Getting my 46 WD15 repaired and back on the road

[lostviking]

Quick weekend update. Went out today and used some 320 to prep the paint for spraying. I blended into the area's that had color, and did the surfaces with primer. There were a couple places I hadn't done any work to yet, so I got them all ready to put some color on also.

 

As I was getting down, the sander started to make bearing noises. It's a fairly cheap Black and Decker 5 inch electric sander. I've had a small vacuum connected to the exhaust since I started working on the truck, to keep the air from being a cloud. Anyway, I took it into the "shop" and disassembled Johnny 5. It was pretty dirty inside and the bearing under the main aluminum fan/disk was pretty rough feeling.

 

I took it all the way apart, including removing the rubber ends of the bearing. They seemed to come out pretty easily. I cleaned the thing with WD40 first then brake cleaner. Next is hit it with some white lith grease. It now spun fantastically again. I popped the rubber ends back in (they are backed with integral brass washers) after cleaning them inside and out. I spun it a bunch on my finger tip, cleaning all the excess grease that came out. Smooooth.

 

I put the whole shebang back together after having cleaned everything. I tested just the motor in the housing at first and it ran very fast with no abnormal sounds, so I put the rest of it back together. Gave it another test run, on the back patio of course...works like new again.

 

I put it back into it's box, ready to be used in the future...then bought a air powered random orbital on Amazon with excellent reviews. It was only $32, but had 400 reviews and nearly 5 stars...so what the heck. It will be here on Tuesday, which I chose to delay until then because I have the day off. I love Amazon, even if Bezos is a tool.

 

I tested the paint as was suggested by dipping a screw driver in some and letting it run on the parts that no longer matter. I don't see any reaction at all. If the weather is good next weekend, I'm going to try my hand at getting some color on the cab.

 

Once that has had a week to cure up, I'm going to mask the cab well and then remount the fender. I'll finish doing the body work with it on the truck since I think it will be easier for me. We'll see if that's right or not.

 

Comments are always welcome. Have a good Sunday everyone.

[Veemoney]

Just one comment. When testing make sure you mix the paint with any reducer & activator as applicable for the paint you are using. If not, you can't be sure you won't have a bad reaction without those solvents and hardeners. If your first-time shooting take advantage of the test panel by giving a sand prime and shoot to get your settings on the gun and increase your comfort zone. 

[lostviking]

17 hours ago, Veemoney said:

Just one comment. When testing make sure you mix the paint with any reducer & activator as applicable for the paint you are using. If not, you can't be sure you won't have a bad reaction without those solvents and hardeners. If your first-time shooting take advantage of the test panel by giving a sand prime and shoot to get your settings on the gun and increase your comfort zone. 

Good points. I'm using lacquer thinner and the hardener from the paint supplier. I expect this is the same paint he used, maybe different source, but I do have that running board to play with.

[lostviking]

Pretty quiet weekend. I wet sanded everything with 600. I mixed some paint, hardener and thinner...then used the inside of the damaged fender (running board is under a bunch of stuff). No reaction at all, but the color is not very close at all. It seems to have a much more violet look when laid right next to the original. Now the inside of the fender is not really the same as the body. The PO has two distinctly different colors on the truck. The inside of the fenders, the inner fender all have a much more sky blue look. The other thing is that the whole truck needs a repaint due to how badly it was done. I only purchased a pint or quart (not next to me right now) can of paint, since I was only going to do the cab repair with it.

 

I'm going to take one of the head light housings up to a pro paint supply store and see if they can help me out. I hope they can and have an acrylic enamel also. That way I can go around with my sander and spot all the really bad area's, feather them out and respray the cab and bed. The fenders and running boards are going to be black.

 

I don't want a base/clear paint job. Have a great Easter everyone.

[kencombs]

On 4/17/2022 at 12:22 PM, lostviking said:

Pretty quiet weekend. I wet sanded everything with 600. I mixed some paint, hardener and thinner...then used the inside of the damaged fender (running board is under a bunch of stuff). No reaction at all, but the color is not very close at all. It seems to have a much more violet look when laid right next to the original. Now the inside of the fender is not really the same as the body. The PO has two distinctly different colors on the truck. The inside of the fenders, the inner fender all have a much more sky blue look. The other thing is that the whole truck needs a repaint due to how badly it was done. I only purchased a pint or quart (not next to me right now) can of paint, since I was only going to do the cab repair with it.

