Welcome to Paint and Sheet Metal Tech!

[Deve]

This is the place to put all Paint or Sheet Metal related questions. As always, new members please read the Forum Guidelines posted in the Front Office. Also, please help me keep a very clear concise How-To Library. If there is something you feel needs added, please let us know! You can find the entire library of How-To Articles at http://devestechnet.com/Home/HowTo.

 

Complete List of Current How-To Articles having to do with Paint and Sheet Metal Tech

 

• Advance Design Paint Color Information
• Advance Design Cab Information
• Advance Design Hood Side Emblems
• Installation of the GM/Unity Spotlight on the AD
• Advance Design Seat Belt Assembly Installation
• AD Seat Pedestal Drawer System
• DIY License Plate Restoration
• Advance Design Frame Rivet Remove and Replace

 

If you would like to write a How-To article, wish to put yours here or have comments on the current offerings, please let us know. We can use the help!

[sdavis9551]

Hey- I'm new to this. Bought a 55 first series, has had a frame off restoration. Runs great. Body in very good shape, but needs some cosmetic work, dings etc. Needs interior and exterior paint plus fixing of small dings and dents. Looking for opinions on what a reasonable estimate for that work/cost should be.

[Deve]

Welcome to the forums! I have heard of refreshes in the range of 7-12k or much less. This of course changes with the quality you get for the money as well. Also, the cost of a good body man will vary from place to place. I guess if it were me, I would ask around in your local area, not just the body or resto shops, but other vintage vehicle owners to get an idea of reputation, quality, and cost. There is a lot to this sort of work. Its very time and labor intensive. Wish I could be more help.

[Doyle Osborne]

I noticed in the pictures of the cab that the steering wheel support holes are broken out and a also a couple of stress cracks around them. My dash has a bit more damage than the one pictured. How did you repair the damage?
Doyle

[Deve]

The good news Doyle is, the cab is metal! I had this exact same problem so what I did was get out the mig welder and I shored up those two holes with wide fender washers. By tacking a few fender washers on the inside (tacked to the inside dash and shaped to fit) that problem should never come up again. Stress cracks are best handled by cleaning the metal around them, then starting about 1/4" before the crack, stitch weld them back shut. It's not easy welding inside the dash, but it's not that hard. Weld at the proper temperature so as not to create more holes than you had, and also to keep the metal from warping, you want to take it slowly.

I had a cab where someone decided they wanted a bigger radio than would fit in the hole. They used Tin Snips and just made the hole bigger! So, I got a donor piece from the salvage yard and welded a new piece in place. Between that and closing all of the holes that are not stock, I have been getting a lot of welding practice.

[Doyle Osborne]

Thanks Deve that was what I was thinking to repair. I really enjoyed metal shaping in high school (close to 40 yrs ago). I'm going to try to shape a piece to fit inside dash and then weld in a patch to repair the holes and slowly stitch up the cracks. I'll post some pictures here as I progress.

[Dalton]

Know of any good paint shops in Oregon?

[Doyle Osborne]

A quick update on my dash repair, I've welded patches as well as support pieces inside the dash. Both sides turned out pretty good I think, I've started to add some filler and will prime and paint as the weather warms up.

[Deve]

Looks great Doyle! A little filler and nobody will know. Don't forget to drill the holes for the steering column. Once I got my repairs done that way, I also added a thick washer in behind so that I could relieve some of the pressure of the steering column on the dash. Great work. Those successes are what its all about!

[Doyle Osborne]

After a bit of body filler and primer my dash stress crack repair is looking pretty good if I do say so myself.

[Deve]

That looks great Doyle! You would never know anything was ever wrong. Good job!

[Doyle Osborne]

After the repair, paint.

[somaxblast]

Good quality Somax blast nozzles can make it operate efficiently!
somaxblasting.com

[Carryall '51]

I have a '51 carryall, there are 2 types of rear doors on these carryalls, my are split vertically and the doors open to the left and right. The steel panel under the rear doors is in pretty bad shape. It's rusted badly, one can see daylight through the holes. I dream big but ..does anyone make replacement steel for this item?

[Carryall '51]

I have all the glass cut ,the channels and rubber stops for my side windows of my '51 carryall. Does any one know how this goes together or any source on the hardware (latching device or any other hardware that's needed.)