Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Diamond plate flat-bet

[6naline01]

I built a custom tow bed with a diamond plate deck,is it necessary to sand blast the deck before having it sprayed? I am getting conflifcting info.

Thank's in advance 6naline01

 

[MrDiesel]

It depends on how long you want the paint to last, where you're located, and how much you want to spend. The longest, most durable option for an item this size is sand blast, etch prime, paint. Powder coat would be awesome but besides the $$ I doubt you'd find an oven that big (and it would definately need to be blasted first). Weather plays a big role. My father in law and I both bought steel flat beds from the same place. I got mine a year after he did. I know for a fact the company did not blast, did little prep work and just sprayed them. He always parked in side, rarely drove in the winter and his looked better than mine after 2 years of Indiana winters. I did start to see rust creep through... . If you can afford it definately blast it. It will look much better for lots longer.

 

[bmoeller]

Make sure to do a really good job on the prep. If you don't, you'll be doing it again. Blast, etching primer, and a heavy coat of paint. Don't go cheap on the paint.



The front bumper I have, was supposedly powdercoated, but they did squat for prep. Paint started flaking off one month after I bought. It sat in the machime shed most of January, too. Looks like crap right now. Gonna have it powdercoated again.

 

[HPetrat]

When you say "sprayed" do you mean paint or bed-liner type of coating (Rhino, Linex, Duraliner etc... ).

In either case, the mill scale will need to be removed by sand blasting (soda blast if available, less chance of distortion), if you want to any type of finish to last.

If you are going to use a bed-liner type of finish on your deck, you really only need a "soft" blast which will remove most mill scale and leave a good surface profile on the deck. A full blast is always better because it will really produce an agressive surface profile, especially if you are going to use a paint type finish.



Your choice, and when your done lets have some pictures .



HP

 

[MrDiesel]

Sprayed as in cheapo paint... .