 

I'm going to take one of the head light housings up to a pro paint supply store and see if they can help me out. I hope they can and have an acrylic enamel also. That way I can go around with my sander and spot all the really bad area's, feather them out and respray the cab and bed. The fenders and running boards are going to be black.

 

I don't want a base/clear paint job. Have a great Easter everyone.

Ask your paint supplier about a single stage urethane.  I think you will like it better that acrylic enamel.  Harder, cures faster and resist gasoline or other spills.  It is toxic, but the toxicity is from the hardener which is very similar to that used in enamels to improve gloss. 

 

Lots is written about supplied air systems being required to shoot it, but I'm not in that camp.  In depth research indicates to my satisfaction that a good, fresh set of the appropriate cartridges in a well fitted mask along with covering arms, face and eyes while spraying is adequate protection.  But, a leaky mask, wrong or old filter cartridges are a recipe for health disaster. 

 

And, to illustrate this, my 75YO BIL recently retired from paint and body after 50+ years using that theory.  still healthy.  I'm 79 with a lot of paint in my past also.

[lostviking]

Wouldn't I have to seal it with an epoxy primer and repaint the whole thing to switch to urethane? I do have a nice 3M mask I use. Of course I'm spraying in my garage for the cab, but for the fenders I'm going to do what we did when spraying my Harley...drop cloth on the bottom, screen room popup. I'll just set it up in my driveway.

[kencombs]

On 4/19/2022 at 10:15 AM, lostviking said:

Wouldn't I have to seal it with an epoxy primer and repaint the whole thing to switch to urethane? I do have a nice 3M mask I use. Of course I'm spraying in my garage for the cab, but for the fenders I'm going to do what we did when spraying my Harley...drop cloth on the bottom, screen room popup. I'll just set it up in my driveway.

Sealing/priming with epoxy is only necessary if there could be a reaction between the new and old paint. 

 

You could use some urethane reducer on the old coatings to test that.  If it doesn't lift or wrinkle you should be ok. 

 

But, with some colors a sealer is a good idea anyway as different base colors can change the final look.  That is especially true with cheaper paints that don't cover/hide as well as others. 

[lostviking]

Thank Ken. I don't know diddly about this so I only know what I read. I appreciate you sharing actual experience with me. I bought a gallon of lacquer thinner, so I'd have plenty to clean my equipment. I've read that you can use it to reduce urethane, but that it dries faster. If that is true, I should still be able to clean the gun right? Even use it to reduce urethane...but then other people say don't reduce urethane at all. A bit confused.

 

I do have a can of HD paint from a bike job. It is urethane base I believe...I could test for reaction with it.

 

Edited April 21, 2022 by lostviking

[lostviking]

Today I decided to weld the little over 1 inch long crack in the rear fender. I don't know if this was there before, or a result of the accident.

 

I cleaned the metal around the crack, and a spot for the ground clamp. I spent maybe 10 minutes welding most of the crack, one dot at a time. Then I spent 45 minutes or so chasing the blow through holes I created  Welding thin sheet metal is darn hard. I had my welder set to min power and min wire, but if you did more than touch the trigger and release, boom, hole.

It took a lot of time to pop a bead or two, wait, weld again, wait some more (for the area to fully cool), but I finally got it so the light didn't show through. I used a flap disk over and again to grind the welds down as I tried to fix my mistakes. In the end, there is one little spot along the bottom edge I wish I could have fixed, but by then I was convinced I'd just make it worse.

 

Cleaned the area again to shinny metal and applied a thin layer of filler.

 

The wife got home before I sanded it, so I guess that won't happen today. If I ever have to weld anything that thin again, I'm going to find a nice piece of copper or aluminum and fit it to the rear of the weld area. I think that might give me a fighting chance at least.

 

I've decided I'll paint using urethane as Ken suggested (maybe others too). I'm going to go up to TCP Global and see if they can help me match the color. I'll eventually paint the whole truck, but as I've said, fenders and running boards will be black. Single stage urethane seems to be the go to. It might even be what's on the truck. I didn't spend much on the quart of acrylic enamel paint and the hardener, so not a big loss. I can always  paint something else blue

 

[lostviking]

Drove 25 miles to TCP GLobal today to buy some sealer/primer and color...all I got was a sign that said their storefront was closed. Order online and they will ship it to you. Well, f_ck off TCP Global. I can order it from Amazon for less, and get free shipping. The only reason I was giving you my business was the personal treatment. Never shopping there again.

