Need help on sanding..

Hey guys, i need some help on sanding. Im dont really have much experience with this. What is the best way to sand the bed of a truck down? What kind of sand paper do i use? How much do i need to take off? Any feedback or advice will help. thanks

What kind of finish are you looking for?

First of all,,,what kind of bed are you talking about??
Is it steel,,,has it got wood??
what kind of shape??
There are different approaches for each.

I have a 98 s-10. A girl in a big tacoma screwed up my bed pretty bad.. I went and found a used one. there isnt the first dent on it. It's in great condition. My truck and the new bed are both a Tan color. I am wanting to get them ready for paint and let someone who knows what their doing paint it for me. I am wanting to paint them a lighter color blue. i just need to know how i go about getting it ready.. Like i said,, i dont have much experience on body work, so any input would help. thanks again


also, the bed is completely steel

Hi Kev, if it was me I would also take the truck by a local shop so they could see what it needs with a pro eye. Painters I know are kinda like the prima donna, so that way you wont go too far in pre preping the finish. Most guys wont mind u sanding the paint if u do it the way they are used to . Hope this helps, and I wouldnt mind helping if I was there.

:3dSMILE: http://www.autobody101.com/ this should bring u up to speed on what u need to do!!

Ok from what I know about body work and paint here is a bit of info I can give you that I know for sure.... if the paint on the bed now isn't in really bad shape then sand the whole thing down with 280-320 grit with a flat board (line board, whatever you wanna call them) and then a plain little hand block and scruff up all the old paint through the clear coat.... After that, prime it and paint it. If the old paint on the bed now is pretty bad or there are more than just one layer of original paint then sand down to bare metal. Start with 40 grit or such and then go to 80, then about 150-180, etc. All depends though, some people say to use 150, some say 180, everyone has their own oppinion here.

Personally through a couple years in a body shop I would recommend WATER sanding the original paint with 320 or 500 grit wet/dry 3m sand paper depending on what the condition of the paint is. As long as there are no dents just water sanding the paint should be fine, but if there are dents or any other areas of concern I would fix prime and WATER sand primer with 320 then go back over again with 500 before painting.

Yeah well I would do it with 280 first, get that clear coat off and then go over with wetsanding with 400.... Just my oppinion at least but the person to talk to is Spraytech, he is the MAN!

Are you takin it to a shop for paint or havin someone do it on the side? Anyone wit hany skill or pride in their work will want to do ALL the prep, sanding and all, themselves, or if its ashop do it in house that way they know its done right, their may be no dents but the original finish may be bad enough it neds to be DA sanded down( stripped to metal even maybe) or it could be all it needs is a good wetsanding with 500( what we use for paint) or 600 to800( what I would use if I was painting and in charge lol)
if your gona do it yourself its hard to screw up wetrsanding as long as you get it all,try wrappin the paper around a thins sponge or 3M wetsand pad to prevent finger gougin( leavin deeper marks from spread fingers which can show thru the paint )bigest thing is gettin out scratches or dings, feather any scratches well, maybe usin a block or paint stick to prevent finger gouging an leavin a depresion, although fixin scratches will require primer to preven bullseyeing ( lifiting of the feathered edge by the paint) or to cover bare metal..
theres a lot to watch out for, more than i can expalin here, try checkin the web for basic paint prep info, or check some of the ' paint an body' books at yr local bookstore, they can give ya an idea of the basics ya need to know..