Pete's (Now Nate's) 2003 Denali Budget Build thread

[Sevenevez]

One word. Beautiful.

Damn nice work.

Those bridge pics are fantastic! Excellent photos skills my friends!

thanks guys!

Kills me how fast this thread moves! I didn't check it for a few weeks and now the truck's a whole new color, hahaha. Looks great man.

haha, thanks. yeah man. this build moved pretty fast. even though i spent some extra money on parts that i wanted to be really nice, (dash kit, steering wheel, headlights) at the end of it i am pretty sure the one single most expensive thing was the wheels. and i got those off craigslist for $750 which was a steal considering what they might have cost new. I love the truck. After painting it feels like i bought a brand new vehicle. i'm really happy with how far it has come.







and i am not saying it's completely done. but the remainder of stuff is small compared to what has happened

 

[willinnashville]

Really? I figured the paint material costs would have been more than $750.

I have a couple questions - is there a reason you didn't use some sort of primer? I've never painted anything, but I was under the impression paint wouldn't stick and you'd be able to see the body filler areas if you didn't use primer. Secondly, how hard would you say it is to repaint a panel using one of those spray bomb kits from that shit you use? I have zero experience painting anything, but the clear is gacked on the hood and roof of my 05 Denali and it's bugging me

 

[Sevenevez]

Really? I figured the paint material costs would have been more than $750.

I have a couple questions - is there a reason you didn't use some sort of primer? I've never painted anything, but I was under the impression paint wouldn't stick and you'd be able to see the body filler areas if you didn't use primer. Secondly, how hard would you say it is to repaint a panel using one of those spray bomb kits from that shit you use? I have zero experience painting anything, but the clear is gacked on the hood and roof of my 05 Denali and it's bugging me

All my paint and masking/prep supplies came to $640 at the local paint shop. I had to upgrade my compressor was separate ($350) and the Gun kit was just over $200. My bondo areas were very minimal and if you look back, i did prime those areas and sanded etc.. The whole vehicle for the most part had very good smooth factory paint/surface so i just wetsanded the whole thing and most of it only needed a 3M scuff pad. Thats how my Dad and i have done it over the years. ( i have only painted a handful of cars over the years myself, but he knows what he is doing and i always gave him a call if i had a concern ). If you have a surface that has been scuffed and cleaned/degreased prepped correctly, the paint will adhere with no problems. Now, if i am doing a vehicle that had a lot of bumps and bruises and welding and bondo all over it, then i would use a sealer on the whole thing which is similar to primer but it lays on very thick and covers a lot of imperfections but this Denali really didnt need it. My clear was messed up on my hood too, but wet sanding took it down to butter smooth and didnt need any primer or filler. It was just oxidized clear coat from the sun. But for a hood to do it with a rattle can would not be easy to get a perfect blend into the surrounding paint. It just depends how picky you are about it.


My OBS GMC was worse and i used a sealer on the whole thing.

 

[willinnashville]

Sweet! Thanks for the info

 

[adventurenali92]

Hey @Sevenevez , when you deleted your OnStar and Xm antennas, did you have access the bolts from the sunroof area or did you end up dropping the whole headliner?

 

[Sevenevez]

Hey @Sevenevez , when you deleted your OnStar and Xm antennas, did you have access the bolts from the sunroof area or did you end up dropping the whole headliner?

i posted pics and details of the whole process man!



yes, i had to pull the headliner to have enough room to see and have access, but i did a lot of the unscrewing and stuff by sliding my arm through the moonroof section. But without pulling the headliner, you dont have any space to see or work with. It was only like 7 screws and faster than i thought to do.

Page 104. Heres the Link

 

[adventurenali92]

i posted pics and details of the whole process man!



yes, i had to pull the headliner to have enough room to see and have access, but i did a lot of the unscrewing and stuff by sliding my arm through the moonroof section. But without pulling the headliner, you dont have any space to see or work with. It was only like 7 screws and faster than i thought to do.

Page 104. Heres the Link

I really don’t want to drop the headliner. Lol. Too much work. But I’ll read your write up. I’m gonna have to buy the kit to fix my sunroof so headliner drop is more than likely for me too.

 

[Sevenevez]

I really don’t want to drop the headliner. Lol. Too much work. But I’ll read your write up. I’m gonna have to buy the kit to fix my sunroof so headliner drop is more than likely for me too.

i felt the same way if you remember? Fosscore said just do it!
I thought it would take like an hour or worse. Really you are only dropping the front part of the headliner. not like the whole thing. It took me more time to contemplate and complain than it did to do the whole job including repairing the holes! haha. And you are probably just using plugs right?

 

[adventurenali92]

i felt the same way if you remember? Fosscore said just do it!
I thought it would take like an hour or worse. Really you are only dropping the front part of the headliner. not like the whole thing. It took me more time to contemplate and complain than it did to do the whole job including repairing the holes! haha. And you are probably just using plugs right?

I actually was just thinking to take my shark fin off, paint it, and throw it back on after I finish fixing the sunroof. What did you use to reglue the front part of the headliner?

 

[05Single]

nothing big. just minor details.
and of course, i had a few beers just staring at this gappy GMT800 platform. Big ol gaps everywhere and then i notice the top of the headlight light colored plastic always showing through where everything is dark.



so i just taped that edge off. degreased,scuffed and sprayed it.



better

Ha , i had the same idea for mine. Can't stand the borders on these lights on our trucks. Nice touch!