Yet Another Food truck build!

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (BTM676)

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 23:41:15 GMT

Yup there are tons of people buliding including myself. I just dont post all the time cause once u start building u dont want to stop. Lol is there any question u have?

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (Slimaroni)

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 23:06:15 GMT

Hello guys , anybody building a food truck lately? I am new here, and I have been reading a whole lot of tips so i can get started in april.

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (drvp)

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 02:09:42 GMT

good to hear - are you finding a "mill" finish underneath or did some take a DA sander to it randomly? i hope its warmer in TN than it is up here in Boise! im freezing my @$$ off

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (BTM676)

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 22:30:45 GMT

Glad it worked out for u! It is amazing stuff worth the price. Gets the job done and fast.

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (gracee)

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 21:57:58 GMT

Thanks again everyone for all of the helpful info!
I got the POR-Strip in and tried it out. It's good stuff! I had tried a little patch with some heavy duty stripper I got from the hardware store while I was waiting for the POR-strip and it hardly touched the paint. The Por-S however, works great. Definitely worth ordering online. It seems that last "grey primer" coat that drvp was describing will be the hardest to strip - I used the steel wool/P-S/water combo on it and am going to try the scotch pads tomorrow. I'm also using the plastic scraper and my arm is already quite sore! But that patch of bare aluminum sure looks sweet, so I'm going to keep at it

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (a.mckenna)

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 00:26:09 GMT

For the sake of all things educational, go look up my business page on facebook. Search for Tanuki Food Truck. Located in Seattle.

I post regular build pictures on there and am about to dump a pile of pictures of the stripping process tomorrow. Got one side nearly complete today, took about 7 hours total labor to strip the side of a 10ft truck from 1981 down to shiny new looking aluminum.

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (StellaG)

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 23:28:50 GMT

Amazing thread!! Thank you!
We have a 1984 P30 Step Van...totally psyched to get started.
I'm glad we were able to find this forum, looks like a great bunch of individuals helping each other out.

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (drvp)

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 14:00:49 GMT

il put in my two cents- mainly to get my post quota!

i used cheap Harbour frieght brushes and a plastic cutting brush pail (which must have been chem resistant) and did about four foot sections at a time- sounds crazy but i used a 2inch STIFF i emphasize STIFF plastic scraper on the entire truck! but i found it worked the best i put plastic sheeting on the ground and scraped- I did a whole side a day took four days - after i was done scaping a side i brushed it off with a hand broom and took it outside to preasure wash this gets little pieces off but also neutralizes the chemicals - hint if you do get it on your skin - wash quick as water neutralizes it- the cool thing about porstrip is that it can get on rubber too unlike almost everyother type - i did tape off my glass and rubber but left a bit of weather stripping shown to get the paint off form the bad paint masking job the painter did 25 years ago --

Hints/tips-
- my first side had to be done over again- what i found is that i was not noticing the grey primer ( looked like alum ) i must have gotten better at the process cuz the other sides were completely off

- it HAS to be warm - it got real cold here and the stripper didnt budge the paint one day - heated the shop up and presto! its says it on the can for those of you that read.

- ditto the good gloves and get fresh air from time to time or you will end up like a.meckenna and I!

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (a.mckenna)

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 12:06:41 GMT

Yea, make sure you get the ones designed for working with chemicals. It will melt pretty much any other glove. If you paint it on, use a metal cup to pour it in as again it will melt anything plastic. I don't use gloves as they get in my way, but I have very little feeling in my hands from years of working with chemicals. Even still I have seen my skin bubble up from a glob of stripper landing on it. Cool to watch, probably not so cool if you have feeling in your hands.

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (daddywoofdawg)

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 01:48:19 GMT

Wear a face shield get some on your face or eyes and you wish you did!And chem rubber gloves (home depot/lowes/menard's),those dish washing rubber gloves won't cut it.

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (BTM676)

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 23:19:21 GMT

Not a problem! One hint about the the por strip. Use heavy duty rubber gloves and dont spray it on use a cheap brush and paint it on cause this stuff burns!!! U dont want this stuff in ur lungs!