[lostviking]

In another thread I was asking people where to find urethane single stage paint that I can buy in California. Found it. https://paintforcars.com.

 

Bought a kit from them that has a gallon of paint, the hardener and reducer for said paint and even a few stir sticks and filters. I did have to pay $40 for shipping, but the paint kit was only $118, for a gallon of urethane single stage. The color is a darker blue than I purchased when I bought the enamel paint, so maybe it with be a closer match...I've got enough to paint the rest of the truck though, I think

 

We'll see how many times I have to spray it.

 

I have a front fender for my 79 shovelhead I need to paint. I'm going to use the enamel paint on it and get some practice.

Edited May 1, 2022 by lostviking

[Veemoney]

Good to plan ahead. If you don't have one get a mixing cup to measure and mix the paint components accurately. The cups are cheap and many places include them also with the paint purchase. Thanks for the reminder, I have a 78 FXE that I need to paint and put back together.

[lostviking]

I have a selection of mixing cups, but a reminder is never a bad thing.

 

I put the fender onto the truck today, after covering the repaired area of the cab. No need to scratch it up...again

 

I need to either get the new running board, or cut off and fix enough of the old one to get the rear of the fender attached. Otherwise it's just not in the correct position. I'm doing this so I can do the final (hopefully) shaping of the metal on the truck. For one, it holds onto it for me, and for two I can see how it's lining up.

 

I'll have to bolt the front running board mount back on to do that, so some grade 8 bolts are needed.

 

This is where I'm at. All the places where the paint is removed were mangled. It is looking "not too bad" right now, but I guess you had to be there.

[lostviking]

If you look closely at the side view, just in front of the lower right body lines in the fender...you can see a fold line going forward. That lower section was folded under. The read lower edge was ripped loose and I had to weld it back on, same with the area up near the cardboard.

 

I'm no pro, but I've got time and it seems to be getting better, not worse.

[lostviking]

Took the day off today, so I decided to get part of the running board in good enough shape to get the fender done. I ended up using a jack and the truck at first...then a hand sledge, C-clamps and pieces of wood. I am forever amazed at how metal likes to return to it former shape.

This isn't done, far from it, but hey...amateur here.

 

You can see that fold line I was talking about on the rear fender pretty well here. That's where the wheel made it's exit...right under the running board.

 

Edited May 3, 2022 by lostviking

[lostviking]

Beat on it a bit more. Decided to see how everything looked together again. I know it's a long way to go still, but it was nice to see the parts bolted together again. I haven't put the front running board bracket in yet, and I had to bend the rear one down some more, but I can see light on the horizon now. I might not have to replace the running board after all.

[lostviking]

Crawled a little closer to the finish line today. I needed a piece of metal to patch the area towards the lower rear, where it meets the running board. I had an old fender from my FLH...hehe.

 

Cut and shaped it, put it into place and started stitching it. Still having a bit of trouble not making holes, but I filled them. I still need to put a small filler at the top, but it came out OK I guess.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 8, 2022 by lostviking

[lostviking]

This is my welder...140A/120VAC. I don't have a gas bottle, so I'm flux core welding. The extension cord is a 20A cord and only 10Ft long.

 

Edited May 9, 2022 by lostviking

[lostviking]

May 12th the wife and I left for a bit over two weeks of vacation. Got home feeling a bit under the weather, but we are both fine now. Haven't done anything to the truck since my last post, but it's time for me to pull the fender back off the truck and finish welding the inside of the patch I put on it. There is also a small piece I still need to form and weld in.

 

Before I do that, and yes my mind jumps around...I will do the final beating on the damaged spots to get them to where a thin bondo coat is all I need.

 

That's the plan for now. Then I have to decide if I can really get the running board in good enough shape or not. My buddy Joel thinks I'm nit picking the quality of the work, but that's just me.

 

Hope everyone is enjoying their trucks this first weekend of summer.

