Josh's Bronco II Body Restoration Thread

[PetesPonies]

ex instructor I would say not that is not common. If I can in any way get to the rear of the panel, I definitely paint it. I use a rust paint to seal the weld. It's a very good idea to seal up the backside if at all possible.

 

[88B2EB]

Recent purchases:

- Sand paper (60 to 600 grit wet/dry). I'm lucky enough to have a neighborhood industrial tool store just a few lots down from me that had them for $.49 each. Can't beat it!
- DA Sanding disks (80 to 320 grid). About $3 per 5 pack.
- Stick of 3M Ultrapro Sealant ($18) - for a few of the badly cracked panel joints (Didn't know what to call it when I was asking before).
- 3M Fiberglass/Resin Repair Kit. The smallest quantity FinishMaster had was a gallon of resin and basically a pillowcase full of fiberglass cloth (that's about a 100 year supply for me!) so I looked a bit and found this kit from AutoZone for $20. Much better.
- Duraglass filler with red hardener ($32) and regular filler with black hardener ($14). No idea why the hardener tubes are different colors...

Started taping off. It's probably a bit early for that but with the heat lately I haven't been able to do much else. We've been in the 90's here all week and today got to 100. Hoping it'll cool off a bit this weekend so I can make some progress.

 

[PetesPonies]

I use different color hardeners for filler. I use red and blue. You do that to be able to tell easily when you are sanding that you have gone through the top layer and are into the layer beneath. It is actually quite useful this way. And it's not always bad to go through that's not the point. But knowing at what level you are is helpful.

 

[88B2EB]

Now it makes sense.:icon_thumby:

 

[88B2EB]

Big thanks to Jim Oaks who I'm gathering wrote the tech article on bodywork. Without it I would have given up a long time ago.

It cooled off for the weekend and I was able to spend a lot of time in the garage.

Fiberglass: The outer panel got 3 layers of fiberglass/resin via an access hole under the jack compartment and the inner panel got 2 layers inside the wheelwell.

Here's inside the wheelwell. Sorry for the bad picture it was a little cramped in there.

And the fiber reinforced duraglass filler: I also applied it thinly over the fiberglass inside the wheelwell for better weather protection.

Sanded smooth:

First coat of regular filler: 1 or 2 more coats will be needed to get everything nice and smooth. It's covering paint a little right now but after sanding there should be a nice smooth transition from paint to metal to filler.

I used to work as a drywall finisher and it surprised me how similar it is to applying body filler. If anyone's ever done drywall, bondo's like durabond on steroids. In 5 minutes it's to stiff to work with and by 10 minutes the bondo's hard as a rock.

 

[88B2EB]

Here's the driver side.

Sanded down with 150 and 220 on the DA and feathering into the old paint:

duraglass:

Sanded down:

First coat of regular filler:

 

[88B2EB]

Some other areas.

Lifgate opening bottom driver corner: There was a 1/4" dia. hole here that got tapped in with a hammer, sanded with a rough grit for bonding, duraglassed, and 1 layer of filler on both sides. I need to sand it yet but I'm not too worried about making this one pretty since it'll be hidden under the hatch anyway.

There was some mirror damage to the driver door that was tapped out by the PO but never finished. I left the centers unsanded for this picture to show where the low spots were.

Feathered the old paint out, roughed up the bare metal, and covered with filler about 1/16" deep.

Just for the record this is waaay too much hardener. It was my first run with filler and it hardened before I could even get from the workbench to the truck!

 

[PetesPonies]

You only need to estimate, but there should be about 2% hardener.

 

[88B2EB]

Might need to take a break from the Bronco for a few days. Check out what I noticed on the daily driver. Don't know whether to laugh or cry.

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1260782#post1260782

 

[88B2EB]

Just finished my emergency repairs on the Ranger (radiator support & body mounts) so after 2 weeks of cursing I can finally get back to work on the Bronco.

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=129457

 

[88B2EB]

Some questions I'm hoping you guys can clear up for me:

A few of you mentioned single stage paint. What's the good and the bad vs. traditional base coat - clear coat?

Does anybody know why the 'How to Paint' section of the Tech Library isn't working? I could really use it.

I've been looking at gravity fed HVLP paint guns. A lot of stores offer kits with a paint gun and separate primer gun but the tech article here mentions just changing out the nozzle. I'm a little unclear on this and what to look for.



Over the past week I finished the filler. Here's the passenger side that got the fiberglass:

Driver side:

Driver door dents repaired (from mirror ding):

Here's sort-of an overall of where the Bronco's at right now. Hoping I'll be ready to paint in a couple weeks...

 

[brinker88]

Single stage is a cheap alternative to a great paint job. IMO, its actually more scratch resistant. My truck's painted with it. I used summitracing.com's single stage and have had nothing but problems.