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (gracee)

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 20:13:02 GMT

Thanks so much guys for all of the answers! I've ordered some POR-STRIP and will give it a go. I figure if I f**k it up, I can always go back to the plan of getting a professional paint job. I will continue to try to learn from the vast amount of information posted on this site and will eventually post some pics. Right now, there isn't much to see other than an empty step van and you guys all know what those look like
Appreciate your posts!
grace

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (Dr of BBQ)

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:44:36 GMT

drvp

Dr of BBQ

a.mckenna
Oh and as far as clear coat... I tried it on the first one I did, can't remember what brand. It started to look dull after about 9 months. I find that car wax is the best bet, keeps the aluminum shiny and pretty and easier to keep up with.
Go grab that awesome little variable speed buffer and wax on, wax off.

What did the wax/buffing do to signage or vinyl letters?

Hi my truck is the one pictured above with the engine turning finish- I stripped the truck with POR-STRIPwhich blew every stripper ive ever used out of the water- i have been around aircraft for 15 years and the standard with aircraft and cars is "aircraft stripper" - it didnt even touch the paint on my truck- i actually polished a large portion of my truck with subsequent rubbing compounds , as this was my original plan for my truck- what i found was these points
-it was going to take more than 8 passes around my entire 24' of aluminum ( i was not into this)
- polishing aluminum makes a ridiculous mess
-it woud need to be polished /upkeep at least a few times a year - even at once a year that is alot! and i had the same fear as the DR of BBQ of the sinage /vinyl stickers
-it really did not get mirror- different grades of aluminum will polish differently, and i was not incredibly happy with the result

- so i started playing around with my "options" as a full or even partial wrap was not even close to my budget.- i also wanted to stand out ( so the "strange looking truck " comment is a compliment to me!) . so it took three rolls of red brown scotch brite and two passes around the truck. i washed the truck with alumaprep/dryed and cleared/ The clear product I used is Glisten PC by Por-15 products- if you know Por 15 you know they are the bomb. Glisten Pc is made for clearcoating polished metals- they coat polished alum truck trailers with this stuff in AU.( i am NOT a rep ) but check this stuff out- i figure if it sticks to polished alum - it will definately stick to alum that has been scratched with scotch brite!
all in all i am very happy with the finish, it is rock hard and very glossy- i will say that this process is not easy, and will not be for everyone - it was over a month an a half everyday on the exterior- and about 700 in materials - but to me it was worth it

just figured id explain my process better- i wish i had the time to post all my pics but i am under a time crunch to get this thing MAKING MONEY- instead of EATING it!

Great Post thanks.

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (a.mckenna)

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:08:12 GMT

Dr of BBQ

a.mckenna
Oh and as far as clear coat... I tried it on the first one I did, can't remember what brand. It started to look dull after about 9 months. I find that car wax is the best bet, keeps the aluminum shiny and pretty and easier to keep up with.
Go grab that awesome little variable speed buffer and wax on, wax off.

What did the wax/buffing do to signage or vinyl letters?

Went right over it for the most part. If the vinyl was done right a buffer shouldn't damage it. If you are afraid of damaging said vinyl, go around it. Otherwise, go right over it. Most auto waxs have a UV protectant in them, and can thus make your vinyl stay pretty longer.

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (drvp)

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 10:49:06 GMT

Dr of BBQ

a.mckenna
Oh and as far as clear coat... I tried it on the first one I did, can't remember what brand. It started to look dull after about 9 months. I find that car wax is the best bet, keeps the aluminum shiny and pretty and easier to keep up with.
Go grab that awesome little variable speed buffer and wax on, wax off.

What did the wax/buffing do to signage or vinyl letters?

