[quinault]

After a wet few winters, a few different leaks the padding under the vinyl was a little moldy and stinky. I also was afraid of rust consuming my "rust free" Bronco. After the removal of the interior and the 200lbs of water soaked insulation I did find a fair amount of bubbling in the paint.:barf
It's also time to remove the factory XL seats and replace with a pair from a 94 Caddy Sedan deville. Here is where I am at.

The subject

Here is where the seam sealer wasn't even on the seam and was only through the middle. The bottom was wide open.

.
Right side the same way, seam sealer should go on the seam, RIGHT??

The abrasive wheels. I got this Idea from the BOSS's write-up. The left is the Norton wheel $9.60 each and the right is a Harbor Freight Wheel $4.50. Harbor Freight wheel seems to be slightly more aggressive, thats it. They last about the same time.

Unsure yet how I am going to get in there to clean??? Fords little trick on the Bronco owners. This is a known rust area on these trucks, I would like to remove all paint ect. and POR 15 it all. How to get in there??

The only rust through I have found. A small pin hole.

NEW SEATS I even get a arm rest!!!!

 

[quinault]

The plan is to POR 15 everything and give it a heavy few coats of AL'S a few rolls of PEEL and SEAL and throw the vinyl back in there. New side pannels as well.

 

[Chato308]

In the hard to reach spots shoot it with paint stripper and use a wire wheel or mule skinner(wire wheel filled with a wax/plastic to keep little wire shreds from flying around) to clean it up

 

[bossmankx]

I am dreading the same issue on my 94 crew cab F350. I have noticed the same signs you did, and am planning a similar process. Looks like good work, but dont forget the body mount areas and underside floor either. The body mount areas are where the salt has slowly reeked havoc where I couldnt see it on my previous broncos. I've gone so far as to undercoat with bedliner, and still didnt stop it. I now use oil to keep the bottom from rusting, but that makes it a pain to clean once dirt collects:toothless

 

[pdabbs911]

Are those the Caddy seats you mentioned? And will they bolt rigth in? I need a new drivers seat myself. Good luck with the project.
Thanks

 

[FlatLine84]

After buying a $30 sandblaster from Northern, I will never use anything else to strip paint.... You have so many choices for abrasives and air pressure. I've been doing the exact same thing you're doing and I think I've gone through 1 and 1/2 50lb bags and haven't made a real attempt at re-claiming (cost me $14). When I was all done, I just whipped out the shop-vac, solvent and some self-etching primer. I don't know if you have an air compressor, but I have saved my self a lot of headaches with getting into some of the tight areas. I don't know how easy it would be to remove the media that would collect in the voids in the panels though.... I lucked out in some way where I have to replace a decent amount of metal and the media just fell through in the rusted out areas...

 

[exiledtexan]

Those Caddy seats are gonna be really comfortable. A buddy of mine had a '91 (I think) Fleetwood that he wrecked and kept the seats from, I've been trying to talk him out of them for a couple of months now, haha.

 

[quinault]

Are those the Caddy seats you mentioned? And will they bolt rigth in? I need a new drivers seat myself. Good luck with the project.
Thanks

I allready have the brackets built. No, they don't just bolt in. The caddy mounting surfaces are a little wider and a little shorter than the factory bronco seats. I used 1" square stock and made a adapter.

As said here many times, you can make any seat you want fit. Just have to make a bracket, it's not tough.

Mike

 

[quinault]

Update,

The Al's is on it's way.

I attempted to use some paint stripper in the corners, in a little tiny spot I got a little ripple. It did not help. I bought a sand blaster from harbor freight MISTAKE!! I also tried to use "play sand" in it. After a few hours of fighting clogs I started sifting the sand and it helped with the clogs. I could blast for a minute or 2 between clogs. It was a pain in the ass for sure. I think that the sand metering valve is a POS. I'm sure if I had used a better abrasive it would have worked better. IDK this was my first experience with a sand blaster. I ended up using a wire wheel in a 3/8" drill. I was able to get all of the pitting and bubbling paint off. I still havent decided what I am going to do about the corners. I removed the foam plug and excess foam from the base of the B pillar I am going to coat it all with POR 15.

Do i make a removable plug to put in there, fill it with seam sealer, weld it up??? There is no rust in there yet!

These were taken after my first cleaning. I realized that the factory primer was hard to see until it was all cleaned. ANOTHER day of stripping and

A couple coats of POR 15, still haven't decided what to do about the base of the B pillars.

 

[Smokingunz351]

Damn man lookin good. im lookin to do the same thing on my bronco but kinda dreading it to be honest.

 

[j. r. Nice]

Rust...I didn't see no stinkin' rust......:roflcome to the rust belt or visit my build thread):cry

good job.

 

[Ewgoetz]

Update,

The Al's is on it's way.

