Hey everyone,

Well, I've just bought a 1987 Ford F150. Got a good deal on it, $700. It has 230,000 miles on it but it is in almost immaculate condition. There are no serious problems (mechanically) with it and it's been well taken care of.

Anyway, the first thing I want to do is get rid of the fugly color scheme going on. It's a stock color scheme that was popular in the 80's and early 90's by Ford. I'd like to paint it black, or "jet black" as some people ironically refer to it as.

There isn't very much rust on it, the underbody is clear of most rust and really the worst rust spots are on the bumper and the front right quarter panel. After fixing the rust, I'd like to go ahead and do the whole paint deal on it. I have to say I have never repaired rust or painted an automobile before, but I have read a few guides for rust repair online (but nothing about repainting a vehicle yet.) I AM NOT GOING TO PAY $2,500 FOR A PAINT JOB ON A 19-YEAR OLD TRUCK, for anyone who suggests I go to a shop.

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Here are some pictures of the truck...

56k safe:


The following pictures are about 550kb in size:




Close-up of the rust on the lower right of the driver's door:




See next post for more pics...

 

Going to have a fun time taking off the retarded bumper stickers...


Close-up of the rust on the bumper:






See next post for more pics...

 

Close-up of the deep rust area by the front right wheel well:


A different angle of the same area above:


Close up of the spotted rust area by the front right wheel well:



See next post for more pics/info...

 

Close up of the rust that is about half a foot ahead of the passenger's door:



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(Sorry about all the posts, I guess there's a 4-picture limit per post.)

So, what do you guys think of the truck? I know there's a few rust spots, but I've seen F150's the same age and newer that are way worse as far as that stuff goes.

As far as painting the truck black, where exactly do I start? Do I sand everything down and then fix the rust, or fix the rust and then sand everything down? Does it really matter?

I'm just really confused on where to start regarding the repainting process.

 

ok i am a former body guy and i was the head painter for a few years so i could tell ya by looking at those pics u have alote more work then u think u do. what u have is rot not rust. if u want to fix that yourself it might not last but u can try then go ahead u need the metal cut out and new sheet metal patched in (welded) or u can go the cheap route that will crack and fiberglass it. now if u never painted a car before first off u need the right equipment spray gun large enough compressor to hold steadt pressure and water seperater. and garanteed u will have the ugliest painted truck in town. not trying to insult u but the first paint job never comes out good. its alot easier to paint a part and say wow that looks good, then paint a whole car or truck. . just take it to macco if u want a cheap paint job, it will look way better then if u do it your self and wont cost 2500. it wont be a show peice but thats not what your looking for i dont take it. i hope this helps.

 

I had an 83' f150 that the front fender rusted through just like that. I tried bondo but the rust came back. I ended up buying a new aftermarket fender from a local place called Town and Country auto body parts. I think it was $75 for a prepped and black-primered fender. That was about 10 years ago though, so prices problably have changed a little.

I'd try some fiber-glass filler on that door jam. Be sure to grind out all the rust, and spray a few coats of base primer over it before you apply the fiber-glass, or it will come back.

 

Pretty solid truck for $700. It looks like it is a 4x4. If you are planning to do it correctly then you need to cut out and weld in new body panels. My grandfather and uncles used to do body and paint work so I would have to agree with the guy that posted above. If you just grind out the rust spots and bondo it, it will eventally crack or bubble up. So you will have wasted your time and money. As for the doors I would look for rust free replacement doors because the time and money spent on trying to abate the rust may wind up costing you more than replacing the door(s). I would also buy replacement bumps. Some work you can do yourself while some will be better suited to be done by a good auto body shop. I would let them do the paint as well, because auto paint is $$$ to practice with or if you applied it wrong as well as you have to have the finish just right before the paint is applied. You bought the truck cheap enough that the money you spend on body parts, body work and paint. In other words it is not as bad as giving $3500 for the truck and finding out that it is going to cost you $2500-3000 in body work to get the truck to you want. Good luck and post some progress photos once you get started.