Hi my truck is the one pictured above with the engine turning finish- I stripped the truck with POR-STRIPwhich blew every stripper ive ever used out of the water- i have been around aircraft for 15 years and the standard with aircraft and cars is "aircraft stripper" - it didnt even touch the paint on my truck- i actually polished a large portion of my truck with subsequent rubbing compounds , as this was my original plan for my truck- what i found was these points
-it was going to take more than 8 passes around my entire 24' of aluminum ( i was not into this)
- polishing aluminum makes a ridiculous mess
-it woud need to be polished /upkeep at least a few times a year - even at once a year that is alot! and i had the same fear as the DR of BBQ of the sinage /vinyl stickers
-it really did not get mirror- different grades of aluminum will polish differently, and i was not incredibly happy with the result

- so i started playing around with my "options" as a full or even partial wrap was not even close to my budget.- i also wanted to stand out ( so the "strange looking truck " comment is a compliment to me!) . so it took three rolls of red brown scotch brite and two passes around the truck. i washed the truck with alumaprep/dryed and cleared/ The clear product I used is Glisten PC by Por-15 products- if you know Por 15 you know they are the bomb. Glisten Pc is made for clearcoating polished metals- they coat polished alum truck trailers with this stuff in AU.( i am NOT a rep ) but check this stuff out- i figure if it sticks to polished alum - it will definately stick to alum that has been scratched with scotch brite!
all in all i am very happy with the finish, it is rock hard and very glossy- i will say that this process is not easy, and will not be for everyone - it was over a month an a half everyday on the exterior- and about 700 in materials - but to me it was worth it

just figured id explain my process better- i wish i had the time to post all my pics but i am under a time crunch to get this thing MAKING MONEY- instead of EATING it!

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (Dr of BBQ)

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 09:31:49 GMT

a.mckenna
Oh and as far as clear coat... I tried it on the first one I did, can't remember what brand. It started to look dull after about 9 months. I find that car wax is the best bet, keeps the aluminum shiny and pretty and easier to keep up with.
Go grab that awesome little variable speed buffer and wax on, wax off.

What did the wax/buffing do to signage or vinyl letters?

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (a.mckenna)

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 02:00:37 GMT

Oh and as far as clear coat...

I tried it on the first one I did, can't remember what brand. It started to look dull after about 9 months.

I find that car wax is the best bet, keeps the aluminum shiny and pretty and easier to keep up with.

Go grab that awesome little variable speed buffer and wax on, wax off.

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (a.mckenna)

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 01:51:37 GMT

Wow, that is one strange looking truck.

New to this forum so I don't know if the following has been posted, so I will just post it anyways. I have built over 2 dozen food carts/trucks over the past few years so my method for making things look like a 50s toaster is well tested on various applications. I have mirror finished a 57 Silver Streak trailer, a couple canned ham trailers, and a few trucks, same process every time.

Most Home Depots carry a stripper by Jasco, multi purpose. The stuff is fairly evil (I got burn marks to prove that), and removes most anything, including the hair on your arms.

Jasco and a straight razor blade, let it sit a minute or two until it is bubbly, scrape it off. While this method has a higher chance of burnt flesh it is far less messy then power washing it off (tried it the first time, stripper soaked paint chips all over). First go over will remove 80% or more. Go over it a second time, you can use a green brillo scrub pad to loosen the tough spots. Rinse and repeat.

Once you have bare metal soak a rag or three in mineral spirits or lacquer thinner and wax on wax off. This will remove the residue.

Final and slowest and most annoying part. 3M makes a line of rubbing compounds. Heavy duty rubbing compound is the one you want. It isn't usually sold on shelves but Napa carries it at the warehouse, costs like 60 dollars for a gallon. Go to harbor freight and buy a variable speed buffer, get some wool pads while your there. Apply a gob to said wool pad, start at very low RPM and work it into a area about 4'x4', slowly increase the RPM. Compound will turn black, that means your on the right track. Keep buffing and before long you will see your ugly mug smiling back.

Tedious yea, but you can turn near anything mirror gloss this way. Aluminum works best, but I have done it to steel as well.

About to do it on my own truck, if I make it to 30 posts and 30 days I will post pictures.

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (BTM676)

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 00:20:25 GMT

He used a 7inch grinder sander at low rpms with a red scotch brite pads. Then clear coated it with the POR-15 clear coat product made for aluminum. (forgot the name).

