprayed - known as scuff & shoot. Filler primer (or high build primer) is applied only to then be sanded off again. Its a DIY'ers substitute for using bondo, putty, or lightweight fillers, none of which you needed. Much more common in fiberglass (think pinholes) than metal and is a great product to disguise woodgrain when painting wood in a gloss finish. The amount of time between primer and paint varies - go by the side of the can, not internet. But thats a moot point - the professional who sprays the paint won't want you coming back in 2 months when his work starts to flake off. They'll rightly so want to sand off whatever you applied, massage the surface and use their own, tested and proven products.

If you can get it professionally refinished for $500, you are good. Look for a professional behind on child support, also known as moonlighting, on Craigslist. I'd stay away from the Earl Scheib & Maaco type places. Otherwise consider covering (wrapping) it in glossy vinyl or replacing the entire hatch with a black one out of salvage.
 
OP
OP
N

nerdwrench87

Active Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2012
Posts
27
Reaction score
0
Location
San Diego
the original paint was cracking off and exposing bare betal and beginning to rust. Entire left half of the decklid, which is why I got ALL the paint off.
Either way, as is right now, it looks a million times better than it did!
 

John Christopher

Full Access Members
Joined
Jan 8, 2017
Posts
393
Reaction score
78
Location
CT
If it was my truck I would use the primer to even out the the paint and then sand the entire deck. Then put a light coat of primer and sand it with 600 grit. Then paint the base coat and the clear topcoat. You can get decent paint and TC from Automotivetouchup.com for about $40 delivered. I used their products in the past with good results. $500 is a lot of money to put into the deck of an 01. Also you may want to apply some Son of a gun or similar product to the black bumper cover. Makes a big difference.
 
Top