Stepside bed refurbish

[squaredeal91]

when I bought my 78k10 it came with a homebuilt flatbed on it I have never been fond of but it has served me well through the years. It also came with its original step side bed. Im to the point now I'm taking it apart a little at a time to clean and primer the parts and pieces. Also to fix any damage to it and make it right. The goal is to get it back on my frame at a primer stage at least so I can use the bed for tools and such and I already have a big 1 ton dually with flatbed to to flatbed things.

 

[squaredeal91]

Im starting at the drivers corner. So far so good

 

[squaredeal91]

First area to fix is this. question is..is this a factory tac weld? In picture #4 and is that buldge factory too? All 4 corners have it so it looks factory.

 

[TotalyHucked]

I can't say for certain but that bump definitely looks factory to me. The spot weld may be as well

 

[CalSgt]

IDK if the tack weld is factory but I don't recall seeing the bulge on my buddy's stepper... I'd gamble the bulge was from repeated use of rachet straps hooked to the end of the bedrail which is evident by the tweaked out lip on the bedrail.

 

[squaredeal91]

Here's from the other 3 corners. They all appear to be the same. Interesting

 

[squaredeal91]

Nothing too bad really. One rust hole not too bad. Not very banged up on this side either. Im thinking about using some paint stripper on some of this. A friend said he would bead blast the steps for me in his blasting cabinet. Found this foam???

 

[TotalyHucked]

Those bed posts are definitely supposed to be that way, they're too uniform to not be

 

[bucket]

The bumps and tack welds are factory.

That's a damn nice bed too! WAY nicer than mine.

 

[squaredeal91]

Thanks @bucket
Got some more time on it today Wire wheel Found a few rust holes but nothing too bad so far. I can easily patch those up.

 

[squaredeal91]

Found it!!
If it had to be rusty I'm glad its where it can be fixed and hidden.

 

[squaredeal91]

Looks like it was glued/ sealed on with something. When the time comes What should I use for reassembly?

 

[CalSgt]

Looks like it was glued/ sealed on with something. When the time comes What should I use for reassembly?

I have no real experience with a stepper but if it were mine I’d get Everything ready for paint then reassemble and lay a bead of seam sealer on the top side. If you mask before the seam sealer you can smooth it out with a finger and pull the tape while it’s still flowing. It will level out the tape edges and look seamless.

 

[squaredeal91]

I have no real experience with a stepper but if it were mine I’d get Everything ready for paint then reassemble and lay a bead of seam sealer on the top side. If you mask before the seam sealer you can smooth it out with a finger and pull the tape while it’s still flowing. It will level out the tape edges and look seamless.

Sounds good to me! I think ill do just that.

 

[bucket]

I have no real experience with a stepper but if it were mine I’d get Everything ready for paint then reassemble and lay a bead of seam sealer on the top side. If you mask before the seam sealer you can smooth it out with a finger and pull the tape while it’s still flowing. It will level out the tape edges and look seamless.

GM put sealer on the fender, before assembly, where it meets the bedsides. Due to the close proximity of the fender and bed rail, there's really no access along the top.