Time for some rust repair on the Tahoe.

[n8in8or]

You may as well make room for a 4" or larger diameter down-pipe too...............

I have some ideas for when I get up to the front end.....

 

[FellowTraveler]

Funny, i was thinking if 4” is large enough for this particular 6.5. Many of the 6.6 find better results with 5” exhaust..

Simply because the 6.6 DI fueling is far greater than the 6.5td.

 

[n8in8or]

Tonight’s fun was an hour and a half of masking. Whoo!!!

 

[ak diesel driver]

Yeah masking takes way longer than the painting. The house I'm finishing up I painted the base trim and door jambs over a hard surface floor. Took me and my brother 6-7 to mask, 15-20 minutes to spray 2 coats then about 45 minutes to demask.

 

[n8in8or]

Yeah masking takes way longer than the painting. The house I'm finishing up I painted the base trim and door jambs over a hard surface floor. Took me and my brother 6-7 to mask, 15-20 minutes to spray 2 coats then about 45 minutes to demask.

ICK.

 

[n8in8or]

Ready for tomorrow! During my lunch hour I came home and hung the plastic - turning the barn into a paint booth.



Then after work I finished prepping everything and hanging stuff from the ceiling.



I’m nervous and excited for tomorrow - it’s going to be a big step forward in the project, but I don’t have a ton of experience painting with a gun so I always worry about screwing something up.

 

[FellowTraveler]

I suspect you will get the hang of it sooner than later and in the end it will be rated "excellent too."

 

[Will L.]

You’ll be doing drier coats for the first couple layers. That will dial you in for the wet coats later.

 

[ak diesel driver]

is that stuff supposed to be sprayed with a cone or fan pattern?

 

[n8in8or]

is that stuff supposed to be sprayed with a cone or fan pattern?

I didn’t notice that in the directions. I used a fan pattern.

 

[n8in8or]

The big day is done. I started before 8am and applied the last coat at 10 pm. 3 coats of Rust Seal and 2 coats of Blacktop on areas that will get exposure to UV rays.



I started with a Harbor Freight HVLP gravity feed gun, but I struggled with this gun for 2 reasons: 1. The 1.4mm nozzle was a little small and it clogged on me a couple times. I finally had to thin the paint 20 percent to get it to flow through the gun. 2. The top paint cup kept me from getting close enough to the floor and into nooks & crannies and I couldn’t paint the whole underside.



So I went back to the store and got a siphon feed gun. This worked a TON better. The 1.7mm nozzle laid a bunch more paint down and I didn’t have to thin the paint which was a nice saver. The bottom cup allowed me to get everywhere I need to as well, which was a huge relief because I was worried that I was going to have to do a lot of hand painting to get everything coated.



I used these paint strainers.

 

[n8in8or]

Here are the results. Sure is nice seeing it all black and shiny! I have some runs and drips, which I would of course rather not have, but it is just the underside of the truck and it was tricky for me to make sure all surfaces as well as all of the nooks & crannies got coated. Now I have a nice, solid foundation to build off of. Next up: body repair.

 

[FellowTraveler]

Eastwood sells spray cans of similar product however; the also sell a extension tube and nozzle that attaches to the can to coat interior of chassis rails and other hard to get into spaces....

 

[n8in8or]

Eastwood sells spray cans of similar product however; the also sell a extension tube and nozzle that attaches to the can to coat interior of chassis rails and other hard to get into spaces....

KBS sells a cavity wax and a long tube with a special end that distributes it 360 degrees. I bought the tube from them, but I think I’m going to go with Noxudol for the actual cavity wax. This test found that the Noxudol is a pretty good product.

https://www.auson.se/sites/default/files/rusttest_noxudol_700_classic_monthly_uk_0.pdf

 

[FellowTraveler]

KBS sells a cavity wax and a long tube with a special end that distributes it 360 degrees. I bought the tube from them, but I think I’m going to go with Noxudol for the actual cavity wax. This test found that the Noxudol is a pretty good product.

https://www.auson.se/sites/default/files/rusttest_noxudol_700_classic_monthly_uk_0.pdf

Interesting product I'll check it out.

 

[ak diesel driver]

any updates Nate?

 

[n8in8or]

Sorry, I didn't get a notification for some reason. No notifications quite yet. I got the underside paint done just in time to start working on outdoor projects that needed to get done before the snow flies. I'm hoping very soon to get back to the Tahoe which will begin with starting to do the body patch panel installation.

I have been working on planning for the project during this off time. I think the scope is going to get much greater. While I'm this far along I think I'm also going to tackle these tasks:

Remove core support
Remove engine and transmission
Remove front driveline and front suspension
Sandblast the remainder of the frame and underside of the body
Paint the remainder of the frame and underside of the body
Inspect core support and replace with a southern one if necessary
Blast core support and paint
Tear down engine to short block and inspect
Install main studs
Upgrade transmission (TBD)
GMT800 spindle and brake upgrade

Those are the big things....many smaller things will be included along the way. So the project is going to take longer, but I think it's worth it. It makes sense to these tasks now since I'm this far along, rather than put the body together, paint it and then tear it back apart. Much, much more to come!

 

[btfarm]

You get the monthly(s) award for perseverance and initiative Nate...

 

[n8in8or]

You get the monthly(s) award for perseverance and initiative Nate...

Ha! Thanks, Mike! Insanity is a hard habit to break....

 

[3500GMC]

Enjoying your projects man. Share those skills, great to see.