Painting the C10

[SuperBuickGuy]

LMC Truck has everything you'll need .

for a price... man are they spendy.

I bet if you color sand the truck then buff it most of those waves will go away

I like your Blazer

[yellomalibu]

I looked in my LMC catalog and online, and I didn't see the window fuzzies that clipped to the door.. The window channel weatherstrip, yes - but not the outer bottom piece. I did, however, see it on JC Whitney - but I worry about the fitment and quality... the comments were 50/50 good and bad - and were comments for fuzzies for all trucks, not just c10's... so I hesitate.

The new wnidshield, installed with new rubber gasket was just over $200, installed.
Still needed to buy:
Mirrors (the truck style, rather than the car style this truck came with)
Window fuzzies and window channel weatherstrip
Spray paint and primer for grill and headlight bezels.
Spray paint for jams, edge of hood, inside gas filler doors.
Carpet
Bedliner, bed rail caps, tailgate protector.

Oh yeah, and it still needs a clutch.

Geeze, I may have to sell the Blazer first, before buying some of that stuff.

If anyone here wants to buy that 2wd Blazer, shoot me a pm... The rear end sings (even with Lucas) but will probably still drive just about anywhere. It has been my DD for 7 years or so.

*edit* LMC's shipping is my biggest beef with them. That's what's really spendy.

*edit 2* I won't be color sanding. I don't know how thick the paint is, and will keep every micron of paint thickness on the truck for longevity of the paint job. It is what it is - and I'm pretty tickled with how it came out, honestly. The wavy driver's door... eh. If the truck was perfect ... I think back to your story about the mall parking lot. That's one of the reasons I stopped short of perfection. (that and laziness mixed with a touch of impatience to get it "done")

[langleylad]

I purchased the complete window channel kit ( both doors ) it came with the fuzzies included . I agree LMC's shipping costs were high . My day job is as a shipper/receiver so I know what cost to ship goods .

[squirrel]

I bet if you color sand the truck then buff it most of those waves will go away

I think it's probably a little bit late for that....all that making the paint shinier will do is let you see the waves better.

[yellomalibu]

How long should I wait until it gets it's first coat of wax? A couple friends locally suggested I wait several weeks to let the paint finish breathing or outgassing or whatever it does.

I just got off LMC's website, ordered $200 worth of stuff. Window channel weatherstrip, door weatherstrip, outer window fuzzies, clips to hold the outer grill molding on, tailgate cap... the shipping was $27. I had the bed rail guards on the order, but for $70 plus the extra $20 for oversized - I figured I check the local places first. I could really go nuts buying stuff for this truck if I don't watch myself.

Also looked up the Duplicolor part number for the "light blue metallic" - so I can finish jamming the doors, gas tank doors, and edge of the hood. I'll get my buddy at the parts store to order that for me.

I think I'll wait to order the carpet, radio, speakers and other non-essential* stuff until after the Blazer is sold so I don't abuse the credit card too much.

[bnjny]

Wait a few weeks... I like to wait 2-3 weeks...

Looks good!

[langleylad]

credit card abuse ..................... I can relate to that !

[yellomalibu]

I spent about 10 hours on Saturday putting it back together.

I started off buying a pair of the stainless mirrors like those on the Blazer, and then drilling 6 holes in my doors to mount them. They come with the plastic anchors that snap in, so I had to drill large holes... man that hurt. I used some oil based caulk to seal up the raw metal and the old car-style mirror holes to keep water out. The plastic "gasket" covers all that stuff up, so it doesn't show.

Then I painted the step bumper silver (plastikote steel wheels) and installed it. It looks SO much better silver than it did black. It's a bit scary installing bumpers by yourself when you have shiny new paint to scratch... but I did it without a scratch.

I also painted the grill and headlight bezels with the same steel wheels paint . I cleaned them thoroughly with degreaser, then with bleach, just to be sure. Then hit them with etching primer, followed by paint... then clear. So far, so good. No fisheyes or cracking. Only thing I'm not crazy about is how the Plastikote Steel Wheels paint tends to build... it's "fuzzy" in a few places. *shrug* it's not a show truck, and the color looks about right.

