Bodywork on S10 Pick Up - Epoxy
 

Bodywork on S10 Pick Up - Epoxy

I finished my work over a month ago, an exhausting ordeal with a few pimples but done is done.

My neighbor tells me that epoxy pimples would mysteriously show up on boat hull repairs, makes me feel a little better. I knew going into this that I was not shooting for perfection, not on a black truck. We live in a cruel world disrespectful of private property, I already have new scratches and dents since completing the work.

Link to photo album:
S10 4x4 Pick Up pictures by kach22i - Photobucket

The kiss; an easy fix, washed with mineral spirits, pulled back some of the interior panels, took a flat bar and pushed back and forth.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...NT-S10-2-1.jpg

Cab hole; This was repaired once before, opened it up and not a lot left to work with. I took a can of spray foam and let it form a backer (despite knowing that it may absorb moisture over time). I chopped up some fiberglass strands and epoxied them, using plastic wrap and tape to defeat gravity.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0071.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0090.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0093.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0096.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0121.jpg

Micro balloons and or fillers mixed with epoxy resin have a pink hue.

The wheel wells; were started months before and then restarted, more work to finish than I expected. I already purchased some Pace rubber lips for the arches, but wanted it solid and strong to hold screws and take doors swinging open on it.

Surface bubbles from rust on the other side, sprayed Permatex behind there but that's not going to buy much time, rust never sleeps.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0074.jpg

Putty, sand, putty, sand............
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0076.jpg

Prime.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0101.jpg

Dang epoxy blisters/pimples kept coming back.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0103.jpg

Paint.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0105.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0381.jpg
Need to blend the paint line better in spring when I Zebra stripe this truck. 8)

The other side has it's own issues.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0075.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0079.jpg

Flares, cover most mistakes and imperfections...a fifty foot truck. :wink:
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0367.jpg

Bumper scrapes; were a bit larger than I thought, held them at bay this winter with some naval jelly which turned them black for a while.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0073.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0092.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0106.jpg
Used black primer and black paint, I will not bother with a blender for the paint line here.

Pre-Flare:
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0341.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0342.jpg

Flares again; Not for everyone, a nasty bit of rubber serving a purpose for which it was intended. Not so bad looking at some angles, other angles are painful to look at, a nasty bit of rubber. I'll live with it, have to, too many screws in there now.

Before flares:
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0382.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0384.jpg

After flares:
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0373.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0388.jpg

The Grill: before
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0355.jpg

Removal;
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0363.jpg

Tool handle spray rubber, chrome paint for plastics and Krylon True Blue (just because).
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0366.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0396.jpg

Grill details:
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0412.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0415.jpg

Flare Details:
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0403.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0404.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0405.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0407.jpg

You can see what I mean about not being so good looking up close and at every angle. Like the wheels need spacers now, or I need fatter tires.

Final; The new look is growing on me. Polishing compound on the new paint, rubbing compound everywhere, cleaner wax, two coats of finish wax.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...20Up/S10-1.jpg

Work/Play; every truck has to do it, although the hovercraft is pretty light.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0581.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0586.jpg

The wheels; were painted satin black. I applied a very generous layer of tire gloss on the rubber and spray painted the wheel (scrape and scuff first of course). I allowed the paint to cure a few weeks before washing the paint off the rubber. This save a lot of time over taping and it comes out better.

Another coat of Permatex rust inhibitor as a final touch behind the new work.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...p/IMGP0417.jpg

That really looks pretty darn good,George.

The only exception I would make is the blue bow tie. High performance or special editions used red bow ties.

Urban assault vehicle!

Great job on body work and painting. I know you said it was a fifty foot truck but I wish you would have used a little better flare or left them off. I always thought those generic flares looked like garage door weather stripping that someone screwed on.

The epoxy bubbles are out gassing of the chemical reaction doing repairs in the middle afternoon when temps are stable can often eliminate this as well as prevent amine blush.

It looks very mad max, I would leave the zebra stripes off this one, I think it looks fine on its own.

Looks great, I would maybe reconsider those flares; yeah, you would have to fill the holes again, but you did it once . . . .

Anyway, thanks for sharing.

Thank you drcoastline, I was thinking that the resin mixture was not fully mixed and it was still curing but the bubbles came back so quickly I was stumped.

Thanks for the comments, this truck is just about being a truck, not a show car and I appreciate the acknowledgement of that.

Why did you use fiberglass to fix the steel cab in lieu of welding in a patch panel?

My brother is the welder in the family, and I have him tagged for some work on the Porsche already.

I work with epoxy on the hovercraft and used my skills and extra supplies on the S10, because I could.

It's a sleeper.:D