Finally getting round to some body work...

[rumblecloud]

Been slowly working up to doing this re-paint. Being my first time I've been collecting equipment and things I need to complete the job. I have a ton of pics which I will start to post as I move through this project. It's black with a clear coat. The clear was pealing pretty bad on the hood and fenders were beginning to rust down at the base by the back of the wheel here's a couple of pics from the beginnings..



Plan is to do the fenders and tailgate (picked up a new one) off the truck, do the the hood on (too heavy to move around easily). Remove the bed and do some repair work. while that is off, I'll paint the cab. Not sure about the bed yet. May be able to do some surface work to make it passable for now -- plus, I'm sure I'll run out of time before winter sets in.
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[rumblecloud]

This has been a long process that I started way back in May, but slowly making progress. Prep work is very time consuming. The fenders received their final prime coat yesterday. Here ae some pics of the process:


I replaced the driver side fender with a pull yard replacement last year. Earlier this year I picked up another pull yard fender they labelled as a 96. Turns out it was a 97. So I just cut off what I needed from the 97, matched it up with the 94...

Some subtle differences but it's ok for now.


Both fenders with final prime.. The driver side has a dent at the base that I couldn't get to because of a bracket on the backside - I may try to fix this, but ..The 97 portion at the base also has a couple of differences. .
Hood's up next.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

You can't see both sides at the same time...

 

[Terrys87]

Looking good. If you have a welder, weld some 16 penny nails or similar and with a pair of vice grips and hammer you can pull the dent that way. Then grind off the nail. It works really good what you have done.

 

[rumblecloud]

Looking good. If you have a welder, weld some 16 penny nails or similar and with a pair of vice grips and hammer you can pull the dent that way. Then grind off the nail. It works really good what you have done.

At this point in the process, I'm willing to let small things go,
SIL (Son in law) whom I respect a lot is like "you can fix that..."

Today he gave me a little tip which I am sure is old hat for you guys.
I sprayed down my primer and thought it was pretty good, but no, it was all orange peal. I thought OP was more visually apparent, like an orange peal. Turns out, we think my primer dried too quickly - for which there are a number of causes for another topic.
At any rate he showed me this:


He just lightly sprayed a flat black over the fender. Point being, that it helped define the orange peal. So when you sand it, the the low spots show the depressions...when they're gone you are, for the most part ---level. Lots of caveats here, but it was enlightening to me.
I'm a complete amateur at this and am enjoying every bit of it. I have the benefit of you guys and the SIL who's a body guy at (someplace dealer in Richmond, mi)) but I digress.

@Terrys87 please continue to offer your insights. They are much appreciated.