We got a peeler!!

[Grit dog]

Not a stripper for you Canadians.....
Did a little half assed test patches sanding on the truck bed. Good news is it’s really straight save for the dings and a few actual minor dents.
Bad news is, idk how the paint stayed on this thing for 35 years.
What you’re looking at is the bedside at the pinstripe line. I tried to see how easy the pinstripe would peel off with a razor blade and it was obviously crispy and didn’t just razor off.
So I heated it up to soften and when I took the blade to it, the paint peeled right up off the original primer! Easily and clean. On cold steel it comes off in small flakes but completely. Heated up, it comes off in rolls!

Well ****....
On the upside, I won’t have to worry about the factory paint once it’s gone and it comes off pretty easy so far.
But ALL the paint needs to come off and primer...

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[Grit dog]

Pic is sideways but can see both colors peeled up and the bond broke in the primer. Backside of paint is primer colored.

And what’s up with the color of that primer? It’s literally the color of cardboard. Thought the primer was black. There’s a few peeling spots inside the bed and in the door jambs that is black primer.
Lotsa guys here with late 80s trucks. Same experience?
Figure I’m taking everything that’s exposed down to bare metal and way more prep than anticipated.

 

[Swearbody]

My red 86 gmc had the black primer. It never broke bond and made for a great looking patina.
My 84 red gmc has the tan(cardboard) like yours and the paint will flake off pretty easily.
Both trucks were originally red trucks just one has the crappy tan primer and one the black.

 

[Grit dog]

Weird. Mine has black primer inside the bed and tan outside....
I wonder how, on an assembly line it actually got 2 different primers. Be interesting to see which type is where, on the rest of the truck.
Have you repainted either of them? I’ve just read that the primer to metal bond is solid and the issue was with the top coat. But not sure I trust leaving any of that **** on there in any exposed areas.

 

[Termite_Delight]

Dam... I thought this was going to be a fun thread!

My '85 had black primer, took it down to bare metal just to make sure i didn't have problems.

 

[Craig 85]

In 1989 I had a dark blue/gray '87 K20, by 1991, the blue had started to peel exposing black primer. Due to a re-call, a lot of those trucks got repainted. Maybe it was repainted and the body shop used a different colored primer.

I know on my '85 K30 it's had a repaint years ago, but there a couple of spots starting to flake on the silver areas and it has black primer.

 

[Grit dog]

Well that may explain it.
I haven’t peeled any off the cab yet.
But there’s light blue overspray where I wouldn’t have expected it like on the sides of both fuel tank guards (like the lower panels got re-sprayed even though they “look” factory).
The flat surfaces have been sun baked and obviously rattle canned in the past but the light blue on the sides is like one thin coat of single stage (warranty repaint maybe) with the tan primer under.
although I did sand a couple spots to bare metal and looked like a hint of black primer in a couple spots.
I guess it stuck for 30 years, but it’s gotta go now....
Will figure out the mystery as I go I spose!

 

[Grit dog]

There was some strange things done on warranty presumably back then.
GF had a black 91 GMC S15 Jimmy, bought in ‘94 with almost 100k miles on it. It was spotless except the paint on the hood went dull after the first winter with it.
It should have been factory 2 stage paint but it was single stage on the hood and roof. No evidence of being repainted that I could find.
I took it to a dealer and they warrantied it, no questions asked really, and sent it out for a complete re-paint. Who knows what was in their records about it previously but if it had been previously re-painted due to an collision or something, I’d have thought they wouldn’t have warranted it so readily.
Talk about rust... at 4 years old, paint was bubbling out from under the fender flares already. Chicago....

 

[Swearbody]

Weird. Mine has black primer inside the bed and tan outside....
I wonder how, on an assembly line it actually got 2 different primers. Be interesting to see which type is where, on the rest of the truck.
Have you repainted either of them? I’ve just read that the primer to metal bond is solid and the issue was with the top coat. But not sure I trust leaving any of that **** on there in any exposed areas.

the 84(current) has the tan primer and YES it has been painted, however it was a horrible respray that was taped off(not well) and thrown over the oe paint. I have "fire engine" red over stock red over tan primer. Its a **** show

 

[Grit dog]

^Has all the paint stayed on the one with tan primer?

 

[Grit dog]

Craig and swearbody I think you guys nailed it.
I peeled some more paint off.
The color coat and the tan primer are not original.
Under the (very thin) tan primer is bare metal with black primer in low spots. Color coat is super thin too.
So almost certain truck was sanded completely down and repainted. Probably under recall/warranty I’m guessing.

On the upside, paint scrapes off pretty easy when heated up!

 

[Grit dog]

Got a bunch more scraping done. 99% of the paint peels off like peeling a potato!
I'm going to leave the tan primer on it and basically start from there. That stuff is bonded as well as any primer could be to the steel.
Gonna do a quick scuff on the cardboard colored stuff, bodywork and build primer from there.
Have a little "real" work to do. Can't kiss a gift horse in the mouth, but the only rust is in one of the worst spots, gonna test my skills to not fubar the A pillars!

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[Grit dog]

BTW, I 100% believe the cab rust is due to the install of the highly debated, lol, visor.
I like the look but that thing is NOT going back on the truck. It caused more damage than the entire rest of the truck.

 

[legopnuematic]

Best way to do the A-pillars is to find a donor piece, make sure to get at least the outer and the 1st inner layer. Patches can be made up, but there is some complexity with the shape, especially around the corners, to make it in one piece, compound curves and all. But it looks like the majority is hidden under the weather strip, so there's some room to play with. If you can I'd blast the exterior and once cut open, the interior, stuff like that rusts from the inside, so can still look great on the outside, but the inside is crusty as can be and really thin

 

[legopnuematic]

You can browse around on my 79's thread for some pictures of doing the A pillars I got my donor pieces off of an 87, they fit fine, so the year ranges are seem to stay fairly consistent.

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