lilscorpion
Well-known member
What are you using? I have the Lincoln pneumatic gun. Was looking at the options for cordless electric but they’re daym expensive.
ZMotorsports Shop Projects 2.0
- Thread starter zmotorsports
- Start date
lilscorpion
Well-known member
I’d like to know as well. Leak, dip, drip, drip…
cliftonbros89
Well-known member
I’ve still got an 18v DeWalt that I’ve been using for probably 6 years or so now. It probably goes through 50-60 tubes a year. Pneumatic wouldn’t work well for me. So I just dropped that money on cordless. Way better than dragging a hose around too.
If I were to get a new one I’d go Milwaukee for sure.
humpty
Well-known member
A long time ago I think Mike showed how his grease gun is stored, I want to say it is a homebrew PVC unit.
I bought one of these from Summit. It works really well. If you are a pro using it all the time I don't know that it would hold up like a PVC built one would. But for me it works good, I cut a Pig mat into squares and put them on the drip tray.
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Yes, I have engraved the top of the grease gun pump what grease is in which gun. Helps me to identify quickly as well as I have them in the storage rack from most used to the least used in order of convenience of reach.
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Back in post #3003 I show exactly how I built my grease gun storage rack but here are a couple of quick shots of the finished assembly.
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I was feeling pretty good over the weekend so I was able to get some work done both in the shop and in the yard. I may have overdone it just a bit on Saturday however, as I was feeling it when I closed up the shop for the day.
For starters, I pulled the coach outside and decided to give her a bath as I didn't get a chance to wash it after returning from our trip to the San Rafael Swell because I had some paint touch-up to do and then didn't get a chance to wash it after the paint repair. It shined up great again.
After backing the coach back into the shop I moved on to edging, trimming and mowing the lawn before it got too awfully warm, which it was already doing. We nearly hit triple digits over the weekend here in Northern Utah.
For starters, I pulled the coach outside and decided to give her a bath as I didn't get a chance to wash it after returning from our trip to the San Rafael Swell because I had some paint touch-up to do and then didn't get a chance to wash it after the paint repair. It shined up great again.
After backing the coach back into the shop I moved on to edging, trimming and mowing the lawn before it got too awfully warm, which it was already doing. We nearly hit triple digits over the weekend here in Northern Utah.
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
After completing my yard work I racked the Jeep seeing as how I now had 650-miles on the new gears in the rear axle so I could get the break in fluid out and check everything over.
Draining the differential fluid.
The drain plug has minimal sludge and buildup on it which is a good sign. Some is to be expected as the new gears are meshing and everything is taking a "set" or running in.
The wear pattern looks perfect so I moved on to double check the backlash to make sure it hasn't changed.
It is still spot on as well as no issues with pinion input or rotating torque.
Here I am double checking the bearing cap bolt torque before reinstalling the differential cover and filling with fresh gear oil.
Overall, everything looked great and now it's ready for some road trips.
Thanks for looking.
Draining the differential fluid.
The drain plug has minimal sludge and buildup on it which is a good sign. Some is to be expected as the new gears are meshing and everything is taking a "set" or running in.
The wear pattern looks perfect so I moved on to double check the backlash to make sure it hasn't changed.
It is still spot on as well as no issues with pinion input or rotating torque.
Here I am double checking the bearing cap bolt torque before reinstalling the differential cover and filling with fresh gear oil.
Overall, everything looked great and now it's ready for some road trips.
Thanks for looking.
Boosted1
Well-known member
Your shop is always impressively well kept. Looking at that last photo makes we wonder about your floor.
It looks like bare concrete? If so, how do you keep oil from staining it? Or is it coated with something?
It looks like bare concrete? If so, how do you keep oil from staining it? Or is it coated with something?
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Thank you. I try to keep the shop clean and organized as I can't seem to function well in chaos.
As for my shop floor, it is merely coated with a single treatment of Pentra-Sil 244+. It is a clear densifier that my concrete contractor recommended and I applied it prior to moving my equipment into the shop. It doesn't completely prevent oil stains if you let oil sit on the surface for more than a short while but if you wipe it up immediately it does not stain. If you look closely you can see that my shop floor is far from stain free. It has a LOT of stains and is far from pristine and it shows like a working shop that gets fluids spilled on it from time to time. It sure sweeps up nicely though which I am very pleased with.