"

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (BTM676)

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 23:12:29 GMT

Hello gracee. Thanks for the compliment. As for stripping and clear coating. Member DRVP asked a few months ago and I said I didnt know much about clear coating. Well... it turns out that DRVP found some stuff out. Lol side note: he works on aircrafts for a living. He found POR-15 product makes a lot of different products from stripper to rust prevention and CLEAR COATS which is said to work on aluminum! Go to there website and click in clear coats. It is expensive! But DRVP said one gallon will do ur whole truck. He had a pint left over.this product can be rolled on and thats what he did. I'll post pictures of his truck he sent me. It looks sweet! Hope this helps.

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (Dr of BBQ)

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 20:11:39 GMT

Gracee,
I first want to say thank you for understanding and 2nd have to say with all the time I have been on this forum I have never read a post from anyone having finished a truck in all aluminum and then clear coating it. One other thought I have a friend that has owned a body shop for 35 years and when some of the above threads were posted I asked him about aluminum and then clear coating it and he laughed and said "oh you don't want to go there". I didn't press the issue with him. I assume he was talking a major $$$ investment was involved. And recently talking to a really good sign guy I know about polishing some aluminum blanks the size of a speed limit sign I asked how bright meaning how much polishing should I do? And he asked how much time did I want to waste. Then he went on to explain that once you put letters or numbers on any shiny surface the shine becomes background and most people never notice it. One last thought: I don't know of anyone that is a bigger freak about stainless steel or aluminum than me, so if you find anything good about your quest here or otherwise please post your information. And by the way welcome to the forum.
jack

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (gracee)

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 19:48:17 GMT

Hi guys - totally new here - been reading through several of these forums for the past few days. Learning a lot, esp. from BTM676 and reese77 - thank you for all of the valuable info! Just bought a 1991 Chevy P30 and am looking into stripping it down to the aluminum and giving it some kind of clear coat/polish. I tried doing a "search" to see if the clear coat question had been answered yet (don't want Dr of BBQ to reprimand me for posting a ? without checking through the forums and first I think it's funny and totally justified of him for doing so) I also read somewhere on one of these forums that it's not a good idea to leave the roof unpainted as the truck will get very hot and am wondering if that is the case for the entire truck. Has anyone had any luck with getting info on clear coating after stripping off the paint? I really love the look of the bare aluminum and think that BTM676's truck looks fantastic!

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (BTM676)

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 00:55:34 GMT

newandathepoet

Anymore info on just how you did your awning brace? Gas pistons suck.

HAHA well i cheaped out and i went old school!!! lol I just used a push out pole and a hook. I had a piece of 3/4 inch hollow square aluminum, to act like the push poll. It was left over from making my awning (i used it to make the awning frame). I made a coat hook looking thing out of 1/8 inch aluminum flat stock and 3/8 inch solid aluminum round. I welded it together and screwed it to the truck. For some reason my computer wont let me post pictures so i cant show you want i done BUT... a few pages back you can see my awning brace in the pictures that show my service shelf.
Let me know if this kinda helps I'll try to get pictures for ya.

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (newandathepoet)

Sun, 16 Dec 2012 13:52:21 GMT

Anymore info on just how you did your awning brace? Gas pistons suck.

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (BTM676)

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 22:24:23 GMT

Curb Hopper

Man....I am in the exact same"boat" as you. EVERYONE thinks I'm off my rocker for wanting the aluminum look but I AM going to pull it off. I know it can be done. I've been told that a clear coat will start to "yellow" in time..a couple to three years? I'll definatly share my findings with you. I am about to be very aggressive with the build. Thanks for sharing! -kevin

That would be great. I just not to sure of clear coat thing. I just dont wanna have to strip the whole truck again if it turns yellow or any other color. lol Glad your getting aggressive these build love to take there time. hahaha Do you have a thread going?

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (BTM676)

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 22:19:03 GMT

drvp

BTM676

Curb Hopper

Nice breakdown on the process. Do you have a plan on maintaining that? Clear coat maybe?

Thanks. Very helpful. Love the build.

Yes i want to clear coat it or something along those lines. I dont know anything about clear coat or how it will work on aluminum. I haven't really researched anything about it.

