# The Bronco



## BuckHunter31 (Dec 18, 2010)

I recently got myself a '93 Bronco XLT. It had some flaws. The paint was fading in places and had a few dings here and there. The tail gate is pretty bad beat up. So I decided to give it a fresh look. This is my first time ever doing something like this so please if you have any thoughts, comments, concerns please let me know. Here are some pics of the progress so far. 

This is before I started.


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## BuckHunter31 (Dec 18, 2010)

Here she is sanded down. I started out with 200 grit sandpaper. I took off all the trim. I think it will look better bare. I am going to put back on the Bronco decal on the front quarter panel when I'm done. I went over it a few times, took about 2 hours. Yeah it was a shoulder workout


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## BuckHunter31 (Dec 18, 2010)

Tonight I puttied 'er up, primed and sanded 'er down with 800 grit. I went over it twice getting every inch smooth as possible. I primed every spot that had bare metal showing or rust. I sanded the rust off as best I could before priming.


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## BuckHunter31 (Dec 18, 2010)

Sorry the pics aren't the best. I did the work at the house and it got late and dark and my garage doesn't have the best lighting in it so I just took the pics the next day at work and all I had was my cell. Next pics will be of the finished product. I am keeping it dark green. Like I said I have never done something like this before so I am anxious to see how it turns out. Paint will be going on Thursday. I plan on doing 2-3 coats of paint and 2-3 coats of clear or until it shines like I want it.


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## tashwoo (Dec 19, 2010)

looks good! can wait to see the finished product


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## cramer (Dec 19, 2010)

Looks good! I'm a Bronco fan


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## BuckHunter31 (Dec 19, 2010)

Thanks guys. Hope it turns out good. Keep your fingers crossed


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## BuckHunter31 (Dec 19, 2010)

What are y'alls opinion on the color? I am either going to keep it the original color (or as close to it as I can find) or go black. I am not fooling with the door jams so no matter what they will be original paint. So dark green or black? I first thought I wanted to keep it green but now I am leaning towards black. I have other plans as well when I finish painting it like getting all the windows tinted out professionally, linexing the hard top and having dual exhuast put on. I think she will be a bad little ride when all that is said and done.


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## murf (Dec 19, 2010)

Black will show up every flaw in your prep work.


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## Ruger Theory (Dec 19, 2010)

I love it the Bronco is my favorite vehicle ever.


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## BuckHunter31 (Dec 19, 2010)

Yea I agree with you murf. With this being my first time, I think I will go back with green. Do you guys think it is necessary to prime the entire vehicle or should I be good with it like it is? I have been told both are correct.


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## thomas the redneck (Dec 19, 2010)

i ant a painter but i would prime the intire thing
and i have an 89 eddie bauer and love it has never failed to get me and the kids where we need to be


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## BRANCHWYNN (Dec 19, 2010)

I want me one....thats cool


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## BuckHunter31 (Dec 20, 2010)

I guess I will prime the entire thing. Even though the same color is going back on the primer should stick to the car better than the paint alone. It's better to be safe (and with a nice look'n paint job) than sorry


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## BuckHunter31 (Dec 24, 2010)

We got it painted and clear coated. It is far from perfect but I am no pro at this. I put 2 coats of paint and 4 coats of clear. It has some runs in the clear, fish eyes and orange peel. Now all that is left to do is wetsand it with 1500 and buff. Should shine like glass when I'm done with it. I was told the trick to making a paint job look great is putting enough clear on it so you can wetsand and buff. I was worried about it having flaws but the guy at the paint shop said it was no big deal and that I should be about to wetsand most of it out. I guess we will have to wait and see. He said to wait a week or so before doing it. Any thoughts or advice? What do you guys think?


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## BuckHunter31 (Dec 24, 2010)

I still have to put the Bronco decal on the driver side. After I get the paint the way I want it the next thing to do is refinish the top. Then I will tint out the windows and of course put the dual exhuats on it. Will keep it posted along the way.