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
So last night I was able to spend several hours in the shop getting caught up on a few items but I completely forgot to snap any pictures. I arrived home after work, opened the doors up, cranked up the tunes and just dove into my list of "to-do" items in the shop without any thought of taking pictures. Completely screwed up on that front.
Items I was able to accomplish last night:
1. Checked the air filter on the coach. Evidently from what I've read on an RV forum is that this past year WIX got a run of incorrect heavy truck air filters where the wire mesh was not in place around the exterior of the filter media. One gentleman on irv2.com had his Cummins ISC dusted when the filter media became displaced and allowed dirt/debris past. I panicked because I did install a new air filter last year and wanted to ensure my filter was not one of the affected filters. I was pleased to find that when I removed the duct from the filter that there was in fact wire mesh around the perimeter so all is good.
2. While washing the coach over the weekend I noticed a small section along the roofline where it appeared from the ground level that the silicone caulking had began pulling away and I wanted to catch it before any water could infiltrate into the substrate. Water intrusion is the biggest killer of RV's so I am somewhat **** about keeping an eye on such things. I was pleased to find that when I got the ladder out and had my tube of Dow Corning 999A caulking ready that the caulk hadn't actually pulled away, it was just an optical illusion from the ground. While I had the caulking ready I decided to just go around the roofline's perimeter anyways and did touch up a small area so it wasn't a complete waste of time.
3. When I rebuilt my rear axle a few weeks ago, I didn't like the way the right rear ABS sensor connector plugged into the ABS sensor. The little red locking tab had broken and although it feel like it engaged fully into the ABS sensor, I didn't like the way it looked. I had picked up a couple of new Mopar pigtail assemblies and last night I de-pinned the right side and replaced the connector with a new one.
4. Checked ball joints, unit bearings and gave the undercarriage of the Jeep a going over as the wife and I want to take off on some long day trips to burn up some vacation days we have to use this month. Everything checked out on the Jeep so after parking it in the garage I cleaned up the shop floor and work benches.
Items I was able to accomplish last night:
1. Checked the air filter on the coach. Evidently from what I've read on an RV forum is that this past year WIX got a run of incorrect heavy truck air filters where the wire mesh was not in place around the exterior of the filter media. One gentleman on irv2.com had his Cummins ISC dusted when the filter media became displaced and allowed dirt/debris past. I panicked because I did install a new air filter last year and wanted to ensure my filter was not one of the affected filters. I was pleased to find that when I removed the duct from the filter that there was in fact wire mesh around the perimeter so all is good.
2. While washing the coach over the weekend I noticed a small section along the roofline where it appeared from the ground level that the silicone caulking had began pulling away and I wanted to catch it before any water could infiltrate into the substrate. Water intrusion is the biggest killer of RV's so I am somewhat **** about keeping an eye on such things. I was pleased to find that when I got the ladder out and had my tube of Dow Corning 999A caulking ready that the caulk hadn't actually pulled away, it was just an optical illusion from the ground. While I had the caulking ready I decided to just go around the roofline's perimeter anyways and did touch up a small area so it wasn't a complete waste of time.
3. When I rebuilt my rear axle a few weeks ago, I didn't like the way the right rear ABS sensor connector plugged into the ABS sensor. The little red locking tab had broken and although it feel like it engaged fully into the ABS sensor, I didn't like the way it looked. I had picked up a couple of new Mopar pigtail assemblies and last night I de-pinned the right side and replaced the connector with a new one.
4. Checked ball joints, unit bearings and gave the undercarriage of the Jeep a going over as the wife and I want to take off on some long day trips to burn up some vacation days we have to use this month. Everything checked out on the Jeep so after parking it in the garage I cleaned up the shop floor and work benches.
OutlawDrifter
Well-known member
Don't worry about the pics Mike...sounds like you got some much needed QST!
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
That I did Marc. Just plugged away listening to the radio and kind of got lost in what I was doing and time slipped away. Before I knew it my wife called and told me she was just getting off the interstate and was nearly home. I was shocked it was so late and so I closed up the shop and headed inside but time most definitely got away from me last night and it felt good to get some many small items marked off my list.
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Last week the wife and I had a few days of vacation that we needed to use or we'd lose by next week. I wanted to go away for the long weekend but the wife wouldn't allow it as my leg is still not back to 100% so we took off for a couple of nice day drives/trips and explored some mountain trails seeing as how we had near triple digit temps down here along the Wasatch front last week.
