The project continues with the initial cleanup and evaluation. I brought home a 3,800 PSI pressure washer and spent last weekend degreasing and blasting off the mud and rust from underneath.
I got whatever undercoating was on the inner fenders, front and rear and spent hours with degreaser, scrapers and toothbrushes detail cleaning everything underneath. I put a solid 14 hrs into it. I told my wife - "they don't show you this part of the project on the hot-rod build TV shows." (notice the brand new radials- I installed a new interstate battery too- both were cooked from sitting too long at her last home):
On Sunday I decided to finally go after that terrible farm bumper hanging off the hind end. What an eyesore.
Two days of soaking it with PB Blaster finally allowed me to get the bolts off with an impact gun. Then I noticed some idiot had welded it on as well. Whoever did it wasn't much of fabricator as far as looks but he was a hell of a good welder. There was a good bead on the three sides of the bracket.
It took two grinding wheels, an hour or so, a gallon or so of drinking water (it was 100 degrees with the humidity) and one ruined t-shirt (full of holes now from sparks) to get it off but it came off. I think the truck looks 100% better now even without a rear bumper. The plan is to get a factory chrome one on there. I'll have to get the brackets, tag set and everything since all the stuff I cut off was homemade. Since that'll be $$$, I'll just hang the tag underneath ghetto style while the bumper goes on the wish list.
After a good bath the white came out pretty nice and the blue brightened up.
I'm tempted now to rush the replacement of the rockers and cab corners IF and ONLY IF my painter can match the patina of the rest of the white. (Note the black sky in the background- I was racing against summer thunderstorms every afternoon)
I found a bit more rust with the pressure washer. Some minor holes in the bed around the wheel wells at the bed floor. Maybe another one or two in the cab corners and rockers but I was working the metal deliberately hard with the pressure washer to see how bad things were. Still not bad.