The Truck of Doom: An Occasional Build Thread

[Dorsai]

Um... lol

A link to a transformers video????

Gah. That's what I get for not verifying my links - that was a leftover quip regarding Gary's transformation of Big Blue. I fixed it up above, thanks for letting me know.

Speedball is a common brand of both block and screen printing supplies.

Maybe something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Speedball-Deluxe-Soft-Rubber-Brayer/dp/B003IFY622

What I intended to link to was this one: https://www.amazon.com/Speedball-4121-Deluxe-Rubber-Brayer/dp/B000BYVMFC/

Based on what Dave originally said, I was thinking the hard rubber would be the way to go...I can see the advantage of the firmness when trying to only paint the flat face of the letters. But would the soft actually work better? I have zero clue when it comes to paint and painting.

 

[ArdWrknTrk]

BTW this roller is a soft rubber type used to coat block set letters for printing.

I think they say it should be about 4" wide to cover a letter in 1 shot.

An 80 durometer roller is pretty hard and while it's good at linoleum block prints and for pressing together contact glued surfaces I think it might want to skid on steel when covered in OneShot.

The 40 durometer roller is used for inking more textured surfaces like weathered wood blocks for printing.

I thought it might work better in this application.

It's not soft like a sponge paint roller, and you don't have to use much pressure to get the ink onto your surface.

So, my admission is that I have never used a brayer in this way, but my intuition tells me that the 40 would work better with the slick sign lettering enamel.

You might go to a crafts store like Michaels or Joanne's and see if you can compare them side by side.

The best idea I can give you is that 80 is like belt leather wrapped around the wooden core while 40 is thicker crepe rubber like the sole of a hushpuppie shoe.

 

[Dorsai]

So, my admission is that I have never used a brayer in this way, but my intuition tells me that the 40 would work better with the slick sign lettering enamel.

It occurred to me this morning that I have robot wheels in different durometers. They're not exactly like paint rollers, but after playing with them for a bit I suspect your intuition is correct; the 30 felt like it would do better than the 50, especially with paint on it. The 80 would certainly be too hard. I was initially worried that softer rubber would squish down over the edges of the raised lettering, but now I don't think it will.

 

[FuzzFace2]

BTW this roller is a soft rubber type used to coat block set letters for printing.

I think they say it should be about 4" wide to cover a letter in 1 shot.

An 80 durometer roller is pretty hard and while it's good at linoleum block prints and for pressing together contact glued surfaces I think it might want to skid on steel when covered in OneShot.

The 40 durometer roller is used for inking more textured surfaces like weathered wood blocks for printing.

I thought it might work better in this application.

It's not soft like a sponge paint roller, and you don't have to use much pressure to get the ink onto your surface.

So, my admission is that I have never used a brayer in this way, but my intuition tells me that the 40 would work better with the slick sign lettering enamel.

You might go to a crafts store like Michaels or Joanne's and see if you can compare them side by side.

The best idea I can give you is that 80 is like belt leather wrapped around the wooden core while 40 is thicker crepe rubber like the sole of a hushpuppie shoe.

When I went looking for a roller the ones I found I also thought they were too hard and why I did not get one.

As for the rubber being too soft and paint going down over the edges of the letters the paint will do this on its own from what I had seen in posts.

BTW the posts are in the older truck area if you want to search for them.

Dave ----

 

[Dorsai]

So, my admission is that I have never used a brayer in this way, but my intuition tells me that the 40 would work better with the slick sign lettering enamel.

It occurred to me this morning that I have robot wheels in different durometers. They're not exactly like paint rollers, but after playing with them for a bit I suspect your intuition is correct; the 30 felt like it would do better than the 50, especially with paint on it. The 80 would certainly be too hard. I was initially worried that softer rubber would squish down over the edges of the raised lettering, but now I don't think it will.

Thanks to a busy day at work today I only had a little while to work on the truck, but I did get the heat barrier down:

I had originally planned to just put it on the passenger side over the catalytic converter, but then it occurred to me that I could put it on the driver side as well as an extra bit of sound dampening. So now it's on both sides, held down with gaffer tape.

Also, all things come to those who wait:

I'm very pleased that it's an exact match in both pattern and color to what came with the truck. It's got a couple of minor blemishes, but for something that's likely been sitting in a warehouse somewhere for decades it's pretty darn good. Hopefully by the end of the week the seat will be at the upholstery shop.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Thanks to a busy day at work today I only had a little while to work on the truck, but I did get the heat barrier down:

I had originally planned to just put it on the passenger side over the catalytic converter, but then it occurred to me that I could put it on the driver side as well as an extra bit of sound dampening. So now it's on both sides, held down with gaffer tape.

