Los_Control

Thanks for the vote of confidence .... I would think if a guy properly prepared the surface it would work. But I do not know why the paint really failed in the first place, other then there was a recall on them because of the primer. Here is a better photo, you can see that I can not hurt it if I do a bad job. I paid $300 for the truck with lost title, cost me $100 to get title. It has 142k miles on it, runs really well, but needs major maintenance, belts, hoses,fluid changes, tires, tuneup. And since I really dont care about it, is a perfect victim to practice my painting skills

I wanted to pick your brains on a paint question, for a off topic dodge dakota. My goal here is to practice painting. Use this old beater with a heater to learn on. Then when I paint my pilothouse, it wont be my very first paint experience. I also wanted to use the same single stage enamel/paint colors as I want on my pilothouse. Is the Dakota worth painting? Absolutely not. I plan to use it to go to the dump, a cheap economical beater to run around town with, looks fine as is. As a learning tool, to get use to mixing / thinning / spraying /masking etc ... is worth it to me. Also to see how the colors work together, if I want to two tone my pilothouse or not. And my question is, 1994 Dodges of this era had bad primer and the paint peeled on them. The truck is red with a wide silver stripe down the side, The silver is peeling and bare primer spots showing, red is fine but clear coat peeling from age and weather. I plan to convert the two stage silver stripe, to single stage black enamel. Since the paint failed from the factory and primer was to blame, anyone know what steps are required to paint over the primer? Would sanding the clear coat, remove all loose base color and sand exposed primer be enough? I know I am over simplifying the steps, but would scuffing/sanding the original primer be enough for new paint to stick? Sorry for long winded post over simple question on primer, I thought a explanation to the insanity of painting it in the first place might help.

We had a little weather ourselves here in west Texas, before the storm moved north to your area. I just got back from the hardware store with a bundle of shingles and assorted roofing supplies. Nothing major, couple shingles blown off, a piece of flashing to replace, will need to glue a few loose shingles down to prevent blowing off in next storm. Glad you made it through ok

Only advice I have, follow the book on setting up the timing when removing/installing the oil pump. I buy a used truck, I remove the distributor for maintenance. Turns out whoever pulled the oil pump in the past did not follow the book, I had a hard time getting the #1 plug set in correct position when I re-installed the dizzy. Not a big deal, but you may save yourself a headache in the future to just follow the book.

I dunno, simply why am asking .... what I am wondering. With Aluminum heads, does the rocker shaft bolts need some stick em stuff applied to the threads? Would they need torqued, warmed up and then re-torqued? I dunno, but seems expansion/contraction on the aluminum heads would be different then cast iron heads. I know you are ten steps ahead of me on the answer, just bringing up the question.

Funny how every state is different, should be some sort of uniformity. In Washington while at the dmv with the seller, They told him that he could not write a bill of sale because the truck was not in his name either. And maybe he could write the bill of sale, but was worthless, because was not his to sell ???

I dunno, last time I pulled my dizzy out, I put it back in with the wires rotated counter clockwise one hop. That way I could spin the motor for days and days and lube the engine, without it starting and being dry ?

I have heard both good and bad about pertonix. I plan to stay 6 volt, as original as possible. If I feel the need to update my dizzy, and is very likely I will. I would go 12 volt and then do the 225 slant 6 distributor conversion. To me using OEM parts you can buy off the shelf just makes sense.

I dunno .... after the fuel pump, I have 2 glass bowls, they are both full yet I do not have fuel flow. I added a clear plastic filter in front of the fuel pump, It is always shown empty and can see good flow if you look at the ends of the filter while the truck is running. Point is, the clear glass bowls are more for filter and does not tell you what type of fuel flow you have. I actually expected the clear filter in front of the fuel pump to be full of gas and show me the flow. Just does not work that way. I do see fuel passing through quickly and not filling the plastic filter.

That sounds like a great idea, I might look into that. As a old construction worker, I am disabled now because of my back, bending over often is not ideal for me. But I slowly get er did! And with that, am off to the physical therapist for another spine adjustment ... hope to be able to get something done today. While I am in town I will pick up a new fuel pump from napa, ordered it a few days ago, wonder what quality it will be.

good job, looks great. ? I just picked up a little abrasive blaster from tractor supply, $12.99 Put some baking soda in it to play with and works great. For small jobs, carbs would be perfect. The instruction claim that it is not made for sand, I tried some anyways and would not pick it up. I had a box of baking soda so I opened it up and tried it, works great. Not sure what other abrasives will work in it. Just picked it up yesterday. Has different tips and comes with the pattern deelio .... for etching metal or glass. For $13 worth having it around, I know harbor freight would have something similar.

ok, I got it through my thick head

ok gotcha, Now am wondering if ways to modify the dead man, perhaps install a shut off valve before it, instead of getting down on my knees to turn it off under the tank. Seems like it may have the same affect as the valve on the tank? Just on the other end of the hose?

The tank has a ball valve on the bottom of tank for sand, It is wide open, I think you are suggesting to open it maybe 1/2 way or so to control?