If it rains for a week straight, the paint will bubble. When it dries, it looks like nothing ever happened. It doesnt stick to the stepside bed. When I taped off the bed to bed line the rockers, it took the paint completely off (the TAPE did). It is very brittle as well. It spider cracks if you hit it or tweak the metal.

 

[PetesPonies]

You have it backwards, SS was around first. If anything is considered traditional, its the SS. BC/CC came in the 80s, European cars first. But anyway . . SS urethane is different and better than AE. They shouldn't be confused. SS urethane has the chemical makeup same as BC/CC. So it can last a long time, much better than AE. But typically is costs less,m because...you are buying only one material as opposed to two of them. I wouldn't ( with todays paints and technology ) paint a single stage metallic color. But if it's a solid color, SS urethane is a viable option.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Does anybody know why the 'How to Paint' section of the Tech Library isn't working? I could really use it.

Because it was a link to another site. That's why I hate linking, they disappear.

I found it in the archive though:

http://web.archive.org/web/20000618061804/http://www.off-road.com/4x4web/faqs/paint.html

Also check out:

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/BodyWork.html

 

[88B2EB]

Single stage is a cheap alternative to a great paint job. IMO, its actually more scratch resistant. My truck's painted with it. I used summitracing.com's single stage and have had nothing but problems.

Sounds like you're for SS as long as I steer clear of Summitracing? Sounds like that brand really fell short for you. Based on the comments I'm leaning towards SS. From what I've been reading BC/CC is a bit glossier but is harder to apply. Being that it will be my first time painting I'm inclined to think my chances of messing up BC/CC might negate it's slightly glossier finish. You guys agree?

SS urethane has the chemical makeup same as BC/CC. So it can last a long time, much better than AE. But typically is costs less,m because...you are buying only one material as opposed to two of them. I wouldn't ( with todays paints and technology ) paint a single stage metallic color. But if it's a solid color, SS urethane is a viable option.

That explanation helps a lot. And no, not planning for any metallic, just keeping it simple reproducing the basic red/tan two-tone scheme.

Because it was a link to another site. That's why I hate linking, they disappear. I found it in the archive though:
http://web.archive.org/web/20000618061804/http://www.off-road.com/4x4web/faqs/paint.html

That makes sense. The archive link isn't working for me though. I was able to track down some good online how-to articles but have yet to find a step-by-step article that picks up where TRS's bodywork page leaves off.

Thanks guys, keep it comin...

 

[Shran]

I'd just go down to your local paint supply store and see what they recommend for single stage.

I painted my truck with gloss black Rustoleum rattle cans two years ago. It has severely oxidized from sitting in the sun. I think I need to repaint it again, maybe with real paint this time.

 

[country0001]

My rattle can paint job is oxidizing bad too. I'm looking into tractor paint.

 

[88B2EB]

Progress update:

About 80% of the Bronco has been sanded over the past couple weeks up to 220 grit. Then I'll primer the bare metal/filler and start the sanding process all over again with 220, 320 and finish up with 400-wet before painting. I can't believe how much time sanding eats up! So I'll be getting into painting soon, kind of uncharted territory for me, so if any of you more experienced folks want to offer some advice I'm all ears.

 

[88B2EB]

Yep I'm still kickin. The wife's car broke and I had to spend nights after work for almost a week to get it back on the road but it's all good now and I've been back at the Bronco. All sanded and new sealant on all the panel joints.

Had the neighbor stop by and along with my wife we all three dry fit the lund visor (saves me trying to line it up later and scratching my new paint).

My new paint sprayer (Sharpe Finex 3000) should be here Thursday so I can start painting. All the paint materials have been bought. First thing will be to prime the bare metal/filler that's been exposed way too long already. In the meantime I need to start preping all the parts that'll be painted off the truck: fenders, visor, front panel, fuel door. My goal's to get the lifgate preped this weekend.

So yeah I'm still kickin. What's that saying, slow and steady wins the race? My biggest fear is the weather will change before I can finish painting and I'll have to wait till spring.

 

[88B2EB]

In case it helps anybody I did looked into quite a few sprayers before settling on the Sharpe FX3000. My limiting factor was my small compressor that I suspect will be the same for most do-it-yourselfers. With unlimited cfm's I might have gone for the Devilbiss FL3 (great reviews) but the 13cfm@29psi requirement was just too rich for my blood. Anyway, here's the list:

Mid-grade:
- Binks SV100G HVLP, 10-14cfm@29psi
- Devilbiss FinishLine3 HVLP, 13cfm@29psi
- Sharpe Finex 3000 HVLP, 9.5cfm@29psi
- Sharpe Finex 2000 Conventional, 9.5cfm@43psi
- Astro EuroHV HVLP, 9-10cfm@29psi
- Astro QUL Conventional, 6-12cfm@30-90psi
- Ingersoll Rand 270G HVLP, 8cfm@40psi

Low-grade:
- Campbell Hausfeld HVLP, 6.3cfm@40psi
- Vaper HVLP, 7-9cfm
- Kobalt HVLP, 5.8cfm