[lostviking]

If you look at the picture of my fender patch, you can see a small area that still needed metal. Looking at the other fender, there is a curved gap up there too, it's not fully filled. I cut a sliver of metal today and welded it in. I'm getting better at controlling my trigger finger so I didn't burn through. I seem to be able to tap the trigger long enough to get a weld, and short enough to get the single spot I need. I then used a hammer and dolly on it, plus some Dremel sanding roll to get it looking pretty good. I used a carbide round tool in the Dremel to for the "bend relief" cut at the corner. I think it will pass.

 

I also did some hammer and dolly work on the last of the raised area's where it had bent. A pro with a planishing hammer would do a better job. I don't have one, and well...

 

It won't take but a thin coat of Bondo to get it ready for paint.

 

Next step, remove the paint from most of it and blend it 4-6 inches. Then I put the bondo on and if it isn't being bent into shape right now....I can paint it.

 

I have a front fender for my FLH that needed to be painted, so I cleaned and primered it yesterday. I'll use my paint gun to do it first. If I blow it, that's easy to redo. Once I can do a good job on it, the truck fenders get theirs.

 

Have a great Sunday everyone.

[lostviking]

Hi everyone, haven't said anything in a month and haven't really done much either. I've got all of the welding on the front fender done, including the inside where is attaches to running board. It's probably ready for bondo, but I might hit it a bit more with the hammers.

What I've been doing is working on a new front fender for my 1979 FLH. I wanted to practice painting something small, that is easy to redo when I mess something up. So far I've got three contrasting layers of primer on it, red oxide on the bottom. I like to put red oxide there because you can see it easily when you are wet sanding and know to stop.

I just finished wet sanding it, but there were a few spots on the fender mounts where the metal was damaged in manufacturing. To fix that I got out my Dremel and smallest sanding drums. After I got it flat, or more correctly a bit lower than flat, I hit it again with some heavy coats of primer. The rivets that hold the mounts to the fender are hard to sand around, and you usually hit metal on them. I sprayed that area again also.

Most of the fender is the top color of primer, but baby butt smooth. Maybe 1/3 shows the second color, and only edges and the rivet show any red oxide.

It's close to time for color. That is what it was all about also. I've had the fender maybe 10 years. Once I can paint the fender without errors, I'll feel like going for the truck.

[lostviking]

It's been humid in San Diego for some time now. This is the time of year that humidity is 85% or higher most of the time. Any meaningful painting is out of the question.

 

That said, I got a bit more work done today. Just sanding and primer to show me the rough spots. I used my RO sander with some 80 and 320 to both blend the edges of old paint and rough up the surface of it...plus sand on the primer I've already got down. I did miss a couple spots, but it's not the final primer anyway.

 

Here I missed the edge, so I'll do that part by hand.

 

Here I didn't even try to get the crack in the paint between the ridges. I'll get that next go around also.

 

Here is where a lot of damage was. I had to weld the whole bottom lip (which you can't see) all the way around to the left. It got ripped loose. I will need to lay on a micro layer to filler to smooth this and block sand it.

 

 

[lostviking]

The edge of the wheel opening still has a bend in it. I think I know how to support the fender to pull that out. Next time around though. And one overall of the progress. I guess it's pretty good considering where I started.

 

 

 

[lostviking]

It's been almost a month of hot muggy weather. Humidity in the mid to upper 80%. So I've been working on making the fender as smooth as my skills can get. There is no heavy layers of bondo anywhere. The thickest is maybe .060, because I am a nit picker.

 

Here is how it looked today. I think it's almost ready to spray. Of course right after I hit it with primer, I saw a small area that could use some glazing putty. Nit picker extreme

 

 

[lostviking]

Back out today to wet sand everything. This time around I also used a tiny amount of glazing putty on some paint chips in the original paint. The entire fender is sanded, so I covered it completely in primer. There are two small spots I think still need a touch, but it's almost ready to sit and wait for the weather to break. Not only is it humid, but we are having a major heat wave for the next week. Even just sitting and wet sanding left me soaked. Drank lots of water.

 

Hopefully be painting soon. That running board is never going to be perfect, and I haven't done anything since I flattened it back out. I've got a fend and the lower door and cab to get color on. It will have to be off for that anyway, so I'll look at ways to get it closer to looking nice again.

 

Enjoy your weekend everyone.