1948 KB5 Railway Express


The place to put your K or KB "Build Off" story.

Rusty Driver
Rusty Driver

Posts: 195

Joined: Mon Sep 04, 2017 6:22 pm

Post Thu Oct 06, 2022 7:36 pm

Re: 1948 KB5 Railway Express

bsievers1616 wrote:looking good! nice repair work.


Thank you, appreciate you following along. I keep moving forward and wish it was going faster, but ........ LOL

Rusty Driver
Rusty Driver

Posts: 195

Joined: Mon Sep 04, 2017 6:22 pm

Post Thu Oct 06, 2022 7:51 pm

Re: 1948 KB5 Railway Express

KB5 Passenger Door Prep & Paint


Pic #1 - The paint on the doors did not have a lot of layers. There seems to be a black paint as a top coat that flakes off, so I decided to see if a razor blade scraper would remove it. Sure enough, it peeled away like an onion skin. There is a grey paint under it that is "slick" and the black coating has poor adhesion to it. Under the grey is the REA green paint. I used the razor scraper to remove most of the paint and sanding was kept at a minimum.

Pic #2 - After razor scraping what I could, I followed it up with my electric palm sander and 60 grit paper. I only did the lower half of the door due to what time I had. Cleaned up nicely.

Pic #3 - I used my blow gun and air to get all the sanding dust blown off and then wiped the bare metal down with lacquer thinner and lint free rag. I then taped/papered up around the window. I cracked the door open and taped/papered the front back edge of the door from the inside so as not to spray paint into the interior or stir up any dust.

I then mixed up my Rustoleum clean metal primer with acetone and got ready to spray paint. ALWAYS use a respirator when spray painting. I first sprayed a line of paint along the front door edge. Once covered, I closed the door shut so the back edge of the door would be exposed for paint. Sprayed the remainder of the lower door with overlapping strokes to color coat the door. Spray painting goes quickly and then let it dry a few hours and remove the tape/paper.

Pic #4 - The first thing you see is my Harbor Freight scaffold. This is the only way to go when working on the upper areas of the box/truck. A tall ladder just isn't stable enough to work off of and you have to keep moving it. In this photo, you can see I had already sanded the last area of the box body to bare metal. Used my DA air sander and found a package of Craftsman brand 36 grit 6" sanding discs at Lowe's that ate the old paint up faster than my palm sander and the 60 grit I was using. I used the razor scraper again on the door's top section and then sanded what paint was left. I also sanded the door pillar behind the door and the roof rail section and took them down to bare metal.

Pic #5 - I lightly sanded the brown primer area below the bare metal on the box body to ensure I had a clean and scuffed surface to overlap with the white Rustoleum primer. I taped off the door window and front section of the door as I had done with the lower area. Then I applied a spray gun coating of the primer. Let it dry, and removed the tape/paper. The passenger side box body is all primed and now ready for paint.

Pic #6 - I prepped the white primer by using my DA and a 220 grit sandpaper and hit it lightly and fast on the flat areas just to scuff the paint. Too hard or long in any one spot will take the primer to the metal, so just a fast pass. I then used a "greenie" scuff pad on the door to scuff up the primer. Then use the air/blow gun to blow off the dust. I taped/papered the window and front section of the door - leaving it cracked open slightly so I could get the paint along the front edge and then close the door. I used a "tack cloth" to do a final wipe down of the door. I did not use lacquer thinner on the primer as it could soften, or even remove, the primer. You can use a product called "Prep-sol" in place of the lacquer thinner as it won't affect the paint, but I did not feel I needed it on the door. I will use it on the larger side panels. The tack cloth is wiped over the entire door and will pick up any sanded/scuffed paint dust. This gets the door clean and free of any paint dust.

The doors will be kept black to contrast with the Hunter Green body. I did not want a shiny black, so I went with Rustoleum High Heat BBQ Black in the quart. I have used this in the past and the luster is not shiny nor flat, just what I wanted. In mixing the paint, I pour enough in my spray paint cup to fill about 1/2 the cup. To this I purchased an enamel paint "hardener" at my local auto paint supply store. This helps to give the paint a tougher/harder finish and can add a little gloss to the paint. I added 2 cap fulls to my black paint and then added my acetone to thin it down. I mixed it up in the spray gun cup and it was ready to shoot.

