Interior restoration project, cleaning and painting

[couchcuts]

HI, I am new to this site but already love it. I have a few interior questions.

First of all, I have a 1970 F100 custom. I want to slowly ( as I can afford it ) fix up the interior.

My list includes

clean as much grime, dirt and rust out as possible, re-upholster the bench seat, re-paint the door panels, replace vinyl arm rests, paint the steering wheel & column assembly flat black, and touch up paint in the interior.


I was going to also cover the whole cab floor with black carpet or rubber mat, right now it is the kind that does not extend under the bench seat.

( althought the old lightning bolt is growing on me, it would be a shame to cover it up )



What paint and primer should I use for the interior? for the steering column? door panels? Should I spray or brush to touch up areas?

Any best practices or tips & tools for cleaning and painting you can convey would be greatly appreciated.


It needs to be my daily driver so I cannot afford to take everything appart and re-paint everything but I do want to touch up some areas. As you can see from the photos below it is mostly just minor rust stains scrathes etc. I just want to clean up to interior without going overboard.

cheers

[CTGuide]

Hi ChouchCuts,

I too have undertook some interior work, although I went through much more trouble than it sounds like you are willing to do. If you are looking to completely paint everything I have written an article on what all to remove on my blog. http://classictruckguide.com/2011/1972- ... for-paint/

Personally I would go find a cheap airbrush if it's just for touchup paint. I think you ought to be able to find a single stage paint that you can just apply, let cure and buff to a shine. Whomever your supplier is, they ought to be-able to match the paint code you get from the truck. with an airbrush you can keep your spray pattern to a small area like 2 inches. Get an airbrush that has the option to set a stop so it limits your spread to 2 inches or less. Then tape off all things you don't want painted in the area and go to town.

All rust will need to be sanded down until you don't see rust any more and then treated. You can probably get away with sanding smooth and using that rust converter that changes rust to a primer if you want to cut a corner here.

As far as installing carpet you can see my method here: http://classictruckguide.com/2011/1972- ... tallation/

I would just purchase new door panels from LMCtruck or someone else. LMC also sells a sweet overhead liner made of ABS plastic that can be painted with a special paint to suite your needs. The Headliner has four speakers and a spot to put a newer radio so you can leave your original dash intact.

I haven't done my seats or panels yet, but I'm looking to get it done in the near future. I want to try to fit it with some newer 2005+ leather bucket seats and have the panels covered in a matching vinyl or leather.

[jimmy828]

for the steering colume, door panels,dash bezel,radio bezel and other small parts i used rustoleum professional paints and primers. I find it to be a durable product. When i get ready to paint the main cab interior,i will use standard automotive paint Unlike you, not being able to take your interior apart, i took it all out just so i could better prep the parts a lot better. Cleaning, sanding, repairing any small dents was so much easier. I don't have to drive mine due to having 2 more rides and not in a big hurry to get it on the road. The route that you will take on upgrading the interior will be a great improvement, just be ready to do some major prepping. Good luck

[MadMatt]

Wire brush and rustoleum works wonders and the vinal paint works great too. Comet [censored] spray cleaner and toothbrush and dawn dishsoap mix works great for cleaning original sunvisors!!!!!!! Sunvisor center holder mount cleans up good after soaking in clorox in a cup for few hours. Armourall cleans up weather stripping and other rubber stuff too.

[couchcuts]

great, looks like I have my work cut out for me. It is the good kind of work though.

I think I will get an airbrush for the interior paint. This way I can prep and mask certain areas at a time

One other thing, is there a good way to fill in the dents an deep gouges


Also "that rust converter that changes rust to a primer" sounds interesting...

Is that type of paint the coverts rust into primer a single stage paint that should look for?

thanks again for the tips, we will see how i do.

[CTGuide]

Yeah,

The Rust converter is just a single stage paint you can usually find in a rattle can, I think NAPA even sells that stuff. once you spray a few coats of rust converter on, sand it smooth and you can either use primer over that or just go right for the painting. Most of the rust converters are red or black so I usually primer over the top of it with a gray or something so it is not as difficult to cover up with the expensive paint. since you have a light interior color i would recommend priming over the top of the converter.

You can get really cheap airbrushes at harbor freight by the way, if you feel like getting something with a bit more quality go with a Badger anthem airbrush, and if you want insane quality go with an Iwata airbrush. The cheap harbor freight ones can be a bit of a pain if your paint is thick. They really don't work well with water based paints.

Good Luck!

[70_F100]

Keep in mind that flat black is probably not the ideal choice for your steering wheel.

It won't take long for it to get "polished" from sliding your hands on it, and it will then be at least a semi-gloss (most likely gloss...).

[basshound71]

Just got my interior almost done paint wise. I used rustoleum rattle can, lots of tape and newspaper. My truck is fiesta tan and I found a tan that was really close in color to it. Eventually I would like to blow it appart and redo the entire truck but for now this made a wonderful improvement.

[couchcuts]

Thanks for all of your tips and suggestions. I have started a project page and posted some results of my first painting and cleaning project.

http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... 66#p593966

cheers