On Wednesday (day one) we took off and headed north up between Preston, ID and Montpelier, ID just over the Utah/Idaho border.
We found some nice fire roads that led us up over 8500 feet in elevation where we stumbled across snow that hadn't melted yet. We had packed a lunch and got the lawn chairs out overlooking a nice clearing thinking that we may see some animals while eating lunch, but no such luck. Oh well, we had a nice lunch spot none the less.
This was the view of many of the fire roads with trees lining the sides of the trail.
We also found a few lesser traveled trails off the main trail that took us back into some narrow canyons. This was one where we stopped for lunch. There was a beautiful clearing up ahead and a small creek running down alongside the trail. It was very peaceful and we seemed to have the entire mountain to ourselves on this particular day as we didn't pass another vehicle from the time we left the pavement.
More pictures to follow from day two.
On Wednesday (day one) we took off and headed north up between Preston, ID and Montpelier, ID just over the Utah/Idaho border.
We found some nice fire roads that led us up over 8500 feet in elevation where we stumbled across snow that hadn't melted yet. We had packed a lunch and got the lawn chairs out overlooking a nice clearing thinking that we may see some animals while eating lunch, but no such luck. Oh well, we had a nice lunch spot none the less.
This was the view of many of the fire roads with trees lining the sides of the trail.
We also found a few lesser traveled trails off the main trail that took us back into some narrow canyons. This was one where we stopped for lunch. There was a beautiful clearing up ahead and a small creek running down alongside the trail. It was very peaceful and we seemed to have the entire mountain to ourselves on this particular day as we didn't pass another vehicle from the time we left the pavement.
More pictures to follow from day two.
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
On Thursday (day two) we headed east up into the Uintah mountains outside of Evanston, WY on the Utah/Wyoming border.
Thursday was a bit warmer so we were able to flip the top back and enjoy the sunshine. There were a few people on the trails Thursday but we only passed two groups of side by sides and one camp full of off-highway vehicles during the entire 44 mile off-road trip. We turned off the pavement at Bear River Service on Highway 150 (also called the Mirror Lake Highway).
We found multiple turn offs from the main trail allowing us to explore lesser trails but very scenic. The day's travels would take us over 10k feet and well up into the pines.
We stopped at Lyman Lake for lunch. The lake was quite full from winter runoff. There was a camp full of RV's and side by sides across from us where we stopped but it was a nice quiet place to stop and enjoy the scenery.
As we approached Elizabeth Peak (Ridge) we again ran across some snow. We passed a small group of side by sides and ATV's right at the summit.
As we turned off the main trail heading to the overlook of the canyon we ran across several snow drifts and unfortunately, MUD. Have I mentioned how much I dislike mud?????
That was it for our day trips last week but it was enjoyable to spend some quality time with the wife just exploring the mountains.
Thanks for looking.
Thursday was a bit warmer so we were able to flip the top back and enjoy the sunshine. There were a few people on the trails Thursday but we only passed two groups of side by sides and one camp full of off-highway vehicles during the entire 44 mile off-road trip. We turned off the pavement at Bear River Service on Highway 150 (also called the Mirror Lake Highway).
We found multiple turn offs from the main trail allowing us to explore lesser trails but very scenic. The day's travels would take us over 10k feet and well up into the pines.
We stopped at Lyman Lake for lunch. The lake was quite full from winter runoff. There was a camp full of RV's and side by sides across from us where we stopped but it was a nice quiet place to stop and enjoy the scenery.
As we approached Elizabeth Peak (Ridge) we again ran across some snow. We passed a small group of side by sides and ATV's right at the summit.
As we turned off the main trail heading to the overlook of the canyon we ran across several snow drifts and unfortunately, MUD. Have I mentioned how much I dislike mud?????
That was it for our day trips last week but it was enjoyable to spend some quality time with the wife just exploring the mountains.
Thanks for looking.
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
On Friday, the wife had to go in to work for a few hours so I took that time to get a few things done around the house and shop.
With the temperatures supposed to be at or near 100-degrees on Friday I took the early morning to edge, trim and mow my lawns before it got too awfully hot.
After doing the yardwork, I went and pressure washed the mud off the undercarriage of the Jeep then pulled it into the shop to give her a full detail.