In this instance, I did use my 12' aluminum step ladder versus the scaffold. Most of the painting can be done from the ground and I only had to use the ladder to climb a couple steps to get the top are painted. Like the primer, I painted the front edge of the door first and then closed it shut. Then simply sprayed the door from bottom to top overlapping each pass of the spray gun to get an even coat of paint. Let the paint dry for a few hours and then remove the tape/paper.

The door is now done.
Attachments
01  Passenger Door.JPG
02  Passenger Door.JPG
03  Passenger Door.JPG
04  Passenger Door.JPG
05  Passenger Door.JPG
06  Passenger Door.JPG
User avatar

Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

Posts: 743

Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 5:38 pm

Post Fri Oct 07, 2022 5:40 am

Re: 1948 KB5 Railway Express

You say you mixed Rustoleum with acetone? Is it like oil base in a can paint ? When I was researching paint , I think I remember that rustoleum rusty red metal primer had more zinc in it than others and some other folks had had some great results with priming with rattle cans then top coating with other paint . My concern was those little pits that I couldn't reasonably sand out , I went over it with phospheric acid I think and used a product that was recomended by a guy who had a really nice yellow paint job on a 40's coupe at the beach ,said they used it on ships alot , I have some in the shop can't remember the name I'll look

Rusty Driver
Rusty Driver

Posts: 195

Joined: Mon Sep 04, 2017 6:22 pm

Post Tue Oct 11, 2022 8:02 pm

Re: 1948 KB5 Railway Express

manicmechanic wrote:You say you mixed Rustoleum with acetone? Is it like oil base in a can paint ? When I was researching paint , I think I remember that rustoleum rusty red metal primer had more zinc in it than others and some other folks had had some great results with priming with rattle cans then top coating with other paint . My concern was those little pits that I couldn't reasonably sand out , I went over it with phospheric acid I think and used a product that was recomended by a guy who had a really nice yellow paint job on a 40's coupe at the beach ,said they used it on ships alot , I have some in the shop can't remember the name I'll look


Yes, acetone. Yes, the quart sized cans. Right from the can, the paint is fine for brush application, but to spray, it has to be thinned. I did a bunch of reading to see what others were using and how much to thin the paint. Some used lacquer thinner, some mineral spirits if I recall correctly, and acetone. Acetone seemed to get the best reviews, so I went with it. It does dry very quickly if you use acetone to wipe a panel off. I read that the best thinning percentage was 5-6% acetone to paint - so I went with this number, but I can also look at the paint in my spray gun cup and tell if it is too thick or too watery. On my body panels, as you will read, I added an enamel paint hardener. I used to spray using only DuPont Centari automotive paint with the hardener and the paint would come out like glass. They don't make the Centari anymore. But, with this truck, it will be outside in the elements for the most part and used for advertising, so I wanted a rugged paint that would hold up better than automotive paints. Rustoleum was my choice as I use it on car parts/pieces as it holds up well if the metal is prepared and primed. Their primer used to have fish oil in it and when sprayed, you could indeed smell it. The EPA required a reformulation of the spray paints and other paints that it can be very problematic when spraying several coats as it can ripple or bubble up without enough dry time between coats - so you have to spray multiple coats back-to-back and hope no runs or sags.

There are a number of "rust reformers", "rust inhibitors," and "rust encapsulators." You may be thinking of "Naval Jelly"? Great stuff on rust and I was able to salvage an engine that had so much rust on the cylinder walls that I was not sure I could save it. Repeated applications and scraping, I finally got the cylinders smooth and was able to knock the pistons out and my machinist was able to bore the cylinders enough to save the block without any sleeving of the cylinders. I worked on subs and they attach zinc bars to the hull which acts as a sacrificial metal and minimized rusting.

Rusty Driver
Rusty Driver

Posts: 195

Joined: Mon Sep 04, 2017 6:22 pm

Post Tue Oct 11, 2022 8:07 pm

Re: 1948 KB5 Railway Express

KB5 Box Body Prep & Paint. Part 1

Primed the box body sides, doors, small section between the sunvisor and windshield, sunvisor, and above the sunvisor in order to apply my paint. Primer does not seal any metal or work done on the metal as it is somewhat porous. If you get to the point of priming, at least cover it with a spray can paint to seal your work - you can always sand it off later rather than have all your efforts get rusty underneath through the primer.

Pic #1 - The area above the visor was multi-layers of paint much like the rest of the body.