Also, all things come to those who wait:

I'm very pleased that it's an exact match in both pattern and color to what came with the truck. It's got a couple of minor blemishes, but for something that's likely been sitting in a warehouse somewhere for decades it's pretty darn good. Hopefully by the end of the week the seat will be at the upholstery shop.

Wow that's beautiful.

I hope your upholsterer does it justice.

Matthew, for someone who doesn't have time to work on their truck you are making a lot of progress.

It is looking great!

 

[Dorsai]

Matthew, for someone who doesn't have time to work on their truck you are making a lot of progress.

It is looking great!

Heh, thanks. I really don't have a lot of time between work and school, but right now I have a burst of motivation so I'm making the most of it. Besides, aside from the emergency repair back in January(?) when the squirrels ate the fuel line, it's been nearly two years since I've done much to the truck aside from drive it.

If I'm going to make it to Gary's shindig in September, though, there's a lot more I want to do before hitting the road - new U-joints, transmission fluid change, rear diff oil change (it's possible that's still the factory oil in there), engine oil change, coolant change, carb cleaning/rebuild, new plugs/wires/cap/rotor, new speedo cable...and probably more I'm not remembering at the moment. This thread may be busy the next few months.

[Gary Lewis]

Matthew, for someone who doesn't have time to work on their truck you are making a lot of progress.

It is looking great!

Heh, thanks. I really don't have a lot of time between work and school, but right now I have a burst of motivation so I'm making the most of it. Besides, aside from the emergency repair back in January(?) when the squirrels ate the fuel line, it's been nearly two years since I've done much to the truck aside from drive it.

If I'm going to make it to Gary's shindig in September, though, there's a lot more I want to do before hitting the road - new U-joints, transmission fluid change, rear diff oil change (it's possible that's still the factory oil in there), engine oil change, coolant change, carb cleaning/rebuild, new plugs/wires/cap/rotor, new speedo cable...and probably more I'm not remembering at the moment. This thread may be busy the next few months.

I sure hope you get to make it this year. And there's over three months to get the truck ready.

That upholstery looks great. I love using original fabrics.

[Dorsai]

I sure hope you get to make it this year. And there's over three months to get the truck ready.

I do too...and I'm optimistic I will. The show is near the beginning of my final semester in the program, and I only have one class to take. Barring something truly weird going on with scheduling, I should be able to take a week off to come out.

That upholstery looks great. I love using original fabrics.

It really does, I'm very happy with it. I'm a fan of original materials as well, and in this case I really don't have a choice; much like the pinstriping, the truck would never look right to me with a plain red seat. It would be one thing if the original material weren't available, then I'd get it redone with regular vinyl and put a saddle blanket over it. But with the right material out there, well, I've got to go with it.

[Dorsai]

I sure hope you get to make it this year. And there's over three months to get the truck ready.

I do too...and I'm optimistic I will. The show is near the beginning of my final semester in the program, and I only have one class to take. Barring something truly weird going on with scheduling, I should be able to take a week off to come out.

That upholstery looks great. I love using original fabrics.

It really does, I'm very happy with it. I'm a fan of original materials as well, and in this case I really don't have a choice; much like the pinstriping, the truck would never look right to me with a plain red seat. It would be one thing if the original material weren't available, then I'd get it redone with regular vinyl and put a saddle blanket over it. But with the right material out there, well, I've got to go with it.

As I mentioned over on the WHYDTYTT thread, I dropped my tired old seat off at the upholstery shop today, supposedly to be finished some time next week. I'd like to be able to bolt it back in as soon as I get it home, so that means the clock is ticking on the rest of the interior work.

With the GTmat and heat barrier down previously, it's time to get the jute in:

That stuff is surprisingly difficult to wrangle into place; it doesn't want to stay put, hence all the tape. Also, I didn't like how much thickness it added to the floor under the gas pedal; I know it will compress somewhat once the vinyl floor is down, but I don't know how much...and when you're sitting behind a 300, every millimeter of pedal travel counts. So I cut away the jute beneath the pedal; if this is a really bad idea, feel free to let me know.

Once the jute was down, I decided to put the flooring in the cabin just to give it a chance to flatten out and conform before doing the proper install:

Or...maybe not. That flooring has to be big enough to cover a supercab. I know the instructions say not to lay it out in the sun, but that's what's going to have to happen if I'm ever going to get it properly positioned.