So before i had read your reply, i had found a qt of POR Strip and bought a can of aircraft stripper to do a comparison- WOW - the aircraft stripper (which EVERYONE said would win) didn't even touch the paint (I'm pretty sure its enamel) and the Por strip got 90% off in the first coat- I also did this in the morning in 40 deg conditions for the test. I ordered 4 gallons that will be here monday and will start it then- I'm not looking for a mirror finish but i definitely want it shiny I've been perusing forums on Airstreams and truck tractor trailers on coatings- i really don't want to spray a hard coat due to not having correct facilities and the temp outside wont be conducive for an outside coating.

I've been talking to some truckers about "moonshine" polishes - this is pretty interesting and they swear by it- but seems a bit crazy as it involves heating up mineral spirits and whisking in other ingredients such as lighter fluid, rouge, wax, etc- so many variations

I'm in aviation and there are promising products that last a long time on the polished leading edges at 500 +miles per hour @40,000 ft but they are kind of cost prohibitive.

This is not a thread jack and the post is too long but i wanted to give you some insight to what i'm doing- ill post my findings on the coating/protectant- eventually ill get a thread going when i can post pics (I'm new ) but I'm on a tight timeline on this build- A lot of people think I'm crazy for polishing- but in this biz you got to be different/cool looking!

COOL! I'm glad it worked out for ya. That stuff is real good. As for posting thing start a thread and i'll post your pictures on it for ya until you get enough posts.

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (Curb Hopper)

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 13:14:45 GMT

Man....I am in the exact same"boat" as you. EVERYONE thinks I'm off my rocker for wanting the aluminum look but I AM going to pull it off. I know it can be done. I've been told that a clear coat will start to "yellow" in time..a couple to three years? I'll definatly share my findings with you. I am about to be very aggressive with the build. Thanks for sharing! -kevin

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (drvp)

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 12:30:50 GMT

BTM676

Curb Hopper

Nice breakdown on the process. Do you have a plan on maintaining that? Clear coat maybe?

Thanks. Very helpful. Love the build.

Yes i want to clear coat it or something along those lines. I dont know anything about clear coat or how it will work on aluminum. I haven't really researched anything about it.

So before i had read your reply, i had found a qt of POR Strip and bought a can of aircraft stripper to do a comparison- WOW - the aircraft stripper (which EVERYONE said would win) didn't even touch the paint (I'm pretty sure its enamel) and the Por strip got 90% off in the first coat- I also did this in the morning in 40 deg conditions for the test. I ordered 4 gallons that will be here monday and will start it then- I'm not looking for a mirror finish but i definitely want it shiny I've been perusing forums on Airstreams and truck tractor trailers on coatings- i really don't want to spray a hard coat due to not having correct facilities and the temp outside wont be conducive for an outside coating.

I've been talking to some truckers about "moonshine" polishes - this is pretty interesting and they swear by it- but seems a bit crazy as it involves heating up mineral spirits and whisking in other ingredients such as lighter fluid, rouge, wax, etc- so many variations

I'm in aviation and there are promising products that last a long time on the polished leading edges at 500 +miles per hour @40,000 ft but they are kind of cost prohibitive.

This is not a thread jack and the post is too long but i wanted to give you some insight to what i'm doing- ill post my findings on the coating/protectant- eventually ill get a thread going when i can post pics (I'm new ) but I'm on a tight timeline on this build- A lot of people think I'm crazy for polishing- but in this biz you got to be different/cool looking!

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (BTM676)

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 11:37:36 GMT

Curb Hopper

Nice breakdown on the process. Do you have a plan on maintaining that? Clear coat maybe?

Thanks. Very helpful. Love the build.

Yes i want to clear coat it or something along those lines. I dont know anything about clear coat or how it will work on aluminum. I havent really researched anything about it.

Re:Yet Another Food truck build! (Curb Hopper)

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 02:31:45 GMT

Nice breakdown on the process. Do you have a plan on maintaining that? Clear coat maybe?

Thanks. Very helpful. Love the build.