Pic #2 - I did a combination of using my razor scraper where I could get the layers off and then sanding on the upper panel, roof molding, and top of the sunvisor with my air powered DA and a 40 grit paper. Note: 6" Sanding disc comparison - I tried a box of Craftsman 36 grit paper, 8 pcs, from Lowe's. I also picked up some lesser priced Diablo 40 grit, 15 pcs, at Home Depot. The Diablo discs did not last/cut as well as the Craftsman and the Diablo binder used to hold the grit was more brittle and the grit/paper flaked off on the edges. Craftsman was indeed higher in price, but worked/lasted better.

Pic #3 - A close-up of the paint layers and the rusty patches on the sunvisor.

Pic #4 - My razor scraper and the light layer of rust on the sunvisor. I used my electric drill and a "greenie" sanding wheel to get down into the lip area where you see the scraper and cleaned it down to bare metal.

Pic #5 & #6 - Upper panel, roof surround, and sunvisor are all sanded down. I used spray can Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer
on the sunvisor. Most of the light rust sanded right off leaving clean metal, but I wanted to use the rusty metal Rustoleum to add additional protection. The sunvisor won't be painted Hunter Green like the body, but will get a covering of the Dupli-Color truck bed spray paint to seal/protect it and add contrast to the green. What appears as 'light blue" on the visor is simply the way the digital camera picked up the light off the bare steel.

Pic #7 - After priming the sunvisor, I prepped the area between the visor and above the windshield. The area is small and tight and not any space for power tools - and I did not want to damage the windshield or rubber gasket. I decided that this small section would get the truck bed black and be the easiest way to go. The razor scraper worked well and left a light layer of factory brown primer behind.
Attachments
01.JPG
02.JPG
03.JPG
04.JPG
05.JPG
06.JPG
07.JPG

Rusty Driver
Rusty Driver

Posts: 195

Joined: Mon Sep 04, 2017 6:22 pm

Post Tue Oct 11, 2022 8:12 pm

Re: 1948 KB5 Railway Express

KB5 Box Body Prep & Paint. Part 2

Pic #8 & #9 - To make it easier to get sand paper in such a small space, which was going to be hand sanded, I found that my rubber sanding block was a perfect fit EXCEPT it was too high on one side due to the taper of the sunvisor. A little grinding with my grinder and I put a bevel on one edge so I could tuck it up under the visor and sand away.

Pic #10 & #11 - Metal sanded and now taping/papering around the windshield so I could use the spray can Rustoleum to paint it. Letting the paint dry, I taped up the top marker lights, wiped down the sanded metal, and spray painted the white primer on the upper panel and roof surround.

Pic #12 - With all the tape/paper removed, you can see the black bed liner I sprayed on under the sunvisor and the space between the windshield and sunvisor. You can also see the white primered upper panel above.

Pic #13 - Next step was to sand all the previously primed metal to get it ready for paint. I used a combination of my air powered DA sander with 220 grit paper, hand sanding, and a greenie pad. Then used a prep-sol solution to wipe the sanded area down clean, and followed up with a "tack rag." Then it was time for tape/paper on the front section of the box body.

Pic #14 & #15 - Hunter Green. It seems I used just about 3/4 of a quart of Rustoleum for the front panel section, and 1 quart on the sides. I thinned the paint with acetone and added an enamel paint hardener (2 cap fulls using 3/4th of the quart and 3 cap fulls on a quart) that I purchased from my local auto paint store. The hardener helps to flow out the paint for a smoother finish (less "orange peel"), gives it a nice shine, plus a harder finish. I sprayed 1 heavy coat rather than 2 thinned down light coats. It can be a little tricky spraying 1 heavy coat and if you stall just an instant with the gun, you can get a run or sag. I did stall and hold the gun in one place just a hair too long and got a sag, but not too bad and it could be wet sanded/buffed out.

I want to give the paint to cure and will come back and spray the black bedliner on the top of the sunvisor and the roof surround to outline the green.

Pic #16 - The passenger side box body. Sanded it down with the DA and 220 grit, some hand sanding and a greenie pad where I could not get with the DA. I removed the nuts/bolts around the wheel well to make it easier to sand. Sanded the roof surround, lower box surround, molded trim, and door posts previously stripped and primed to give it a coat of green just to seal it, but it will become black to outline the green after the paint cures for a while.
Attachments
08.JPG
09.JPG
10.JPG
11.JPG
12.JPG
13.JPG
14.JPG
15.JPG
16.JPG

Rusty Driver
Rusty Driver

Posts: 195

Joined: Mon Sep 04, 2017 6:22 pm

Post Tue Oct 11, 2022 8:18 pm

Re: 1948 KB5 Railway Express

KB5 Box Body Prep & Paint. Part 3

Pic #17 & #18 - More Hunter Green on the passenger side. The door was previously painted with the BBQ black.