Earlier in the week my order from McMaster Carr arrived and in that order I had some new covered wire rope for my old Nugier 20-ton hydraulic press. I had gotten this press from work about 25+ years ago and it was probably about 15-20 years old when I obtained it. I had resealed the hydraulic ram and gave it a good once over and it has been an excellent hydraulic press in all of the years that I have owned it.
Several years ago however, the cable broke that raises and lowers the table. I merely resecured the cable to the end and adjusted it equally on both sides but it no longer allowed the table to go anywhere near the bottom of the presses frame. Several months ago I had taken some measurements and put some plastic coated wire rope on my wish list at McMaster Carr. I had forgotten about it until the other day when I needed a few items and saw this was saved to my account. I went ahead and purchased it at the same time I placed my order.
After doing yardwork and cleaning the Jeep on Friday I decided to replace the cable so I could mark this off the white board.
This is the bottom of the reach of the old cable which is about 17" above the bottom of the press' frame.
Old frayed and shortened cable removed. The new cable is slightly larger than the original cable that I removed but still has a nice tight bend radius.
I think this was long past due for replacement.
New cable installed, table leveled, clamps tightened and the ends taped up.
The table now goes all the way to the bottom as well. Ready for another 40+ years of service.
With the temperatures supposed to be at or near 100-degrees on Friday I took the early morning to edge, trim and mow my lawns before it got too awfully hot.
After doing the yardwork, I went and pressure washed the mud off the undercarriage of the Jeep then pulled it into the shop to give her a full detail.
Earlier in the week my order from McMaster Carr arrived and in that order I had some new covered wire rope for my old Nugier 20-ton hydraulic press. I had gotten this press from work about 25+ years ago and it was probably about 15-20 years old when I obtained it. I had resealed the hydraulic ram and gave it a good once over and it has been an excellent hydraulic press in all of the years that I have owned it.
Several years ago however, the cable broke that raises and lowers the table. I merely resecured the cable to the end and adjusted it equally on both sides but it no longer allowed the table to go anywhere near the bottom of the presses frame. Several months ago I had taken some measurements and put some plastic coated wire rope on my wish list at McMaster Carr. I had forgotten about it until the other day when I needed a few items and saw this was saved to my account. I went ahead and purchased it at the same time I placed my order.
After doing yardwork and cleaning the Jeep on Friday I decided to replace the cable so I could mark this off the white board.
This is the bottom of the reach of the old cable which is about 17" above the bottom of the press' frame.
Old frayed and shortened cable removed. The new cable is slightly larger than the original cable that I removed but still has a nice tight bend radius.
I think this was long past due for replacement.
New cable installed, table leveled, clamps tightened and the ends taped up.
The table now goes all the way to the bottom as well. Ready for another 40+ years of service.
Jayman17
Well-known member
Mike great photos of your recent trips. When you wash your RV do you climb on top and wash the top or do it from a different ladder on the ground? It seems a good distance up to the top.
Jay
Jay
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Thank you Jay.
The roof of the coach gets a thorough cleaning at least once a year where I'll climb up on the roof and use a soft bristle brush and then rinse before washing the rest of the exterior of the coach. During a normal washing after returning from a trip I will wash from the top rolled edges of the roof downward using my long handled micro-fiber brush. The roof generally stays pretty clean as we try not to park under trees as much as possible during our outings/road trips. A good rain during a trip will also usually rinse off the roof quite well so it doesn't require too awfully much upkeep other than once or worse case twice a year. I also use that time on the roof once or twice a year to do my roof inspection and ensure all of the caulking is in good condition and all accessories are properly secured. Once the coach is washed from the ground I will use the ladder to gain access with a chamois to wipe down the sides in a few areas that seem to get streaks or drips a bit more than others.
Mr. Roboto
Well-known member
Nice to see you on your feet, getting stuff done! Great work!
SilverJimmy
Well-known member
Nice work, like the cable clamps, very clean. My wife was helping me put together a couple mobile bases for my 20” disc sander and band saw tonight and I had to explain to her that flat washers and nuts did have an up and a down position. I will take something completely apart if I miss a single one. Thank God she loves me, she just listened to my explanation and then went right back to putting the wheels on the frame.….
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Thanks for the comments. Glad to be getting some work done. I started with some smaller items and getting them knocked off the white board but I'm ready to start tackling some larger jobs so I can get back to making some money vs. spending it.
I'm not 100% yet but feeling a bit better each day. At this point I don't know that I will be back to 100% as the doctors keep wanting to send me to another one and then another one. I think they're all wanting a piece of the pie and I just want to get back to work. I think I can live with my situation now and am tired of throwing money down a pit at this thing. I just want to get back to work and play.
