Need help with painting a tunnel

[tjcatman]

So my son has an M-7 and the tunnel is pretty much trashed. He has spent a lot of time over the past two years trying to polish the tunnel with no success. So I am looking for any help or suggestions on a good process to paint the tunnel. Thinking of going semi-gloss or flat black but am not sure regular primer and paint will work. Any help or suggestions would be great. Also not looking to spend a ton of money powder coating. Thanks

 

[fordpickupman]

Acid etch primer is the way to go on anything that will see lots of wear. I would probably top it with a DIY type bed liner.
Lots of guys are "wrapping" their tunnels these days. I don't know how those hold up as I've never messed with one.


FORDpickupman

 

[SaberKitty]

Duplicolor self etching primer and their spray on Bed Armor make a good combo.

Just got done doing my ProClimb tunnel and bought the bed liner but at the last minute went with a gloss finish. Did use the bed liner on suspension parts and that stuff is tough. In hindsight, the bed liner would have been easier to do on the tunnel than the gloss black.

For the bed liner, it doesn't spray like traditional paint. It comes out as a very wet, watery splatter which looks like the part is ruined before it dries. Highly recommend spraying a scrap piece of metal laying around with a few light coats and let it dry to see how it works to get the hang of it.

 

[SaberKitty]

 

[tjcatman]

Paint

Thanks for the info. So does the bed liner go on smooth or is it a rough texture? I'm thinking I want it to be smooth so the snow doesn't stick to it.

 

[SaberKitty]

Rough texture

 

[SaberKitty]

Dupli-Color Self-Etching Primer

Dupli-Color Aerosol BedArmor

Dupli-Color Aerosol Ceramic Caliper Paint (See tunnel pic above. Very glossy and durable).

Have been painting home built projects, sled mods, cars and pickups for decades and the tunnel is hardest thing I've ever painted in keeping a wet edge across the underside, nooks and crannies. A semi-gloss or flat-black would be much easier to paint and allow for touch ups as needed in the future.

 

[tjcatman]

paint

Thanks for your advise. I'm thinking flat black or semi-gloss. Do you just use a green scotchbrite pad for prep to rough the tunnel up before paint?

 

[fordpickupman]

Yes, and wipe it with a tack cloth


FORDpickupman

 

[KMMAC]

Dupli-Color Self-Etching Primer

Dupli-Color Aerosol BedArmor

Dupli-Color Aerosol Ceramic Caliper Paint (See tunnel pic above. Very glossy and durable).

Have been painting home built projects, sled mods, cars and pickups for decades and the tunnel is hardest thing I've ever painted in keeping a wet edge across the underside, nooks and crannies. A semi-gloss or flat-black would be much easier to paint and allow for touch ups as needed in the future.

Does the Ceramic Dupli-color come in white?

 

[tjcatman]

paint

Do you think the caliper paint would work on a turbo? I see it's high temp and can be applied with a brush if you get the kit.

 

[diggerdown]

Turbo's get pretty hot, I don't know of anything that stays on them. flame proof is supposed to take 1500* caliper paint is usually a 900* paint. You might want to check into Top Secret Coatings for the tunnel. Pricey but very good stuff and snow does not stick to it, very slippery. Silicon/epoxy I have not tried it myself, but everything I've read about it is positive.

 

[SaberKitty]

Used a DA sander with 220 grit paper to rough up the aluminum before primer. Then hosed it down with a can of brake cleaner and wiped with a microfiber towel.
Next, primed the tunnel and baked it under infrared heat for a day then the black paint followed by more baking. It's been finished and under heat now since Sunday and the shop still smells like paint so I'd say it's not done curing yet.

The caliper paint only comes in red, black, yellow, blue and silver.

Don't think the caliper paint will hold up to heat the exhaust side of the turbo. Did the brake calipers on my CTS-V with the brush on stuff and it's amazing how glossy and lack of brush strokes it has after it dries.

 

[rkaminky]

Well i bought all the supplies to do this. $53 at advance auto parts for 2 cans of each (primer, bedliner, caliper paint). Plan on doing the tunnel and front suspension components and wanted to make sure i had enough bedliner. 1 can is supposed to do 16 sq ft.

Any tips for painting the tunnel? Just remove the seat and tail light and tape it up real good? Obviously dont paint over the heat exchanger. Anything else to look for?

Thanks

 

[SaberKitty]

Prep is key, sand and clean before primer.

You're most likely going to need more of everything.

What parts are going to be gloss and which bed liner?

 

[rkaminky]

Prep is key, sand and clean before primer.

You're most likely going to need more of everything.

What parts are going to be gloss and which bed liner?

I was thinking about bedliner with the gloss caliper paint over it for the tunnel. Thought that would make it more durable and I like the look of the gloss on the tunnel better. a-arms and such will be bedliner. That picture above looks good!

Yea I was thinking a scotch britepad with some simple green then alcohol. Then tape everything up real good. Did you spray the bottom of the boards?

thanks
Ryan

 

[SaberKitty]

Good plan with the running board bed liner.

Yes, bottom of boards and inside the tunnel. The sled spends most its life on its side or upside down so it had to be done.