Heirlooms '68 F250 - 2500 miles later.....

[sargentrs]

Don't forget to stake it down and add guy lines to keep the wind from pulling a Wizard of Oz move on it.

[Heirloom]

Don't forget to stake it down and add guy lines to keep the wind from pulling a Wizard of Oz move on it.

LOL, yes of course. We've had some really strong winds this winter and I have seen more than a few pretzel'd EZ-UP's that clearly took flight for some distance then wadded them selves into a tangle.

[Heirloom]

So while I'm day dreaming about paint booths and shiny paint, I'm still doing body work. I began tackling the largest damage area. The passenger rear quarter below the bump had a big dent. It went from just below the bump all the way down to the rolled bottom, and from the side/tail light corner seam to nearly the rear tire. Using a long straight edge it looked to be 3/4" depressed at it's deepest. After some rough prying I was able to get my hand back there and do some hammer off dolly work. It's coming along pretty well. I want to touch a few more areas first, then strip it clean and skim some filler. Instead of stripping all the paint first then attacking the dent, I used the existing layers of paint and primer sort of like a guide coat. While in and around the bed I'll be fixing various problems like stuff that's been welded or screwed into/onto the bed over the years.








I need to fix a dent in my tailgate FORD trim.

[sargentrs]

You're getting pretty good at that, Josh! Good work.

[Heirloom]

Thank you Randy! Practice makes...something or other.


I just discovered I WAY prefer heated scraping over grind/sand to remove the bulk of the paint layers. There are 4-5 layers on there... factory primer, paint, in some areas a black primer, then a red primer and finally the gray primer on top. Another layer or two and I might have been able to block all the dents out Sanding particulates it all and makes a mess that can't be picked up and can be breathed. Scraping makes nice large curls I can deal with, no particle mask and I can do it at any time because it's soooo quiet. The small amount of residue left over easily sands off will a 40-80g disk on a DA or random orbital

Today I blocked the pass. bed side the rest of the way to see what needed to be done. An 11" and an 18" with 60 grit really made those areas pop. Flat gray is awesome at hiding flaws, . With those areas committed to memory I began stripping it. I will be spraying Eastwood Rust Encapsulator (from now on known as ERE) direct to metal then doing any fill work followed by touch up ERE, epoxy primer, 2k hi build then paint. Think I might just ERE the whole darn thing.

[Heirloom]

Slowly but surely I am getting the bed sides stripped. I have one stinking spinning bed mount bolt. If it weren't for that (and rain) that sucker would be sitting on stands. Little by little. I'm almost there....






How many of you have a locking bed box but no key? I did until today. I quickly discovered that I had a key already on my keychain that fit in the lock, but it didn't operate the lock. Being the inquisitive mind that I am, I took apart the latch and lock. I got into the tumblers and moved a few around to get them close, then I slightly ground them until they lined up right. Presto! A re-keyed/modified locking latch. Now I don't have to worry about some tweeker stealing my jumper cables for the copper. Now that it's 'fixed' I can strip it and prep for rust encapsulation/primer/paint.




Wish I had taken pictures while it was apart. I just got into a groove. I'm sure ya'll know what I mean. If anyone needs or wants more/better info on the lock, please ask and I will oblige. A word of caution if you go diving in...the tumbler plates are small as well as the springs, which actually qualify for tiny. There are 5 each, don't lose them!

I'm also nearly done with stripping the bed box door. I need to buy a seal for it as mine was already torn, plus it left a little on the door when it was coming off.






This week I received an Eastwood seam sealer kit, epoxy primer and 120/220/320 PSA long board rolls. I will be getting their Contour polyester sprayable filler very soon.

[sargentrs]

Great work, Josh! Got a link to that seam sealer kit and spray able filler? I'm still a ways from working on my bed but I want everything mapped out when I get there

[Heirloom]

Sure thing Randy! I'll link everything I'm using in order....

Eastwood Rust Encapsulator (ERE) - http://www.eastwood.com/rust-encapsulator-28601.html - I chose ERE over POR-15 INITIALLY because of the top coat/UV issue with POR-15. POR-15 has to be top coated. I knew that there was a good chance, nay, it was very probable I would not be able to immediately top coat everything I wanted to spray rust prevention on. Eastwoods product won out there. Later after reading several sources of info on ERE I put some valuable info together and decided ERE was a better product overall. ERE uses epoxy resins and micro glass flake to create an impermeable barrier, by O and H2o at least. Think about metal flake in paint and how it lays down and settles. The micro flakes overlap and build a barrier sealed by the epoxy. Basically I am using this as my DTM primer since it can go over or under pretty much anything. Unlike the Rust Converter, it does not NEED rust to cure. Inside and out, frame, suspension...EVERYTHING gets this. That's how I feel about ERE. Using the spray cans with the hose whip is AWESOME at getting all those nooks and crannies that a spray gun or can will never get. And again, with no need to top coat there is no worry about it's long term performance in those nooks and crannies. What was that POR-15??

