If you're going to paint the truck yourself, and have never painted before, then go to the Tri City website and get a dvd on paint and bodywork. It'll break down the process.
Kustom Shop - Smokin' Gun DVD's - volumes 2, 3, 4 and 5 Get Body and paint - Bare metal to clearcoat
If you're only going to paint only one vehicle in your life, then I would have someone else do it. Painting is an investment of time and money. The money you pay someone else for labor is money you could buy a nice spraygun and compressor with.
If you do it yourself, then you'll know how well the prep has been done. Painting a vehicle is work, but the satisfaction of seeing your work everyday is worth it...if you did your homework and practised. Start on the small parts first, get your technique down...how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!
The prep is 90% of the the paint job. Laying down the paint isn't so hard. But everything you do prior to painting will show up in your paint job. Take your time. let your fingers feel the metal. what they feel will show up or not show up in the paint.
I just painted my M1009 tailgate Kustom Shop Desert Storm Tan. I wanted the paint job to last a long time, so I chose a catalyzed urethane paint. If you have painted with carc, and your truck is going to sit outside, then it will fade to the Govliquidation paint scheme we see over the years. I wanted a paint that would not fade out or chalk out - so i went with a urethane semigloss.
When I took the paint off the tailgate, I noticed areas of rust where the vehicle had been scratched in its years of service. Rust is your enemy. I took an air die-grinder and an abrasive disk and took the tailgate down to the metal. I then took out some of the dents that bothered me, and primed the tailgate with epoxy catalyzed primer. (make sure you have a great mask or air system). Epoxy primer is the recommended system over any bare metal.
I then primed over the epoxy with a polyurethane primer surfacer. This will fill all the minute scratches and repairs. I spraycan'd a contrasting guidecoat over the primer surfacer and then block sanded with 400 grit until the tailgate was smooth. if you sand through the primers to the metal, just mix up a small amount of primer surfacer and shoot the area exposed. An important thing to remember is the primer system allows the topcoat to securely bond to the metal. The primer systems have a window of recoat time and the bonding won't take place unless you follow the directions.
Then I masked off all the parts of the truck I didn't want paint on. This is followed by a wipe down with cleaner/degreaser specifically made for painting, then tack ragged for dust and painted. I did my paint job outside, under an awning I made for the purpose of blocking wind.
Military vehicles were meant to be repainted when the flatness of the finish or the effect of the camoflauge degraded. The military has expendable resources for painting. I was amazed though at how nice a group of deuces looked at 50 feet. Only walking up to the trucks did I see the real story! Overspray city.
I am painting my truck a side at a time to allow me to do the rust prevention and bodywork, which is the most time consuming part of the paint job. The inside of the tailgate was done first. The outside of the tailgate was done last with the paint break put under the area where the weatherstrip will go.
Warren
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