I bought this 1959 F-100 a couple months ago...I have a 1960 factory 4x4 that the body is pretty toast, and for the past year or so I’ve been looking for a nice original 59 or 60 long bed pickup to use the 4x4 running gear from This truck popped up for sale over in Montana. I bought it off of 8 crappy pictures. It looked strait and I did t see any bad rot. It was also cheap enough that o figured if worse comes to worse I could part it out and get my money back. The seller called it the “ugly truck”. So Friday my wife, kids and I drive to get it. I got it home and got a good look at it. It is very strait, and has very little rot. So I was happy. At some point in its life someone primered it. They may have even painted it...as there is dark green and white paint in places. I’m thinking someone did this and then it sat in the dry climate of MT and over the decades the paint and primer slowly wore off. I started with wet sanding. Using 1200, it was slow but removed the primer. Then I tried oven cleaner. That did the trick. It softened the primer so that it basicly wiped off and a little wet sanding was required. I finished half of the truck yesterday, except a few touch up areas. I buffed it with rubbing compound and then a polish. I am amazed at how nice the original mint green paint is. The primer put over it probably saved it. Still have to do the other side, grill and back of the cab. But a fun project I thought you guys might like.
You offer great solutions to seemingly hopeless situations...so Chris after all is done will you blow in/ touch up as needed with better applied discretion or are we seeing areas you still need to work down to paint...you have a lot of patience. Old cars reach out to you....
I just really like bringing old cars to life. The paint is thin in spots...the black on the front fender is the factory primer. The paint on the bed is really thin. But, I'll just leave it how it is for the most part. The whole idea was one that didn't need any paint and body work. I like the charm old original paint has, even flawed. I just got lucky on this truck, no body work, bondo, repairs...just factory paint with spray paint over it.
Looks good Chris. 3WLarry would have said the same, and likely asked you if you also ironed your underwear.
I hope I am as fortunate as you have been, since I plan on trying to remove the black to reveal the original blue on my sedan. I have actually used chemical stripper to do this on other cars. One layer of paint at a time.
I've always liked these trucks. My dad had a 59 except it was yellow. He called it the Big Yellow Bomb. I have fond memories of that truck. I think he sold it when I was either 5 or 6. I used to play in it and climb on top of the cab. I pissed him off once because I dented the roof. I still have a visual memory of him pushing the roof back out with the palms of his hands from inside and probably cursing "@#!%". Yes when Ii see one of these trucks it really brings back good memories.
If it weren't for the progress pictures, it would have been hard to believe the paint underneath was still in such good condition. really good save, truck looks great!
When I first saw the pictures I thought great, another fake patina post. Then I red the copy and saw the next pictures, and thought GREAT, he saved the original paint. You did a nice job and it now looks awesome, it's only original once, and you saved it!
Big fan of what you're doing there Chris. To me it imparts character with a touch of class...….in an offbeat sort of way. A few years ago when I had the '39 four door I did something similar. The OE paint was maroon, but someone had done a very thorough color change to Folkstone Grey. That in turn weathered, and due to dumb storage with a plastic tarp, it had mild surface rust in places. A couple days of clean up similar to what you're doing, and just enough buffer work to bring up a mild shine and the car looked old but classy (to my eye anyway).
Looks great! I am a big fan of saving paint whether original or not especially considering what supplies cost these days to repaint something. Both of my vehicles I drive sport original paint although I still need to do a little work to finish up bringing one back as good as I can and the other has died back some after buffing it about 8 years ago now and needs some refreshing.
HAHA not really...With a 1 and 3 year old, and a wife who's a sales rep and gone a lot...I did a couple hours work on it Saturday afternoon whe new got home with it, and from about 1-4:30 on Sunday during nap time. I get most of my fiddling around during nap time or after bedtime lol
That looks really good. I love the charm original or old paint cars have. Just something about them that appeals to me...and I get not everyone thinks that way.
Well, it was a gamble for sure. I wasn't even 100% sure the April Green was original. It is a lot nicer truck then I had hoped. If it was garbage I probably would have just resold it or parted it out. They are not really worth putting too much money into
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