I don't believe it would work well on an unpainted surface. It would look fine at first, but as soon as it started pitting, it would be really noticeable. I think it might have its limitations. Not to mention it isn't the cheapest thing in the world.

Mercy Buckets.

 

That's right you're painting the visor and grill. Excuse my brain fart. :lol:

 

Brain fart excused. :wink: While I was at the body shop today, I asked how long the clear vinyl will last and if it will discolor. I was told that they have used it on trucks over 3 years ago and it is still lasting. There was one truck in the shop for a fender replacement that had the clear vinyl over the front of his rear fenders, and his was done over 2 years ago, and it still looked good. They said that even after that long, that they pulled the clear off and the paint was perfect underneath.

The sheet metal is all replaced on the hood. All badges have been eliminated. All excess holes have been filled. The mechanical sanding is done. Tomorrow the hand sanding begins (they insist on hand sanding their trucks, and from the work of theirs I have seen, I believe it makes a difference). The front fenders, rear fenders and lower cab panels won't be installed until after paint, which will be later this week. They have warned me that we will be into next week Monday or Tuesday now, as reassembly won't begin until Saturday at the earliest. I am going to order the material needed to make my deck plate tomorrow, and at the same time I will price the materials needed to make a set of straight pipes.

Since I am eliminating the steps behind the sleeper, I made a last minute decision to also eliminate the chrome pull handles from the back of the sleeper. I think it will give it a better look. I'm still torn as to whether or not I should name this truck, and have that name put on the back of the sleeper.

The graphics shop made some mock ups of the truck with lettering. I really like the final paint scheme. The fenders will be black, but the headlight buckets will be cream. The "fins" on top of the headlight buckets that house the turn signals will be black. I told him to surprise me on the front ring on the headlight, because I couldn't decide. The hood will be cream. The grill surround will be cream, and the louver grill will be unpainted. The center rib down the hood will be black, and the custom hood pull will be black. The body panels below the sleeper and cab will be black. The body of the truck will be cream, up to the roof line. The roof of the cab and sleeper will be black. The center raised portion of the sleeper will be cream (it is currently blue). The visor will be black, along with the mirrors and mirror brackets. Eventually, the tanks will be black, as well as the steps. The exhaust pipes will also be black (probably powdercoated). Some time in the future, I'd like to get the wing powdercoated black as well.







Sorry the update pics are kinda boring. I was expecting a more dramatic change than there was.

BTW: Anyone have some suggestions on a good place in the Wisconsin area to get my tanks, wheels, and steps polished? They are in dire need of it, and I think now is the best time to do it.

 

Damit boy, it is going to be sweet when finished, thanks for the info on the vinyl, I believe that is what I will have installed on the fenders. Can't wait to see the finish product.

 

Rev,

Jim Piontek Trucking in GB has a CNC machine they use to refinish wheels. I know he also does some polishing. Try giving him a call. I know you have seen Jim's trucks on the road - decked out red 379s hauling reefers. VERY CLEAN and Jim insists on it. He would make sure it is done right.

 

I'll look into them, thanks.


So today I have been attempting to solve some of the issues I've created for myself.

1. Removal of carpet making the cab too loud: I purchased a material called "Roadkill" at a car audio store. It is a dense rubber material with a foil backing. They use it to keep sound in the car, but I will be using it to keep sound out of the truck. It is adhesive backed, and very sticky. The foil should also keep some of the heat from the transmission out of the cab. Total cost = $84.

2. Deck Plate: Since I decided to eliminate the tool box on the back of my truck, I have been trying to figure out what to do for a deck plate. I looked into having one custom made, but it would have run me about $500. :shock: Luckily, I found one on sale on the 4 State Truck website. It is a bit shorter than I wanted (4', as opposed to the 5' that I wanted), but at $120 plus $45 shipping, I couldn't pass it up. It should be here first thing next week. In the meantime, I will attempt to design a air hose/power cable box out of the scrap sheet metal left over from the side skirts. I should have enough to fabricate something that works, and have a family member who can cut, bend, and weld it for me.

3. Exhaust pipes: I'm not having much luck so far. Every metal fabrication place I've called or visited can't bend pipe that large. The largest diameter that I've been able to find so far that they could do was 4.5" OD. I need at least 6" OD, and would prefer 7" OD. I've got one more lead that I'm going to look into this afternoon, but at this point I'm not holding my breath.

 

Rev,

I just saw an ad for a place in Pulaski that polishes chrome it is called
32 chrome.com They also fabricate and powercoat.

 

AWESOME! THANKS!

 

There is also a place in Pulaski called either Red Hat or Red Tie that does polishing as well.

 

WTF? All this stuff that is mere minutes from me and I never knew about it? :shock: