Builds Kid-safe 1975 FJ40 build in Washington DC

[Kmw1]

Started a frame off restoration on a 1975 fj40. I have young kids at home and I am worried about lead in the paint dust generated from body work. My plan is to have the body media blasted and sprayed with direct to metal or epoxy primer prior to starting the metal work to minimize the risk of heavy metal exposure. I only have a pop-up tarp garage to work in, so condensation and rust is a concern in the swampy DC climate. I have the tub off and found someone to blast it at a reasonable price (for dc), but can’t find someone to lay down primer at a reasonable price, not looking for a show car, just a weekend driver that I work on with (and pass on to the kids. Anyone know a paint shop or individual in the MD/VA area that could spray the primer once blasted or blast and prime? Looking to spend $500 or less for blast and prime, I can provide primer. Build thread to follow.

 

[tls3601]

Really?? Kids are SO soft and babied these days. My generation played football all day and drank water out of the garden hose to cool off.

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

I paid a spring and axle shop in Hagerstown, MD to blast and prime my 40, something like $500-600. Big truck shop.

Keep the kids away from the action when you’re cutting, grinding, welding, sanding, drinking, or whatever else might traumatize them.

Seriously though, give them tools and the proper PPE and teach them.

Also reach out to the Capital Land Cruiser Club @Stumpalama

Good bunch of guys, tons of help and information available for sure.

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

VA/DC/MD- Capital Land Cruiser Club

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

Truck & Trailer Repair Hagerstown, MD, Commercial Truck Repairs Service

We are a complete truck & trailer repair service center in Maryland, West Virginia & Pennsylvania. We can handle your entire truck and trailer repair needs.

hsaservicecenterinc.com

 

[tls3601]

Seriously I like the advice of @rkymtnflyfisher now is a great time for them to learn so very useful skills. And kids love new things as well.

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

Stop and have a cold beer before you get in too deep.

 

[Kmw1]

Really?? Kids are SO soft and babied these days. My generation played football all day and drank water out of the garden hose to cool off.

Yeah, I remember playing with a bucket of mercury when I was a kid, times have changed. My wife is a physician and is really concerned about it - when your a hammer everything looks like a nail.

 

[Kmw1]

I paid a spring and axle shop in Hagerstown, MD to blast and prime my 40, something like $500-600. Big truck shop.

Keep the kids away from the action when you’re cutting, grinding, welding, sanding, drinking, or whatever else might traumatize them.

Seriously though, give them tools and the proper PPE and teach them.

Also reach out to the Capital Land Cruiser Club @Stumpalama

Good bunch of guys, tons of help and information available for sure.

Thanks for the advice and references, this will be my first restoration project and the kids are more excited than I am. They will get their hands plenty dirty.

 

[FJBen]

I get it, we had a contractor blow lead paint dust all over the inside of our house once. It's not good at all and can cause major problems on younger kids.

Definitely let the kids help work on it, but I would just make sure they have the correct protection and that it fits correctly. I would just get it blasted and go from there. How old are the kids?

 

[lcwizard]

Really?? Kids are SO soft and babied these days. My generation played football all day and drank water out of the garden hose to cool off.

Ha..football... when I was 13 my friend Alan and I collected rattlesnakes and scorpions for a venom studies at ASU. Alan's friend
was in college and had access. He paid us 5.00 each for rattlesnakes and .25 for scorpions. I lived on the northern edge of Phx so I had
easy access to the desert. We had an area of about 5 sq miles dotted with scorpion traps. The snakes we caught by heading out in the evening on bikes with lights an a triple burlap sack. Many days no more than one. Best day was seven. Scorpions 20 to 50 every other day in about 20 traps. In 1972 that seemed like a decent amount of money for a 13 y/o. It bought me my first dirt bike . Darwinism
at it's finest

 

[lcwizard]

Started a frame off restoration on a 1975 fj40. I have young kids at home and I am worried about lead in the paint dust generated from body work. My plan is to have the body media blasted and sprayed with direct to metal or epoxy primer prior to starting the metal work to minimize the risk of heavy metal exposure. I only have a pop-up tarp garage to work in, so condensation and rust is a concern in the swampy DC climate. I have the tub off and found someone to blast it at a reasonable price (for dc), but can’t find someone to lay down primer at a reasonable price, not looking for a show car, just a weekend driver that I work on with (and pass on to the kids. Anyone know a paint shop or individual in the MD/VA area that could spray the primer once blasted or blast and prime? Looking to spend $500 or less for blast and prime, I can provide primer. Build thread to follow.