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## spaceman (Dec 25, 2010)

*bronco*

I like your Bronco. I grew up hunting out of one with "Uncle Brownie". Brings back memories.


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## cnowery13 (Dec 28, 2010)

Awesome!


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## thomas the redneck (Dec 28, 2010)

cool i love to see folks bring them back
in my mind the best 4x4 ever built for all around use


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## Land45 (Dec 28, 2010)

thomas the redneck said:


> in my mind the best 4x4 ever built for all around use



Agree!


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## BuckHunter31 (Jan 2, 2011)

Well I got the paint complete. And it does not shine :/ I can not for the life of me get the thing to shine. The orange peel is pretty deep as well. It is a little frusterating but hey that's life. I'm no pro painter and I knew I had my work cut out for me. I am debating wether or not to sand it back down and single stage it. The BC/CC thing is tough. The BC was easy but the clear coat was terrible. All I know is if I have to sand it down it will be a ton of work. It has quite a bit of clear on it. I am taking it to a detail shop tomorrow and letting them look at it. I'm hoping they can buff/shine it right up. Maybe then it won't look as bad. I will get new pics up tomorrow afterwards. Like I said, worst case I sand it bad down... prime the whole thing... and single stage it. I will probably wait to summer though to do it. It is a job and I now know why it cost so much to get a vehicle painted


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## rjcruiser (Jan 3, 2011)

Hey...looks good in the photos and don't beat yourself up to bad.  You gave it the try and you learned from it.  If you do it again, you'll do a better job.  Hope they can shine it up.


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## BuckHunter31 (Jan 3, 2011)

I took it in to the shop today. The guy said it would show the orange peel even worse shined up. The orange peel is all the way to the paint so in order to remove it, I will have to sand the CC completely off and start over again. What do you guys think about single stage  sounds pretty good to me at this point. If I have to sand it down completely again I am just going to single stage it. When I paint it the BC went on great and looked great. The CC is what I messed up on. The fella at the paint shop did tell me that single stages aren't as bad as they used to be in reference to toughness and durability. He says you can make them pretty hard. I'm in the dark on this one.


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## rjcruiser (Jan 5, 2011)

Not sure what you're wanting to use the truck for, but I've heard some good things on some off-road websites about using an Ace paint that is like rustoleum.  Maybe a little soft, but you can add a hardener to it....best thing is it is $25 per gallon.  I've seen it used mostly over on ih8mud.com.

btw...just think of it as a good workout for your arms


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## post450 (Jan 5, 2011)

Hard to tell from the photos, but if the orange peel isn't on every panel or surface, you can always just sand out the bad areas and re-spray them with basecoat then re-clear either the affected panel or whole Bronco. You would have to watersand the good clear with 1000 grit prior and prep the bad areas accordingly. 

Have you determined the cause of the orange peel and fisheye? Most paint stores sell an additive which can reduce fisheye, but usually silicone (like Armor All) is the primary culprit and you should get it cleaned thoroughly or the singlestage would likely do the same thing.


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## BuckHunter31 (Jan 17, 2011)

Okay I sucked it up and wet sanded it down. I hit it with 600, 1000 and 1500. The Bronco looks great. It took me about a week to complete, working on it for a few hours here and there when I got time after supper. I have virtually all the orange peel out and the truck is very smooth. I am kind of worried about polishing it. I hope there is still enough clear coat on it. We will see. Should have her shined up in a few weeks. I will definetly post pics up when it's complete. I also have decided to spray the hard top a flat black along with the bottom of the Bronco below the lowest contour along the side of the body as a "chip guard." Should look great.


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## BuckHunter31 (Jan 21, 2011)

Today is the day! The Bronco is getting polished at this very moment. Will be ready around 4 this afternoon so hopefully I can get some pics up this evening.


