Project “Polar Bear”: 1989 V2500 Suburban

[BigTex]

Looks good Larry. I know that first step of putting that grinder against the body of a decent looking truck is the hardest one......no turning back after that. At least now, you know exactly how bad the rust was, and it's fixed right. No more surprises.

I really figured as I scrolled down, I'd see Bed liner in the last pics to match the K10. I like the stock look you went back with, looks good.

 

[Larry]

Hehe, funny you should mention bed liner as that was the plan had the 4.3L swap materialized with the body guy. I like the solid white theme on this Burb and wasn’t too excited about doing a white/black theme with bed liner, although Rhino lining has worked great on the K10 for over a decade. I just didn’t want this white Burb to be two tone. I like it all white! Under the paint I did add a lot of chip guard so hopefully that will help the life of the paint. Got one more white stock looking item to add after the lift. Stay tuned!

 

[BurbanAZ]

Yea i like it being all white instead of the two tone. You could always use something like this http://www.nonslipcoating.com/colorchart.htm they have it in white/

 

[BigTex]

And.....Polar bears aren't black and white, Panda bears are. Project Panda Bear just wouldn't have sounded right for what we're all anticipating. I am definitely by the channel!!!

 

[AA1PR]

paint job & repairs look great

if you get a paint run again, just get out your masking tape & stick that to the run (drips) & remove carefully

it will remove the excess with out too much damage & in most cases you can buff out what remains (after it dries)

 

[Larry]

Yea i like it being all white instead of the two tone. You could always use something like this http://www.nonslipcoating.com/colorchart.htm they have it in white/

Ah, no way on that Durabak stuff! ColoradoBill and I used that on the interior of his RamCharger and it didn’t hold up for anything. We spent two days prepping the interior so the prep work and cleanliness wasn’t the issue with it not sticking. The product just is less than sterling. The fumes from that crap about kills you too. We thought we were going to die as we rolled that stuff on.

And.....Polar bears aren't black and white, Panda bears are. Project Panda Bear just wouldn't have sounded right for what we're all anticipating. I am definitely by the channel!!!

Yeah, you’re right! Polar bears don’t have black spots so had I gone two tone a name change might have been in order to Panda Bear and that would just sound odd. I must admit, I did have a parachute packed in case this paint job turned out like crap. My back up plan was similar to bed liner but it is a vinyl decal like stuff that is very robust with high UV protection properties but with a bed liner-like texture. This material is actually used on the rear exterior walls of UPS delivery vans with swing doors. Swing door UPS vans frequent shipping docks so this stuff was created to protect the bodies from scratching (UPS vans with roll up doors are typically residential delivery vehicles). One of my contacts at the body company that builds the bodies for these type vehicles hooked me up with 4 partial scrap rolls of this stuff. My plan was to use this as a makeshift bed liner/vinyl wrap. This stuff is UPS brown but would have looked alright on a white burb. I think I may still use some of it to lie on the door sills.

This is what it looks like. It comes in large rolls with an adhesive backing but needs to be applied with a heat gun. Cool stuff. Not sure who makes it though. Probably 3M but there is no marking on the tube to know for sure.

 

[BurbanAZ]

Ah, no way on that Durabak stuff! ColoradoBill and I used that on the interior of his RamCharger and it didn't hold up for anything. We spent two days prepping the interior so the prep work and cleanliness wasn't the issue with it not sticking. The product just is less than sterling. The fumes from that crap about kills you too. We thought we were going to die as we rolled that stuff on.

Good to know that the Durabak stuff doesnt seem that great a product. I was thinking about using it on my last truck just because of some of the colors they offered but i never got around to it.

 

[BBslider001]

Larry, that work really turned out nice. I highly doubt a body man could have done any better or made it look better than that. So, wanna sell it? :sombrero: Looking forward to more on this!

 

[NOIBN]

One of my contacts at the body company that builds the bodies for these type vehicles hooked me up with 4 partial scrap rolls of this stuff. My plan was to use this as a makeshift bed liner/vinyl wrap. This stuff is UPS brown but would have looked alright on a white burb. I think I may still use some of it to lie on the door sills.

Something I undid and the re-did on my Suburban may work well on yours. My Sub had pieces of anti-slip tape on the door sills. I was doing something and removed it from the passenger sill exposing brand new looking paint (they had been on there a LONG time, but I am not sure if they were oe or not). Anyways, as time went on, I began to think that was probably a good idea to have that on there--especially with the truck being lifted a bit. I started searching for it and could not find it anywhere. I was at a rental-property supply warehouse one day talking with the cat who knows everything and I asked him if he had this stuff--like self-adhesive sand paper. He said he didn't but what about a skateboard shop--the grip tape used on the top of the deck?? Ding!! What a great idea. Five dollars later I had what I needed.

Now, when I laid the first piece out I stopped an eigth of an inch inside of the edge of the sill (right before it drops down toward the rocker panel). It works good, but when I re-did the driver door and third door I wrapped the stuff OVER the edge so it goes down the edge and eighth or so. What a difference that little detail in running it over the radius made!! Once you get your shoe near it, it has traction right now. Amazing. The only drawback is if you run the back of your leg down it during egress. I thought this would be an issue, but I have yet to do it and the traction tape has been on there for a year or so, so I would say that the risk of that happening is minimal but the benefits far outweigh the risk in my opinion.

Now I find the stuff at Lowe's and Home Depot in their safety aisle. Figures.

 

[Larry]

Thanks BBSlider001! I must admit, the body work did turn out much better than I figured it would even aside from the paint runs that need to be fixed.

Nick,

Yeah, I saw that stuff on your Burb and thought it was a great idea.

 

[LIVEanimals]

WOW! Looking really good Larry. Are those the factory wheels, I've only seen them in 5 lug, they look good on there.

 

[Larry]

WOW! Looking really good Larry. Are those the factory wheels, I've only seen them in 5 lug, they look good on there.

Thanks LIVEanimals! No, those are aftermarket wheels although GM did offer OEM wheel in 5 and 6 lug versions that were very similar to these.

 

[1leg]

I would love to find a set of them wheels for my 89.

 

[pacman]

Sorry if you already mentioned this somewhere. but what's the plan for the Greenbrier?

 

[Larry]

Sorry if you already mentioned this somewhere. but what's the plan for the Greenbrier?

It is actually a Corvan, which is a plain-Jane striped down Corvair panel van. The Greenbriers were the top of the line passenger vans. None the less, no huge plans for it other than to just restore it to original condition, squirrel it way in the garage and occasionally drive it around and take it to car shows. Maybe use it to haul the dogs to the vet, Lowe's/Home Depot runs or something. Funny, it has one option….a factory chrome tissue holder under the dash! LOL No plans to sell it though, it’s been in the family too long.