I'm not 100% yet but feeling a bit better each day. At this point I don't know that I will be back to 100% as the doctors keep wanting to send me to another one and then another one. I think they're all wanting a piece of the pie and I just want to get back to work. I think I can live with my situation now and am tired of throwing money down a pit at this thing. I just want to get back to work and play.
I want to add a table lift to my hydraulic press, will you post a picture of the rest of the mechanism? I'm curious about what keeps the cable from free wheeling. I'm thinking about using a boat winch because there cheap and have a built in ratcheting mechanism.
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I will have to snap a picture of it tonight when I'm in the shop. The cable just wraps around a shaft which has a hand crank on the right side and a star wheel with catch lever on the left side, pretty basic but functions well for easily raising and lowering the table.
macgyver
Well-known member
Hey Mike, how do you like the Mickeys compared to your Nittos on your Jeep? I haven't run either of those tires and I am curious. Trying to decide if I want to change tire brands next time.
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I love the Baja Boss A/T Quinn. I opted to try the Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T because they had the 3-Peak winter rating but I was torn on sticking with the Nitto's or trying the Mickey Thompson's as I really liked the Ridge Grapplers.
That being said, the Nitto Ridge Grapplers that I ran prior wore good, handled and rode great on pavement and did well off-road. My ONLY complaint with the Ridge Grappler was how they handled in the snow covered roads. They were better than my previous mud-terrains (BFG originals and KM2's) but nowhere near as good as my old BFG KO's or KO2's.
After going through one winter now and a lot of off-road miles on the Baja Boss A/T's I can say I think I made the right choice. When I picked them up I was concerned as the lugs and block pattern were somewhat larger than the Ridge Grappler so I was worried about handling and road noise but that was quickly put to bed once I drove the Jeep with them. They ride every bit as good as the Ridge Grappler with only a very slight detection of any road noise, and very minimal at that. Slightly more than the KO2's and the Ridge Grappler's but NOTHING like the KM2's, not even close. Off-road these things are freakin' fantastic. I love how they grip but they do have a tendency to pick up some medium to large sized rocks and toss them at the mirrors or undercarriage. The Ridge Grapplers didn't quite pick up as many rocks but the KO2's seemed to pick up a LOT of small to medium sized ones and that was one of my annoyances with them. As for mud, you may have heard me say how badly I HATE mud and have been known to drive miles out of my way to avoid them, unfortunately last weekend while driving up in the mountains with snow melting and coming across some remaining snow drifts I did encounter some mud on the trails. The large lugs clean out well and produce good forward movement even in the mud. I never had to use 4WD the entire day although it did slip and move around a bit in a few of the "gooey" places. A couple burps of the throttle and they easily cleaned right out.
I have been a BFG fan for several decades up until 2019 when I decided to step outside my comfort zone and try the Nitto's. Now I realize that I may have been missing out on some other alternatives. I know many like the Baja Boss M/T as well but they are a bit more aggressive than I prefer as I do a lot of highway miles as well as my off-road miles.
Sorry for the long explanation Quinn but if I had to make the decision today between the Ridge Grappler and the Baja Boss A/T I would go with the Baja Boss A/T in an instant.
That being said, the Nitto Ridge Grapplers that I ran prior wore good, handled and rode great on pavement and did well off-road. My ONLY complaint with the Ridge Grappler was how they handled in the snow covered roads. They were better than my previous mud-terrains (BFG originals and KM2's) but nowhere near as good as my old BFG KO's or KO2's.
After going through one winter now and a lot of off-road miles on the Baja Boss A/T's I can say I think I made the right choice. When I picked them up I was concerned as the lugs and block pattern were somewhat larger than the Ridge Grappler so I was worried about handling and road noise but that was quickly put to bed once I drove the Jeep with them. They ride every bit as good as the Ridge Grappler with only a very slight detection of any road noise, and very minimal at that. Slightly more than the KO2's and the Ridge Grappler's but NOTHING like the KM2's, not even close. Off-road these things are freakin' fantastic. I love how they grip but they do have a tendency to pick up some medium to large sized rocks and toss them at the mirrors or undercarriage. The Ridge Grapplers didn't quite pick up as many rocks but the KO2's seemed to pick up a LOT of small to medium sized ones and that was one of my annoyances with them. As for mud, you may have heard me say how badly I HATE mud and have been known to drive miles out of my way to avoid them, unfortunately last weekend while driving up in the mountains with snow melting and coming across some remaining snow drifts I did encounter some mud on the trails. The large lugs clean out well and produce good forward movement even in the mud. I never had to use 4WD the entire day although it did slip and move around a bit in a few of the "gooey" places. A couple burps of the throttle and they easily cleaned right out.