Pic #19 & #20 - In this picture I had already sanded the box body panel. The lower green was painted some time earlier to see how the color would turn out, but, the gnats liked it more and I had a flock of them stuck all over the paint. So I sanded them all out and pulled the truck out away from the oak tree hoping I would not get as many - and I didn't, just about 3 or 4 this round and 1 small fly.

I wanted to get the upper section of the door painted as I had previously done the lower section. I was OK getting green overspray on the white primered door as it will be sanded and painted BBQ black. What I did not want was to get white primer overspray on the fresh green paint. So I stripped the top of the door area and door post down with my razor scraper, sanded it, and wiped it down. I taped off the window and the edge of the green painted cowl and shot a coat of white primer.

Pic #21 - View of the driver side panel all sanded, wiped down, and ready for paint.

Pic #22 - #24 - Hunter Green on the driver's side.

All in all, I am pleased with the job considering it was done outside in the open among the light breeze, gnats, mosquitoes, stink bug invasion, and some falling leaves from my trees. Still have the rear panel/doors to prep & paint and then the roof. Then I will get back to the nose pieces.
Attachments
17.JPG
18.JPG
19.JPG
20.JPG
21.JPG
22.JPG
23.JPG
24.JPG

Rusty Driver
Rusty Driver

Posts: 195

Joined: Mon Sep 04, 2017 6:22 pm

Post Sun Oct 23, 2022 4:54 pm

Re: 1948 KB5 Railway Express

KB5 Box Body Prep & Paint. Part 4


Pic #25 - Passenger side trim painted black. I used Dupli-Color truck bed liner spray can paint to do all the side panel trim. It has a textured finish and dries hard. Could have gone with black paint, but felt the bed liner was not as glossy and might be more durable - just a personal choice on this one.

Pic #26 - Driver side. Sanded the white primer and shot a coat of the BBQ black. Then did all the trim with the bed liner.

Pic #27 - Applied the bed liner to the sunvisor and the roof surround.

Pic #28 - Time to tackle the roof section. I wiped the roof sides down with my prep-sol to get the existing black coating that was already on the roof cleaned up. I then used Dupli-Color rubberized, paintable, undercoating on the roof section. The curved sides of the roof are seam welded on top to the stamped/ribbed flat center panel to form the roof as 1 piece which is then bolted down to the top molded surround. You can't see the bolts, but they are there along the top edge that goes over the stamped surround.. Much of this truck body is sections/panels bolted together or spot welded.

Pic #29 - #31 - I brush painted Rustoleum Almond Gloss over the rubberized undercoating. The factory color, from what I have seen in advertisements for REA trucks, is white. I liked the Almond better with the Hunter Green. Found out the undercoating was not so paintable. I don't know if the paint was still too fresh or the paint was old, but when I brushed the paint on it would melt the undercoating and kinda mix in with the paint and instead of Almond, it looked more grey. Still, worked through it and my thinking is that once it sets for a couple weeks, I will come back with some spray can Almond and put a top coat on to get the correct color. Strange thing was that when I painted the rest of the roof, I did not have the issue. I had good luck where I had opened another can of the undercoating and continued coating the roof at the front and passenger side. Don't know what the difference was. In any case, gives the box body/truck a nice contrast. Installed both mirrors.

Cooler/Cold weather is moving in so my outside work will be coming to an end. I have a couple big tarps to cover the box body. However, I have set-up an enclosed area that I plan to be able to heat with a salamander kerosene heater and continue with some winter work and maybe get the nose completed and painted. Hoping to be done by Spring and send the truck on its way to my brother in Rhode Island.
Attachments
25.JPG
26.JPG
27.JPG
28.JPG
29.JPG
30.JPG
31.JPG

Rusty Driver
Rusty Driver

Posts: 195

Joined: Mon Sep 04, 2017 6:22 pm

Post Mon Nov 28, 2022 9:16 pm

Re: 1948 KB5 Railway Express

KB5 REAR DOORS

Pic #1 - The rear doors of the box body.

