prepping inside of bed walls for paint?

[rderr]

How do you guys prep the underside of the bed between the outer shell and the inner bed wall for paint? I am having a devil of a time reaching all the way inside between the outer shell and the inner wall of the bed. There is some scale and surface rust in there that I would like ot know has been removed prior to priming and paint. I am hoping someone has a slick (no pun intended) trick to reach in there with sand paper, wire wheel or other device.

Thanks,
Rick

[bruceandersson]

Drill out the 973 spot welds to separate each piece, treat and reassemble - just a quick weekend project.

Actually it would depend on what your goal is. If you are using POR or RustSeal, just knock off any loose material. If you are going to paint with auto paint, you'd be best off using a blaster.

[rderr]

973 spot welds UGH!!! I have come to hate spot welds over the years. I am concerned that sand blasting would warp the bed side panels. Not to mention the absolute horrid cloud of sand dust and debris. I am painting the under carriage and underside of the cab and bed with implement paint. I am not concerned about how it looks up in there but I do want what primer and paint I do apply to adhere. An acess panel cut into the inside of the bed would work albeit more work involved. My drill with a 2" wire wheel seems to work well however, I just cant reach it all the way in there.

[longcabjohn]

I took wire brush and added about 2' to the handle (piece of broom handle and screws) had bed upside down and worked mostly from wheel area.


Johnny

[tomrooster]

I took a rusty metal primer and put a brush on a small stick for the hard to reach areas then a small foam roller for the easier areas . When putting the finish on I more or less did the same and it's holding up fine. Tom

[Bill W]

Nice Job Tom! i would seal it up with POR 15 and be done with it...

[Truckrat]

Beautiful work Tom. Looks like you could eat off it.
Believe me I know how much work that is, too.
Lots of hard to reach places inside and under a bed for sure.
I believe I would have the bed off the truck to do all this.
At least you can position it how you need it without becoming
a contortionist and makes reaching the tight spots that much
easier in the long run. Making those ''Special'' tools out of broom handles
and such to get it done goes along with it. Make sure to try and
blow dust out of all those places and wipe them down as best you can.
Really sucks trying to top coat areas when dust blows out on fresh paint.
Makes me want to holler and say bad words.
One other thing when you begin your paint process. As tough as those
little hard to reach places are to sand, they are equally hard to paint.
Before you begin a full on top coat, beg, borrow, or buy a detail gun for smaller
areas so you can get the ''problem'' areas shot first. Then keep the air turned
way down low at the gun, but enough to get coverage.
After you get all the cubby holes and such covered let them tack up good before you start laying down coats.
And, you don't have to paint the entire thing at one time. I would do the bottom first,
let it dry for a day or two, mask it off and then do the inside.
The exterior would be last with all the rest covered up.
The Reason: overspray gets on everything that is not protected, period!
Good luck on your project and post pictures. We all like to see how it came out. TR

[White97]

I used Raptor bed liner and sprayed it way up in those hard to reach areas. I used various wire brushes and sanding pads to knock the loose stuff off. I used some por-15 on the seams, then scuffed up the por-15, then sprayed the liner. Real happy with the results.

[tomrooster]

This is what between the outer shell and the inner bed wall look like today. I didn't clean it ever and it's been over 2 years. Tom