Painting box interior

[Northbound]

Without being able to see original finish on box interior, I want to say that I seem to recall seeing original box interiors from that era that were satin or flat, and not the same gloss as the exterior paint. Anyone have any info on this?

Also, when painting the box interior ... single stage or base/clear? One might ask the same questions of underhood/ engine compartment.

tks

[72c20customcamper]

I believe the lower gloss was from misting the bed instead of a full coat of paint .

The choice of single or BC/CC is totally up to you . I used single stage on my stepper because I wanted more of an original orange peel and gloss level look . Now if your going with a solid color you can cut and buff and it will be show quality . But I wasn’t going for a show truck just real nice driver that I could take to a show .

[special-K]

All body color is same paint everywhere. I can still see how shiny and perfect (even scratch-free) the bed was on the '72 I bought off the OK Used Car lot in '73. I've had a lot of original paint trucks with paint in various condition, including shiny as new. Many trucks carried caps/camper/canopies from new and the paint in the bed will be shinier than exterior

[mr.mud1]

you didn't say whether you have a wood floor box or steel floor but it wouldn't matter.they didn't paint the floor with anything different than the rest of the truck.base clear wasn't around but certainly do it now if that's what you want,but as Mark said,if you want something like the original gloss and finish,you need to use the old fashioned paint.i just had my truck painted,left the wood floor alone with the original paint but painted everything else with single stage urethane.under the hood,everything on my truck is semi-gloss black.as far as i know,underhood stuff was never gloss black.

[Northbound]

That box looks nice. I also intend to paint the wood (yes, wood bed) like that as that was originally what was on it ('71 GMC custom camper). I'm kind of leaning to BC/CC for exterior since I don't really have great paint facilities and the chances of getting a dust free finish are virtually nil.I think the medium olive original color (which I'm leaning towards using) is metallic and can't really be sanded out and buffed if there are flaws; inside the box - not as critical.

BTW does anyone have the color code for medium olive for the '71? The build sheet says "504 med olive" but I think that is an option code, not a color code ...?

[mr.mud1]

Originally Posted by Northbound

That box looks nice. I also intend to paint the wood (yes, wood bed) like that as that was originally what was on it ('71 GMC custom camper). I'm kind of leaning to BC/CC for exterior since I don't really have great paint facilities and the chances of getting a dust free finish are virtually nil.I think the medium olive original color (which I'm leaning towards using) is metallic and can't really be sanded out and buffed if there are flaws; inside the box - not as critical.

BTW does anyone have the color code for medium olive for the '71? The build sheet says "504 med olive" but I think that is an option code, not a color code ...?

on my 72 truck,on the build sheet and on the spid/glove box door says medium olive/white #465.when i went to the paint store,gave them 465,the formula to make the medium olive came up on the screen along with the white.one stop shopping.you're correct,the olive is metallic.take care.Greg

[72c20customcamper]

I oiled the bed .I just couldn’t cover up the white oak and the fact that I made the boards from ruff sawn .

But if done right even heavy metallics can be done extreamly nice

[mrein3]

I can't help you with the color code but I can share that all the green, and white for that matter, that you see on my truck is single stage. It was shot by the guy I see in the mirror. You are looking at the place I painted it, minus the bass boat and cars.

I would use the same paint inside the bed that you do on the outside of it.

[LS short box]

Pic of my 68. Base coat clear coat. I also hid the box hold down bolts. Wood is Georgia southern pine. Light stain and then 3-4 coats of statin epoxy clear.

[NGN]

mrein3 next time you see that guy in the mirror tell him looks good, nice work.

[Northbound]

Thanks for the replies guys. More questions likely to come as I proceed.