I spent about a half hour with 1000 grit and mineral spirits getting old overspray off the stainless trim above and below the grille... the fine scratches are barely noticeable, and look way better than the pitted / painted look they had.

Then the front bumper. I taped cardboard to the sides of the front fenders to protect the paint, which worked - because I did bump it a time or two. I removed the old air damn (because it was mangled by the p/o towing with a chain) and ended up having to remove the outer braces to get it on, then reinstalled them. 28 year old bumper bolts, and they came off with only a little help from a breaker bar.

It's really coming together. No pics yet. I finished up around midnight.

Externally, it still needs:
the outer grill trim (waiting on clips from LMC)
the locks installed (waiting on gaskets - which I'll probably make out of a bicycle inner tube)
and the drip rails ( I'll probably use the same inner tube to make a gasket under them as well- and I need some screws - there were several missing )
...and the window channel, fuzzies, and door to body weatherstrip.
...and to paint the jams, gas filler door openings, edge of the hood. Advance Discount Auto had the "light blue metallic" in stock... it's close enough - for jams.

[yellomalibu]

The outer grill trim clips in the catalog weren't what I needed - so since there are two on each side, I borrowed one from each side of the Blazer. Done.

Installed the locks, turns out the gaskets were still stuck to them. I just cleaned them up with some fine sandpaper and they look fine... like brushed stainless instead of polished.

I painted the driver's door and jamb, installed the window channel, door to body rubber, and outer window fuzzy... man, what a difference! The door now requires a very firm closing, and doesn't rattle at all... and the Duplicolor paint looks pretty good. Not shiny, but it's the inside of a door.

I ran out to the junk yard (mostly just to drive the truck) and gave the guy my old windshield. He says they don't move too fast - but for free, it doesn't have to.
I also broke out the grinder with a twisted wire wheel and cleaned up the junkyard sway bar I picked up a couple months ago, primed it with etching primer, then hit it with two coats of satin Krylon. The bushings weren't too bad, so I reused them for now. The truck never had a sway bar, so I used 3/8 bolts to hold the brackets to the frame where the factory used rivets.

I also did the radiator swap... The radiator in the C10 looks like it may be original - a half clogged, short, skinny 2 row that leaked. Since I'll be using the truck for work (towing) I took the big "350 w/ ac" radiator out of the Blazer and put the "spare" 305 radiator back into it. When not towing with the Blazer, the shorter radiator does just fine. (I changed the radiator in the Blazer 6 or so years ago, but didn't upgrade to the big one until a couple years ago... I kept the older "new" one for some reason - glad I did).

I also added a can of 134 to the C10 - it wasn't blowing very cold and the compressor was cycling...

I cleaned up the drip rails and bought new stainless screws for them, but haven't put them on yet.

I also found the clink clink that was coming from the back of the truck, and it wasn't the spring eyes - yay! The passenger side shock was loose on top. Turns out, there is a chunk of frame missing and a couple cracks radiating from it a couple inches - boo! I temporarily used a washer to secure the top of the shock, but will be taking the truck to my welder soon... on the bright side: at least the shocks are in good working order; it was a bear getting it compressed to put it back on the shock bolt.

...and I moved my mom into a new apartment on Saturday. Productive weekend.

Yeah, I suck - because I know a thread like this needs photos - and I'm bad about taking pics and/or uploading them when I do.

[wchristian]

Not quite sure about how you are going to be able to achieve to get the best out of it but at least being able to seal a few spots just to make it all go well, it would be something that you could totally use to your advantage.

Just hope that it would be a great way for you to start with your own painting adventures. Cem Stripper would be a good bet if you want to try things out.

[yellomalibu]

Thanks w, I did end up using stripper on some parts; like the cowl panel and the letters on the tail gate... I also used it on the roof, because the razor blade that worked so well on the hood didn't work on the roof.