roccov12345's 98 Mounty Restoration Thread.

roccov12345's 98 Mounty Restoration Thread. Back From the Dead & Finished

Well, after some thought and planning, I've decided to go ahead and start the restoration project of my mountaineer. I've been lurking through the explorerforum threads for quite some time. I guess I would call myself an amateur paint/body guy but we'll see how it works out. I'd like to say thanks to "MONMIX" for some influential chime ins and threads that I've studied and added to my book of notes. If you guys notice anything that I should change or attempt differently, just let me know. Constructive Criticism in my book is help, whether it's positive or negative.

I have about 30 hours in her so far and I'm sure plenty more to go. Well, on with the pics!

The Original, yes, those are aviator wheels.

The start:

LOL

Stripped down...

<

My kiddies...

Little dent repair..

Dent Repair Complete....

More pics to follow from this past weekend........

 

[bmxking5]

Nice project and writeup. Looks good so far.

 

[roccov12345]

Well it's been slow but steady, I have about 5 other big projects going on at the same time as the truck. Living at home taking care of my single mother is a project way beyond this one. lol

The latest.......

3M Taped up for primer.

Spraying some quick coats of U-Pol's high build primer out of an aerosol can. I prefer to go the can route because I just can't stand spraying primer out of my gun, it usually gunks it up so bad that I have to take the whole damn thing apart. Getting the settings back the way I like them on the gun takes forever too. We'll see how the rattle can works out.

Yeah, I know. I should probably be wearing a mask, I did feel pretty dizzy afterwards.

 

[MONMIX]

oh yeah EPA is gonna LOVE these photos

 

[roccov12345]

oh yeah EPA is gonna LOVE these photos

The pictures were taken just to show the action, the truck was sprayed in an EPA approved well ventilated paint booth.

 

[roccov12345]

Update 7/18/06. The truck is was base coated and cleared yesterday, on one of the hottest days in NY this year. Not fun! Pics to follow shortly!

 

[Turdle]

I want to see this

 

[roccov12345]

Ok, as promised although a little late. In somewhat chronological order. I'm happy with the outcome so far.

Here is the truck with the aerosol primer I had used. As I scuffed it down for the base coat the primer was holding very well as you can see by the bleeding white through the gray.

So I went down to the local body shop and picked up some epoxy primer/sealer, just to make sure we have no issues in the future painting process.

And what do you know, 103 degrees, sealer and some really crappy ford factory paint, what do you have, stock base coat lifting after I applied the sealer. I had to wait for it to dry then resand, feather and reseal. Not Fun.

Moving along..........
Finally sealed

Base Coat.....

Clear Coat Time! - Things start to get pretty.

Here's so you can get an idea of how much orange peel I got over the course of clearing. I was using a slow hardener with the clear and it was still drying to damn fast.

And here is where I currently stand after today 7/26/06.

I have the driver's side body wet sanded and buffed down and almost together.

Rear Window sealed and back in.

Started going at the roof, what a b1tch.

Door Mouldings riveted back in.....

For the hell of it, I've been making it a point to leave nothing old untouched. I've taken the front end apart, radiator, tranny cooler, hinges, airbag modules etc.. do give em a nice fresh coat of paint. What a difference.

Trunk lock, just finished spraying it. All the black accent parts are flat black.

I should have another update within the next week so check it out. Until then Sand ON! I need a beer!

 

[section525]

Holy damn. I could use a paint job.

Look killer.

 

[Turdle]

That is looking amazing!

 

[410Fortune]

I am coming over!

 

[roccov12345]

I am coming over!

Garage door is always open.

 

[roccov12345]

Thanks for the kind replies, it keeps me motivated

 

[roccov12345]

Well, small but sweet update. I was a little bored with the body so I went on to something else. Being that the truck has so many black accents, I went changed these up a bit. I think they should look sweet when it's all together.

Some pics of the rear tires I'm going to try to shove in the wheel well.

 

[section525]

You're not worried about the headlights sucking? Explorer lights are bad to begin with.

 

[Turdle]

I think I like the headlights, If you don't, I'll trade my OEM ones for yours.
Did you use vht nightshades, or regular paint?
I am glad you tried it cause Ive been wanting to, just scared. What about the markers?

 

[UtahX]

Looking pretty cool, waiting to see the final product.

 

[roccov12345]

You're not worried about the headlights sucking? Explorer lights are bad to begin with.

I'm going to go with a set of HID's so we'll see what happens.

 

[roccov12345]

I think I like the headlights, If you don't, I'll trade my OEM ones for yours.
Did you use vht nightshades, or regular paint?
I am glad you tried it cause Ive been wanting to, just scared. What about the markers?

I used just regular paint. I'll give you the low down on the "how to" once I see how they work with the stock head light bulbs. It's a fairly easy process just a little aggravating.

 

[dcarp]

Awesome buildup! keep pushing on, I can't wait to see this finished.

 

[Brett F.]

Wow this is just amazing. Keep it up!