Acid works pretty well, is how I got things as clean as they are now. But it is a pain, maybe if I had a tank that could dip in I would probably go molasses. I have had great success with it and easy cleanup .... dump it in the back 40 and acts like fertilizer to the grass. I do not have a tank, and I have dogs .... I do not think would work well for me. (at this time) Later I want to build a small shop and maybe then can be arranged. Regardless, like any job there are many steps and a sand blaster is going to be useful. I used acid by brushing it on, phosphoric acid you can see on the tailgate. It turns the rust black, the white powder looking residue means I did not use enough. But the rust is converted and held at bay until I can get to finish it. I actually needed to use murratic acid to remove the rust (nasty toxic stoofs) to bare metal, then I wet sanded it and cleaned diluted it and then used phosphoric acid on it to keep it from rusting while I wait for better weather for paint. Because I am spraying/brushing wet sanding, some areas are difficult to get to and sand blasting will be the right tool for those areas. With all that said, this sand blaster is turning out to be aggravating. I did a trial run with it in the garage the other day and it worked well and was using the media that was left in it. I figure to use it up. Then I set it up outside, got all my protective gear on, respirator, safety glasses and gloves, plastic on the ground. I blast for about 20 seconds and the hose clogs up. I put in fresh media and same issue. I remove the tip and turn the air on and it spits and sputters and cleans itself out, put the tip back on and it clogs up again. Guess I will drain all the sand out of it and start fresh and see how it goes. Guessing it is moisture causing it, even though it has a air filter to catch the moisture, no way to tell how old the original sand is, I added fresh on top of the old but that does nothing. Next guess would be not enough air pressure, I turned the compressor down to 90 psi to try and make it last longer .... hrm, maybe I go back and crank it up first before trying anything? Says minimum of 60 psi to run it. DOH!, more air did the trick .... face palm

What I know about tape is little, Yes masing tape can be a pain and leave glue behind. Blue tape, coming from a carpenters perspective ... It does not leave glue, but when using to mask for paint, it can leak and frustrate you. They have yellow and or green tape, and that will seal the paint better, it also cost more then the blue.... I have blue tape around for all-purpose stoofs. If I am going to use it to mask paint, will spend more for better tape. Plain masking tape I have no use for. In your case, I would think a combo of blue tape and plastic or heavy brown paper to protect the painted areas? Others may have better suggestions. I mean like tape and scrap pieces of carpet?

I took mine off by myself, awkward but doable. Would concern me depending on condition of paint. My paint was non existent and nothing to hurt. When I put it back on will be fresh paint, and do not want to attempt it alone. As others suggested, proper paint protection and should be fine.

I appreciate the tips from all, not sure my dogs do Dan Hiebert those are good tips. I have been watching a few youtube vids and really not much out there worth watching. I am really just going to have to feet wet and dive in. I did pick up 100 pounds of medium sand yesterday. Kinda shopping around for a better air compressor, I have a porter cable pancake compressor that is great for nail guns, not made for steady air flow. Yet it surprised me how well it kept up. The Sand blaster removed the heavy rust on a rear fender so quickly, was no reason to slow down the movement. You can see from photo where I started from, now I have the front sheet metal pulled and worked it all over by hand, stored inside. Just waiting for better weather where I can blast and then paint. Texas weather, was 80 degrees last week, 30 degrees this week and 70 next week ?

I just happen to have two puppies .... hoping they are done teething, at 1.5 years old .... they created lots of old blankets And I saved them. Now if I can get them to stop digging holes ?

That really looks great. I like the looks of the brick, looks old and used, a warm comfortable feeling with it. You will get a lot of enjoyment from it .... You ever feel like you cant sleep, you got a place to hang out.

Note to self: DO NOT PLAY WITH THE SANDBLASTER IN THE GARAGE! Actually works pretty well, I see what you mean Adam. When you pull the trigger a glob of sand falls on the floor, then it starts to spray. Boy just a couple quick burst, sand all over the place to be cleaned up. I really think this is the tool that will help me speed things up on my project. Been wet sanding with 80 grit and making progress, but some areas is like hitting a dead end and going nowhere. 60 seconds with this blaster, I cleaned a lot of rust effortlessly. I see myself tarping off my carport and using proper respirator, ventilation in near future. Off to tractor supply to buy some sand, going to go with course and also buy a pack of nozzles, think a smaller diameter nozzle will require less air.

Seems my old pick em up has some surface rust, been fighting it with acids. They work but not ideal. Anyways, local thrift store had a sand blaster for sale, I bought it. Now wondering what type of blast media to buy. Wondering if others have a preference from their experience . Limited to tractor supply, but I see they offer fine & medium for less then $10. Then they have some different buckets called garnet or glass, they are $30 .... just wonder what the smart people think ... probably just pick up a couple $10 bags to start with, wondering fine or medium? My air compressor is too small to begin with, hoping can get a short 2 or 3 min run, then wait for it to build back up. Wonder if fine or medium sand will have a affect with lower air pressure?

I sure hope not, driving my old chubby 350/5spd is a kick in the pants. Really fun to have a vehicle you enjoy driving and it puts a smile on your face. I would look better if the 350/5spd was in a dodge pilothouse, but not really concerned on looks. Hoping the old flatty will put the same smile on my face, and sure it will not disappoint

WOW, thought I seen a spot of dirt on that car, seems I needed to wash my monitor ... nice car!

I scrubbed some rust off my paint today