I have been a BFG fan for several decades up until 2019 when I decided to step outside my comfort zone and try the Nitto's. Now I realize that I may have been missing out on some other alternatives. I know many like the Baja Boss M/T as well but they are a bit more aggressive than I prefer as I do a lot of highway miles as well as my off-road miles.
Sorry for the long explanation Quinn but if I had to make the decision today between the Ridge Grappler and the Baja Boss A/T I would go with the Baja Boss A/T in an instant.
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
The weekend's work consisted of doing some paint work on my son's 2002 SBEC Duramax 2500HD. The clear coat started peeling off on his roof and I had wanted to get to this last fall but was unable to before the weather changed. Then I had planned to get right on it after we returned from our San Rafael Swell trip in April but my spring went to **** with my health issue.
I finally convinced my son I was feeling well enough to tackle the roof paint last week. It went well and I was able to spend some quality time with my son last week and over the weekend. We were able to work and reflect back on past paint jobs that we did even though paint work is something that I do not enjoy these days.
Paint supplies out and workbench covered to protect it from spills and drips.
Tuesday night we sanded and began prepping the roof for sealer and paint. We backed the truck outside of the shop and began sanding. I was so impressed with how easily my son took to the project. We haven't done much paint and body work in the past 15 or so years since I tore the shop down on my parent's farm that we used as our paint shop, but it was obvious that he had paid attention while we were doing paint and body work in his earlier years.
By Wednesday evening the roof completely sanded and wiped down so we could begin masking.
Masking begins.
Thursday night it was bagged and ready to be pushed outside to apply the epoxy primer/sealer.
We had a bit of a blunder but we regrouped and overcame the issue. After bagging the truck and wanting to stick to a schedule for the paint, we pushed the truck outside Thursday evening after work in order to spray the SPI epoxy primer that I had reduced slightly to use as a sealer. Unfortunately just as we pushed the truck out of the shop and I began spraying the passenger side of the roof a wind storm came up very quickly. I had hoped I could beat it but it ended up with some **** in the sealer so I quit and pushed the truck back into the shop. That was it for Thursday evening.
I had taken Friday off because I had to burn a vacation day before losing it so I wet sanded the couple of areas down where there were some debris stuck in the sealer from the wind storm.
It wet sanded down very nicely and we were back in business.
I pushed the truck back outside on Friday morning and sprayed the SPI epoxy primer with great results.
Pushed the truck back into the shop and went about doing yardwork the rest of the day.
More pictures to follow.......
I finally convinced my son I was feeling well enough to tackle the roof paint last week. It went well and I was able to spend some quality time with my son last week and over the weekend. We were able to work and reflect back on past paint jobs that we did even though paint work is something that I do not enjoy these days.
Paint supplies out and workbench covered to protect it from spills and drips.
Tuesday night we sanded and began prepping the roof for sealer and paint. We backed the truck outside of the shop and began sanding. I was so impressed with how easily my son took to the project. We haven't done much paint and body work in the past 15 or so years since I tore the shop down on my parent's farm that we used as our paint shop, but it was obvious that he had paid attention while we were doing paint and body work in his earlier years.
By Wednesday evening the roof completely sanded and wiped down so we could begin masking.
Masking begins.
Thursday night it was bagged and ready to be pushed outside to apply the epoxy primer/sealer.
We had a bit of a blunder but we regrouped and overcame the issue. After bagging the truck and wanting to stick to a schedule for the paint, we pushed the truck outside Thursday evening after work in order to spray the SPI epoxy primer that I had reduced slightly to use as a sealer. Unfortunately just as we pushed the truck out of the shop and I began spraying the passenger side of the roof a wind storm came up very quickly. I had hoped I could beat it but it ended up with some **** in the sealer so I quit and pushed the truck back into the shop. That was it for Thursday evening.
I had taken Friday off because I had to burn a vacation day before losing it so I wet sanded the couple of areas down where there were some debris stuck in the sealer from the wind storm.