Pic #2 - The doors are made up of 4 separate panels. Each left/right side are 2 panels hinged together. Each outer panel has a locking bar mechanism, the light grey rods, which locks them top/bottom to the box body. The left side inner door has no locking properties. The right side inner door has the locking rods operated by the outside door handle. The right door overlaps the left door to hold it into place as well as the outside door handle overlaps the left door to keep it secure when the locking rods are engaged.
In the photo the left door is open exposing the inner locking handle & rods with the outer panel folded back behind it. The right door shows the outer door panel still closed and locked into position while the inner door panel is open exposing the back side of the locking rods activated by the outside door handle. This set-up provides an assortment of operation in opening the doors based on the freight being loaded, just 1 door for small packages, wide open for big freight, or something in between.

Pic #3 - To save time and beat some of the cold weather, I made the decision to have the doors soda blasted, or dustless blasting, just on the outside skins. The inside of the doors were in good shape. This process stripped off the layers of paint and then I had the blaster apply an epoxy primer to the outer skins to seal/protect the bare steel and make it easier for me to paint. I removed the doors and brought them to the blaster. Also removed the upper door hinges and left the lowers attached to the body.

Pic #4 - I stripped the rear corners to bare metal using my razor scraper and followed up with sanding everything clean. I was able to lift up a nice section of the original REA green paint used on the company truck. I then placed it on the body panel to compare it to the lighter Hunter Green the truck is being painted. I think the Hunter Green is a better color this time around.

Pic #5 - Papered the body panels off so as not to get any primer on them, and primed each corner. I cheated and used Rustoleum spray can primer instead of priming with my spray gun. This kept the overspray to a minimum and the area small enough that it was easier to go this route. I used the black plastic to seal off the box opening while the doors were off.

Pic #6 - I scuffed up the primer with a greenie pad and wiped it down. I added a little more paper to extend down over the painted panels in using my spray gun. I went with the Rustoleum High Heat Barbecue Black, thinned with acetone, and I used 2 cap fulls of paint hardner added to my spray gun cup instead of just 1 as I did on the side doors. I sprayed the corners applying 2 cover coats. With the paper removed, I think the 2 cap fulls of hardener gave me a better finish/appearance while retaining the matt black look. Notice the new-old-stock (NOS) red reflector. I found the exact identical reflectors that I took off on Ebay and purchased them to replace all the red and orange reflectors found on the truck.
Attachments
01.jpg
02.jpg
03.JPG
04.JPG
05.JPG
06.JPG

Rusty Driver
Rusty Driver

Posts: 195

Joined: Mon Sep 04, 2017 6:22 pm

Post Mon Nov 28, 2022 9:20 pm

Re: 1948 KB5 Railway Express

KB5 REAR DOORS Part 2


Pic #7 - I got a call a week later that the doors were ready for pick-up. Here they are in my makeshift spray booth set-up on saw horses.

Pic #8 - The epoxy primer was thin, so no aggressive sanding was done. I used my electric hand sander and a 320 grit paper on the panels and hand sanding on the hinges. In sanding, I found some rot on the outside lower edge of the door. I used my grinder/grinding disc to clean up the small holes, then used my autobody pick hammer to dimple in the holes to create a little depression around the bad area. Then I used my fiberglass bondo to fill these in, let cure, and then sanded smooth with the 320 grit paper to get a finish that I could just prime over and not need any glazing putty. When sanded smooth, primer was applied and allowed to dry as I continued to sand both doors.
Pic #9 - Both doors sanded and the repair done and sanded. The doors are ready for prepping and painting.

Pic #10 - I blew the doors off with my air gun and wiped the doors down with a lint free rag and some prep-sol, the followed that up with a tack rag wipe down. Mixed up my paint and sprayed both doors. I let them set 2 weeks until I could get back to working on the truck.

Pic #11 & #12 - My brother flew in for Thanksgiving, so I put him to work on his truck helping me hang the rear doors. We got them in place and I loosely bolted the hinges up planning to remove them later to paint them. I let my brother fire-up and move/stop the truck to a different area of my yard. He was all smiles and could not believe how well the truck is turning out from when it first hit my yard. I will also paint the door handle and door hold backs black to trim out the door. Then I will have the area above the door and roof to do. I also have a red reflector to add to each door.
Attachments
07.JPG
08.JPG
09.JPG
10.JPG
11.JPG
12.JPG
PreviousNext

Return to K and KB Build-Off

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests

Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
Designed by ST Software for PTF.