Lead wasn't completely banned by the feds until 78 but some states had already banned it years before. Many manufacturers had stopped by 75 knowing what was coming. 3M makes lead testing swabs. I believe even Amazon carries them. Yes, lead can cause brain damage in young children but I'd argue that social media and video games do the same. Facebook...the new lead

 

[John in Utah]

If you’re just building a driver have you considered spraying primer yourself? If you have a pop up tent outside you’re half way there.

And don’t take any crap from the “back in my day” crowd for wanting to protect your kids from lead poisoning. They’d have you think they walked 10 miles to school up hill both ways too

 

[lcwizard]

it was 11 miles...get your facts straight... and you forgot about the 30 mph headwind.....over broken glass, barefoot

 

[Rainman]

In the snow...

 

[lcwizard]

all the youngins are just so soft today....

 

[Kmw1]

I get it, we had a contractor blow lead paint dust all over the inside of our house once. It's not good at all and can cause major problems on younger kids.

Definitely let the kids help work on it, but I would just make sure they have the correct protection and that it fits correctly. I would just get it blasted and go from there. How old are the kids?

1,3 &6... so I am not busy at all and will have plenty of time for another time hungry project child. I’ve been reading though lots of build threads, I’m in no hurry to finish. From what I can tell it’s a marathon not a sprint.

 

[Kmw1]

Ha..football... when I was 13 my friend Alan and I collected rattlesnakes and scorpions for a venom studies at ASU. Alan's friend
was in college and had access. He paid us 5.00 each for rattlesnakes and .25 for scorpions. I lived on the northern edge of Phx so I had
easy access to the desert. We had an area of about 5 sq miles dotted with scorpion traps. The snakes we caught by heading out in the evening on bikes with lights an a triple burlap sack. Many days no more than one. Best day was seven. Scorpions 20 to 50 every other day in about 20 traps. In 1972 that seemed like a decent amount of money for a 13 y/o. It bought me my first dirt bike . Darwinism
at it's finest

Sounds like a blast, I’ve collected many rattle snakes, rabid bats, and all matter of creature in my time, I studied evolutionary biology before becoming a veterinarian and have more snake bites than i care to remember! Like anything potentially dangerous, knowledge and experience are key, when it comes to cars I have neither and plan on leaning heavily on google and the fine folks here on mud, so thanks in advance!

 

[Kmw1]

Lead wasn't completely banned by the feds until 78 but some states had already banned it years before. Many manufacturers had stopped by 75 knowing what was coming. 3M makes lead testing swabs. I believe even Amazon carries them. Yes, lead can cause brain damage in young children but I'd argue that social media and video games do the same. Facebook...the new lead

Agreed, I’d take lead over excessive screen time any day!!! Feels wrong to knock social media on a social media platform that I am currently using, but in general I agree -what’s Facebook?

I could be wrong, but I don’t think it was ever banned in auto paint, even in the USA. Lots of commercial paint products still contain >20% lead not to mention other heavy metals.

The lead testing swabs for at home testing are notoriously inaccurate, up to 60% false negatives across the board (really poor sensitivity, good specificity - a negative result is essentially useless). The send in tests that use mass spectrometry, gas chromatography, etc are much more accurate, but would miss a pocket of lead filler, or a single repainted fender -ie. can not test the whole car, important on our frankenstein like rigs that are half a century old and 10 owners deep!

 

[FJBen]

1,3 &6... so I am not busy at all and will have plenty of time for another time hungry project child. I’ve been reading though lots of build threads, I’m in no hurry to finish. From what I can tell it’s a marathon not a sprint.

Yep plenty of time and it's definitely a marathon. Good luck, I just spent since august of last year rebuilding the engine in mine. Just got it running 2 weeks ago.