Here is a link to a side by side comparison run by a magazine http://www.eastwood.com/por-15-vs-rust- ... ion-part-1


Eastwood Seam Sealer Kit - http://www.eastwood.com/ew-complete-sea ... r-kit.html - I bought this kit because it was exactly what I figured I needed. The two caulking tubes should fill the bed/bump seam, tail light housing seams and drip rail. The putty has it's uses on the fire wall and other areas, and of course the brush-able stuff goes on the overlap seams etc. The only difference between what I received and what's pictured is my box of putty is not labeled 3M, but Eastwood.

Body Filler - I started, like we all do, with good ole Bondo. Still have not used up what I have, but when I do I am switching to Eastwood Contour Premium body filler http://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-contou ... iller.html. The corrosion resistance, self etching property and reported creamier/smoother product is attractive. Double the price of Bondo is not though.

Eastwood Contour Poly Filler - http://www.eastwood.com/contour-polyest ... twood.html - Similar to SlickSand or Feather Fill, but Eastwood's specs. I chose it because of price and known compatibility with other Eastwood products. Everything I have found says it sands as easy as the Evercoat counterparts. Obviously this will only be put on the exterior panels for blocking.

Eastwood Epoxy Primer - http://www.eastwood.com/epoxy-primer-wh ... t-kit.html - TWO sprayable gallons of 2 part epoxy for $95? No brainer. Like the ERE, EVERYTHING will be sealed in epoxy. If I could dip the body and chassis in it, I would

Finally the paint. I have 4 gallons (a gallon each R, W, B & Blk). I already had the paint on hand (which made choosing the paint scheme easy) from another dead project. They are TCP Globals 'Restoration Shop' Acrylic Urethane single stage paint kits http://www.tcpglobal.com/restorationsho ... thane.aspx. Actual colors are AU1101 Classic White, AU1509 Marine Blue, AU1701 Hot Rod Red and AU1903 Chassis Black (gloss). At the time I bought the kits they were a little cheaper and they included both hardener and reducer. They have since dropped the reducer from the kit apparently. Maybe California VOC rules or something. I know using single stage paint and going tri-color is insane, but I plan to pin stripe AND clear it. It just happens that I already had the paint and want to use it up.




Lastly I want to mention Eastwood's 'Buyers Club' http://www.eastwood.com/buyers-club-fre ... -year.html. For $30 you get a year of free shipping (excluding oversize/weight) on your orders. Well, I guess not free, but for $30 you get all your orders shipped for a year. I just spent about $18 on shipping for the seam sealer, epoxy primer kit and 3 PSA rolls. Think about how many times per year you wanted to order one or two things but put it off. I'm going to buy in on my next order as I can see me ordering more PSA rolls, maybe some flex sanding blocks and several other things through out the year.

[Heirloom]

God, I sounded like an Eastwood fan boy. I'm really not a brand fan, but if a product works well.....

[Craigerf100]

Looking good

[sargentrs]

God, I sounded like an Eastwood fan boy. I'm really not a brand fan, but if a product works well.....

I AM an Eastwood fan boy! Love all there products and use them wherever possible. Thanks for the links, Josh! Be sure and post your process and results so I'll know how to do it when I get there.

[chad67]

If you are still battling the spinning bed bolt, I like to keep old pieces of metal. broken wrenches, etc for just such an occasion. Wrenches usually break on the open end, so center the closed end on the bolt and weld it on. Then just throw it away when you get it out.

[Heirloom]

If you are still battling the spinning bed bolt, I like to keep old pieces of metal. broken wrenches, etc for just such an occasion. Wrenches usually break on the open end, so center the closed end on the bolt and weld it on. Then just throw it away when you get it out.

Great idea chad67. I had considered tacking the bolt to the bed, but that's even better. Thanks!

[chad67]

I've done it that way, too, when nothing was available. Luckily, my garage is so full of junk, I can always seem to find something I am willing to destroy if needed. I like your wheels, too. I have the slot mags in 5 lug for mine. I've like them since I was a kid, and drew them on cars when I should have been doing homework.

[Heirloom]

Luckily, my garage is so full of junk, I can always seem to find something I am willing to destroy if needed.

I don't know what you mean...I seem to have to go through the effort of looking left....or right....or down....to find something like that