It wet sanded down very nicely and we were back in business.
I pushed the truck back outside on Friday morning and sprayed the SPI epoxy primer with great results.
Pushed the truck back into the shop and went about doing yardwork the rest of the day.
More pictures to follow.......
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Continuing on...
Saturday morning as I was grabbing the mixing cups from my boxed supplies, my son jokingly said "I remember those mixing cups, look at all those years of paint and primer." He was right, the taller primer mixing cup and shallow cleaning cup for lacquer thinner are several decades old and have the layers of remnants to prove it.
My paint and clear coat mixing cups are not quite as old but still probably 20-25 years old.
The GM Victory Red mixed up and ready to spray.
Several coats of color and 3 wet coats of clear and it's ready to be pushed back inside the shop for the day.
There are a few dust nibs that need to be addressed but I will cut & buff when I prepare to polish the remainder of the truck.
Fully unmasked.
After a few days I plan on cutting and buffing the roof as well as performing a paint correction on the rest of the truck. Overall the paint on this 20-year old truck with nearly 300k miles is in very good condition. There is some minor fading along the upper sections of the doors and bedsides but that should polish out nicely with a little compound.
Thanks for looking.
Saturday morning as I was grabbing the mixing cups from my boxed supplies, my son jokingly said "I remember those mixing cups, look at all those years of paint and primer." He was right, the taller primer mixing cup and shallow cleaning cup for lacquer thinner are several decades old and have the layers of remnants to prove it.
My paint and clear coat mixing cups are not quite as old but still probably 20-25 years old.
The GM Victory Red mixed up and ready to spray.
Several coats of color and 3 wet coats of clear and it's ready to be pushed back inside the shop for the day.
There are a few dust nibs that need to be addressed but I will cut & buff when I prepare to polish the remainder of the truck.
Fully unmasked.
After a few days I plan on cutting and buffing the roof as well as performing a paint correction on the rest of the truck. Overall the paint on this 20-year old truck with nearly 300k miles is in very good condition. There is some minor fading along the upper sections of the doors and bedsides but that should polish out nicely with a little compound.
Thanks for looking.
OutlawDrifter
Well-known member
Victory Red has been around A LONG TIME..at one point I think they changed it to Apple Red, but was still the same color.
Looks like a quick execution to get the roof back to perfection. I'll have to do this eventually on the Tundra, I was able to buff the hood out, but the roof was too far gone.
How was the price on the VR paint Mike?
Looks like a quick execution to get the roof back to perfection. I'll have to do this eventually on the Tundra, I was able to buff the hood out, but the roof was too far gone.
How was the price on the VR paint Mike?
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Marc, the price for the PPG Victory Red was very steep. Paint has gone up more and more every time I purchase some, especially the PPG line. Red has always been one of the more expensive colors due to the toners involved but I about had a heart attack when I purchased this a few months ago. I used to spray NOTHING but PPG starting around mid-80's when I started doing paint and body work. I then started peddling auto parts in High School at an auto parts store as well as in a paint supply house mixing paint. PPG was my go-to brand and I used nothing but, however, with their higher pricing than most everything else I have been looking for alternatives lately.
I tried some Martin Senour paints from NAPA several years ago when we did some touch up work and half-doors on my son's LJ and I found that it was a decent paint system. It sprayed out nicely and was quite durable but my local NAPA no longer supports paint and body supplies. The couple of quarts I needed to fix my coach last month I had to get from a NAPA store about 35 miles away in Salt Lake City.
I did find a new smaller paint and body supply store locally in Ogden that seems to have better pricing on supplies such as sand paper and tape, etc. While I was in there picking up some masking tape a few weeks ago I had a discussion with the owner about what brands of paint they carry. They have three mixing systems, one economy line, one mid-priced line and their upper line is Valspar. I didn't realize Valspar was in the automotive refinish business but it sounded like they are a very good system. I was told it was probably close to PPG and slightly better than the Martin Senour line so I may try that in the near future. I was told that Sherwin Williams now owns them and I have sprayed some Sherwin Williams urethane automotive paint in the past and really liked it the couple times I shot it.
Regardless of the base I go with, I will stick with the SPI primers and especially their Universal Clear which I am most certainly a fan of.
OutlawDrifter
Well-known member
I intend to try the SPI on the next project. I've been reading nothing but good things about the company and product for 10years.
Yes, red paint comes with a premium, and I'm sure that's gone up in our current economy!
