Unless you are Mr. Do-It-All-Myself, there is going to come a point when you'll need some help with your build. It can be a very scary thing to pass the keys to your pride and joy to someone else. Questions arise like: Will they show the same attention to detail? Will they take care of my baby? One piece of advice we can pass on to help cure this fear is do your homework. Ask people at shows who did their work and are they happy. You can also look to Sport Truck for guidance. Every feature truck article contains a 411 box of some type in which the painters, fabricators, mechanics, and so forth are listed.
For this story, our goal is to show you exactly what to expect when getting a custom paintjob from a reputable shop like Clean Cut Creations in St. Louis, run by John Meyer. Now, you may be asking, "How do I know that's a good shop?" We've seen John's work in person when we shot his Colorado for the cover, and it was nice to say the least. We have also done a few tech stories with John, and he has never let us down. His rep is solid with us.
The lucky recipient of a new paint scheme for his truck is Tim Genz. Tim performed all of the bodywork on his '02 S-10 himself and had the truck ready for paint when he walked into CCC. So here is how it all went down from the concept phase, where they discussed colors and design, all the way to giving it its first hand-wash.
Speaking of the first hand-wash, be sure to check out the spread following this article. Tim's truck got all soapy with help from a few hotties, and luckily Joann Kuehl was there to catch it all on film.
Part One: The Design
Here is the first thing you should do once you've decided on a shop for your truck's new paintjob. Sit with the painter and discuss ideas and colors, making sure to bring anything you might like to the table. What you want will dictate the price. The more intricate the design is, the more time, materials, and money it will take to accomplish it. John uses the Digital Paint Booth program (shown on the screen) from House of Kolor to quickly create a rendering of the customer's ideas. This helps ensure that the customer knows what the truck will look like and how much time John will have to charge for.
Part Two: The Prep Work
One key element of a great paintjob is the prep work. Skimp here and it won't matter how good you can paint. Any dirt, oil, or other contaminants will just ruin the paintjob, and they may not show up until it's too late. John is a stickler when it comes to prep work, and he performs a thorough cleaning as the first step to achieving a quality finish.
1.Here is the stuff needed to mask off a truck properly: rolls of masking tape, masking paper, wax and grease remover, trim masking tape, and DART tape. DART tape is a foam tape designed for masking jambs, hood or deck lid openings, and other areas of a vehicle that need to be sealed during the painting operation. It provides a "soft edge" to prevent lines in the jamb areas. |  |
2.Once the truck is cleaned off, John rolls it into the booth and starts the masking procedure. Masking off the truck well is another necessary step in achieving a nice paintjob. John began with the windshield. The upper molding was back-masked with the specific tape to hold the molding away from the truck so paint can get behind it. The rest of the windshield and other glass areas were then masked. |  |
3.When masking just about anything, John recommends using 3/4-inch tape first and then coming back and adding a layer of paper to that. This helps produce a straighter line without having to fight the paper in the process. | 
4.The bed was also sealed up. You can see that John uses lines of tape to support the paper in the middle. This prevents the paper from sagging and possibly coming off once the spraying starts. |
5.The inside of the doors was masked off again to prevent overspray from getting everywhere. Masking areas like this also keeps dirt from flying out of the door when the air from the paint gun hits it. You don't want dirt particles flying around when spraying something sticky like paint. If you get dirt in the paint during the first steps, it'll be a lot harder to remove it properly. | 
6.Once everything was masked, the entire surface of the truck was wiped with a wax and grease remover. Yes, the truck has been washed already, but this will remove any wax left on the paint as well as any oils left behind from your hands during taping. Clothing holds a tremendous amount of dust and dirt that won't really show up until air gets blown on it; a clean suit will trap dust instead of letting it get on the paint. One last thing to note is the wheels. They have been removed, and the brakes have been bagged up. This is a better way to prevent overspray than just sliding on tire covers. |
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