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## rjcruiser (Jan 21, 2011)

Awesome...can't wait to see the finished product


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## Sic 'Em (Jan 21, 2011)

I love me some Bronco!!


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## shdybrady19 (Jan 21, 2011)

You got the hard part out of the way. The way to get the orange peel away and bring on the shine is wet sanding. Its a labor intensive process. If you arent ready tackle the process, take it up to a detail shop. Yeah its an added expense. But with in a few days, you will have a paint job to be proud of


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## BuckHunter31 (Jan 21, 2011)

I have a


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## BuckHunter31 (Jan 21, 2011)

I have already put in about 12 hours of wet sanding. It is at the detail shop today. Will be picking it up this afternoon. Next step will be to get the chip guard sprayed on. I think it will turn out great.


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## BuckHunter31 (Jan 21, 2011)

It is finished. I am a little disappointed in the quality of the buff job. The spot where he actually polished it looks great. But as you can see from the picture he didn't spend a lot of time on the handles or Bronco decals. Everyone quoted me around $300 and this guy was only $170. I guess it is true you get what you pay for. The detail shop said this was the best they could do. I showed them where he didn't even polish the strip under the front grill. Sad thing is the guy does a lot of the car dealership's used cars from the auction. Don't know what I'm going to do now. I rekon I will try to do the parts around the handle and decal by hand. It is just about an inch around the area. If anything it will atleast put a dull shine on it. Those areas never even got polish or wax on them. They are completely dry and white. I do still have to spray the chip guard on the lower contour of the truck. This will also help draw attention to it instead of the crappy buff job.


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## BuckHunter31 (Jan 21, 2011)

Does anyone have any experience buffing cars? I need advice on how to get the not so buffed spots somewhat buffed. Can I do it by hand? Just trying to get to not stick out. Thought about rubbing a polish compound across the areas with some elbow grease and see what happens.


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## BuckHunter31 (Jan 23, 2011)

Here it is with the rocker panel and tailgate strip. I used a fine polish compound and a power ball attachment for a drill. It worked pretty well to darken up the spots around the handles and decals. Then I just threw some wax over it. Now I have to finish the hard top and get the exhuast put on.


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## BuckHunter31 (Jan 23, 2011)

I used bedliner spray for the rocker panel. Stuck really well. I think it should hold up.


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## Full Pull (Jan 23, 2011)

Looks good 
Feels good doing it your self .


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## BuckHunter31 (Jan 23, 2011)

Thanks. Yes it does. Saved a lot of $$$ too!


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## rjcruiser (Jan 25, 2011)

Nice job.


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## Meriwether Mike (Jan 26, 2011)

It turned out nice and you learned some lessons along the way. Lots of patience, body prep and wet sanding are the keys to a superior paint job.


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## tgw925 (Feb 4, 2011)

Looks like someone else has a passion for bronco's too!


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## kickers-N-stickers (Feb 7, 2011)

what a nice lookin bronco you have there


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## sramagesr (Feb 10, 2011)

nice looking job


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## Hunt life (Feb 18, 2011)

Looks Gud....needs about 12 inches of lift and some super swampers.


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## Illinoisbound (Feb 18, 2011)

looks good to me!


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## MrBull (Feb 19, 2011)

Lookin pretty good I have an f-150 of that same body style.I recently converted it with a custom flatbed and cutstom bumpers that I built. If I werent so computer illiterate I would post some pics. But my question is Im about to paint mine and I was wondering what they called that color because thats the color that I want to paint mine. Its currently white and that just dont work on a full time hunting rig.


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## Hut2 (Feb 19, 2011)

It turned out good ,Congrats


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## Jeff1969 (Feb 20, 2011)

It looks great!

For a really good deep shine, I have always used 3M Imperial Hand Glaze. If it's available anymore, I don't know. 

It's a bear to work (in my experience, hand - not electric - buffer) and the surface must be very cool to the touch, I found that it was best to do it under shade or at night.


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