Wanda is the mid-range value line I've gone to in the past with good results.
Yes, red paint comes with a premium, and I'm sure that's gone up in our current economy!
Wanda is the mid-range value line I've gone to in the past with good results.
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Thanks for the info. I have not heard of that line before. But I've been away from the paint scene for about 12-15 years now with only an occasional touch up job that requires purchasing paint.
Bob Heine
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Mike, too bad you couldn't use one of the three SPI red bases (red, medium red and dark red). I suspect you paid more than $121.55 for a quart of PPG Victory Red.
Marc, I think the award goes to yellow but you're right, red is a premium priced color. A gallon of SPI Black Black or Pure Clean White single stage is $253.22, Flat Black single stage is $299.95 and Red is 354.53. All of them use the same activator as the Universal Clear. The single stage paint mixes 4:1 so it's another $46.99 for a quart of activator. SPI is bucking the trend and not increasing prices. Very un-American to not take advantage of their customers.
WoodsTruck
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2013
- Messages
- 1,023
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I agree Bob. When I spoke with Barry (owner of SPI) a few months ago I asked him about his red because it looks so very close to GM's Victory Red by the paint chips, but he told me that he didn't match it to any particular factory color and would not guarantee it would match the Victory Red. If I were doing a complete paint job and changing from a factory color I don't think I would hesitate to use any of SPI's base colors.
Thank you and good to hear that the Valspar laid down nice. How has it held up over the past 2-years and what clear did you use over the Valspar base? I think I may give it a try on the next spot job I have to do.
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
My son and I were able to get a little more sanding done on his truck last night.
The tops of the doors were not nearly as bad as the roof but the clear was starting to go south so we opted to wet sand and prep the tops of the doors for a splash of color and then do a melt in of clear about 2/3 the way down the window at the A, B and C pillars for a nice transition before performing a paint correction on the remainder of the truck.
Wet sanded with 400-grit along the top sides to remove any/all damaged clear and get a good bite into solid substrate around the top of the window area.
The about the top 1/3 of the window line we wet sanded with 600-grit. Followed by 800-grit from there down to about the lower 1/3 of the window where the clear will be blended.
I sanded through in 3 small spots and hit metal so I grabbed some UPOL #5 and applied a couple of light coats that will be sanded smooth in preparation for paint. This is a metal etching primer that has nice build and sanding properties for small areas.
Thanks for looking.
The tops of the doors were not nearly as bad as the roof but the clear was starting to go south so we opted to wet sand and prep the tops of the doors for a splash of color and then do a melt in of clear about 2/3 the way down the window at the A, B and C pillars for a nice transition before performing a paint correction on the remainder of the truck.
Wet sanded with 400-grit along the top sides to remove any/all damaged clear and get a good bite into solid substrate around the top of the window area.
The about the top 1/3 of the window line we wet sanded with 600-grit. Followed by 800-grit from there down to about the lower 1/3 of the window where the clear will be blended.
I sanded through in 3 small spots and hit metal so I grabbed some UPOL #5 and applied a couple of light coats that will be sanded smooth in preparation for paint. This is a metal etching primer that has nice build and sanding properties for small areas.
Thanks for looking.
MP&C
Well-known member
Looking good Mike.. Any overspray on the concrete?
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Thanks Robert. No overspray on the shop concrete as I pushed it outside to paint and clear.
I did however, do the wet sanding in the shop last night because it's been so freakin' hot here so I have a trail of red under the truck.
I guess there's not much to be done about that however but once it dries it should sweep up nicely.WoodsTruck
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2013
- Messages
- 1,023
How is the paint holding up in the door sill area?
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
The door sills and rockers are in excellent condition. For a 20+ year old truck with nearly 300k miles on it I think once we cut & buff the fresh clear and polish out the rest of the truck it will nearly look like it rolled off the showroom floor. Especially after we sanded and painted the entire chassis a few months ago.
My son also told me last night he was ordering a new third brake light, new tail lights and a new grille. He replaced the headlights a couple of years so ago but the third brake light and tail lights are severely weathered and starting to get fine cracks in them so they really do need to be replaced. The grille has the chrome starting to peel quite badly and I suggested that while we were painting we remove the damaged chrome area on the grille and paint it body color but he wants it to look OEM as much as possible and would rather get a new grille.
rattle_snake
Well-known member
Making it look easy Mike. Nice job.