Air brush touch-up?

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Rockrz
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Air brush touch-up?

Post by Rockrz »

Well, my new (2003 model) truck came with the hard plastic incert in the bed of the truck and once I got it out, I found there are about 20 to 25 places that have had the paint rubbed off.

I used to paint in a machine shop years ago so I can spray a little.

So, I got the bright idea (after seeing a local Chevy dealer's estimate to paint the inside of the bed) that I should buy me an automotive air brush paint kit and touch this up myself.

Anybody ever do this on their truck?
If so, where did you get the paint, and where can I find out exactly what the paint code is on my truck?
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Post by 04crewvt »

Why paint? either go with a spray in bed liner or if you feel adventurous buy a kit and DIY. If you really want to paint it it will be next to impossible to do at home to match factory, between base coat topcoat and clearcoat you have a lot of ways to mess things up. Your best bet if you want to try the paint route is to look up in your phone book for a automotive specialty paint store and check if they have a paint analyzer, the original color on the truck is bound to have changed color a little so of you get the factory color it might not match. The hard part in some places is to get them to sell you the paint, it is very toxic and in many places it is illegal to sell to non professionals.
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Post by 04crewvt »

If you are looking for the color codes they are in the glove box on the RPO list if you look Here you will see the photo of a typical lable at the bottom you will see the BC/CC and next to it near the middle of the lable will be the paint code (in this case U 382 E)
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Post by HenryJ »

An air brush is too small. You would be looking for a touch up gun. I bought mine years ago and paid about $100 for it used. They are not cheap.

I would suggest having it painted. Not doing it yourself. New paints are catalyzed and more dangerous than you know.

Isocyanates are in the catalyzed paints. They require the use of a fresh air breathing apparatus. Filters will not work. Isocyantes build up in the blood stream and your body has no way of getting rid of them. Over time they build up to a point where you can have an allergic reaction. Over the years I shot pallet loads of paint. My last paint job cost more than I expected. I thought I just had a little cold coming on. At five o'clock in the morning, I stopped breathing. The next eight hours were spent in ER bringing me back. It took years to regain lung capacity. I had 70% lung capacity two years later.

Isocynates can also be released from wiring insulation when soldering. Be careful.

That paint job was on my own 3/4 ton Chevy 4x4. That was the most expensive paint job I ever did , and it was my last. Sadly it was before I painted the HenryJ and I had to find someone who was capable of completing my vision.

Long story short: Be careful if you have not been painting for a while. Things change rapidly. It is not like riding a bike. It takes practice and keeping up with the technology.

BTW, BC/CC means Base Coat / Clear Coat

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Post by Rockrz »

Well, I'm planning on getting a hard bed cover so the touchup in side the bed doesn't have to be perfect. (I'll have the hard cover prepped and painted professionally mainly cause I want it to look as good as the top of the truck's original factory paint.)

I'm going to have the spray in bed liner done professionally, but I'm only going to do the bottom floor as I'd rather leave the sides stock white.

The main thing I want to fix is the very top OUTSIDE of the tailgate that got scratched by the bed liner that hung over the outside a little.

I asked the dealer how much to paint just the outside of the tailgate and they wanted $250 just for that!

Sure, I don't mind blowing some bucks on this truck as I plan on keeping it for years and years, but that's kinda steep.

I figure If I screwed it up, I can always go have someone paint it professionally if I had to.

I'll need to find someone in an automotive paint store that can set me up with the right mixture.

They should be able to mix everything I need except the top clear coat) into a quart so all I have to do it put it in my air brush bottle.
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Post by Rockrz »

04crewvt wrote:If you are looking for the color codes they are in the glove box on the RPO list if you look Here you will see the photo of a typical lable at the bottom you will see the BC/CC and next to it near the middle of the lable will be the paint code (in this case U 382 E)
Great, thanx.

Now, I just need to tote that info down to the local automotive paint store and see if they can help with the technical stuff.
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Post by HenryJ »

$250 is about the going rate for a single panel. Not too bad IMO.
That will include blending it and clear coating the whole panel.
Matching color, blending and creating a seeming single color on a BC/CC paint job is not as easy as it might seem.
Jim will probably pop in and say it is easy, but his skill is more than He will admit to , I am sure.

You could tape a line and paint it. On a tailgate it would not be too obvious. Might even just look like a wrap over protector.

BTW, take your truck in too. The paint store will need to fade the paint to match. The codes will get the original paint mix, but it has faded due to UV exposure since that time. Usually you shoot a few test panels to make the match and fade it as needed to make a good match.

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Post by Rockrz »

HenryJ wrote:You could tape a line and paint it. On a tailgate it would not be too obvious
That's what I was thinking since it's just a small scratched line on the very top of the tailgate where the plastic over hang was touching.

The paint on the truck is perfect, so I wouldn't be supprised if the previous owner kept it in the garage.

I only need to paint this small area so I doubt anyone will be able to tell.
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Post by HenryJ »

An old trick for touch ups on rock dings was to use the torn end of a match from a book of matches. The perfect brush.

"Speed doesn't kill, suddenly becoming stationary does." - Richard Hammond
"Speed is just a matter of Money - How fast do YOU want to go?"-Mechanic from Mad Max-
If at first you don't succeed - Don't take up Skydiving!
- ThunderII KE7CSK