I attempted to use some paint stripper in the corners, in a little tiny spot I got a little ripple. It did not help. I bought a sand blaster from harbor freight MISTAKE!! I also tried to use "play sand" in it. After a few hours of fighting clogs I started sifting the sand and it helped with the clogs. I could blast for a minute or 2 between clogs. It was a pain in the ass for sure. I think that the sand metering valve is a POS. I'm sure if I had used a better abrasive it would have worked better. IDK this was my first experience with a sand blaster. I ended up using a wire wheel in a 3/8" drill. I was able to get all of the pitting and bubbling paint off. I still havent decided what I am going to do about the corners. I removed the foam plug and excess foam from the base of the B pillar I am going to coat it all with POR 15.

Do you have a water seperator on your compressor or line coming from the compressor? chances are you are getting some water in the air line causing the clogs in the sand blaster.
Instead of putting the ruber lining in have you considered line-x or rhino lining the interior?

 

[84OriginalBronco351W]

I just used some POR 15 on my Cougar, it really is amazing. Can't wait to finish up the Cougar and start tackling the rusty ol Bronco....

 

[quinault]

j.r.Nice
I have cruised your thread. You guys have rust that is beyond my patients level. The rust you have would make me drive to California, to buy one without rust.
I know that there was minimal rust but the goal was to stop it before there was. Next winter will be the other side.

Ewgoetz,
Yeah, I have a water sepeator. Not exactly sure how they work but it might not be as efficent as it could be. It has also been hovering 75%-90% humidity here, pissing rain everyday. I am going to shoot AL's Liner in on Friday (if it gets here). Ranger429 is a dealer here on FSB and it looks to be a good product. I'm reinstalling the vynal floor for the road noise factor. It gets alot of road miles with the sometimes nasty mud hole to crawl through. The road noise hase been getting to me.

84Original
I agree the POR 15 is amazing stuff. When I start the bottom I might use the Rust Bullet, seems a little easier to use.

 

[j. r. Nice]

I have cruised your thread. You guys have rust that is beyond my patients level. The rust you have would make me drive to California, to buy one without rust.

I know that there was minimal rust but the goal was to stop it before there was. Next winter will be the other side.

You're exactly right, next time I would do a restoration, I would start with a better example. Of course then what would I have done with the complete quarterpanel wheelhouse assemblies? :histerica

I am in process with a 65 Falcon from California which was about 90% rust free. It has made all the difference.

SANDBLASTER:
Since you are using play sand......I'll share my experiences.......
It generally comes packed in plastic bags. If it's wet when they process and pack it, it stays wet. I generally look for the driest bags at the store. Open the bag, pour it into an open container to air out. I have had to wait for months for it to dry if it was really wet. You could also try pouring it out on a large tarp and let it air dry in the sun. Pick a calm day with no wind!

Sifting helps a lot on almost any media. I have used play sand, silca and black beauty in my HF pressurized blaster. I finally decided to sift it first regardless of how it looked when I opened it. Even the smallest chunk will clog it, and nothing is worse than getting all suited up and having it clog after a few minutes. I use window screen and have had great luck with it.
Good luck !

J. R.

 

[quinault]

Here is what I ended up doing at the base of the pillars. LOTTTS of picking out the foam with a screwdriver and needle nose pliars. Good cleaning with purple power and a smaller wire brush. 2 coats of POR 15, 1 coat of primer and 3 tubes of %100 siicone sealant /side. I made a plug out of a butter tub lid, coated it with the silicone and put it over the larger hole and filled the area with the silicone. I figured that if Ford could make the truck last for 15 yrs using foam, that would HOLD water, Silicone would last better. IDK. Only time will tell.
The white sealant is 3M seam sealant, it is thick and tough to spread nicely.

The sealant I used in base of the pillars.

Here is 2.5 gallons of AL's Liner.

 

[quinault]

I have gotta give a thank you to Ranger429 for the AL's Liner suggestion.

It is amazing stuff. I used 2.5 gallons and saved .5 gallon for my tail gate. My fear was that the herculiner or duraliner would be thin and brittle and to avoid "thin and brittle" I would spend a fortune. NOT the case. I could have used 1.5 gallons for 1 good tough layer but I wanted to "quiet the ride". I really built it up on the sides in the rear. IT NEVER RAN. I could hold the gun in one place STACKING the AL's on a vertical surface and it stayed put. After it was cured about 24 hrs it has a definite hard rubber feel. Only time will tell how tough it really is. I think it's gonna be tough shit.

Per gallon the AL's was cheaper than the Herculiner and Duraliner.
A couple lessons I learned the hard way.

Make sure you have good ventilation. I shot it with a resperator in my basement garage at about 6 PM. Wifie NOT HAPPY:rofl::histerica as the fumes SATURATED the house all night. I have used a few different paints, this stuff is MEAN.
I should have only used a 1/4 to 1/3 of the hopper on the first few squirts to get at the hard to reach spots. (under the steering wheel) The hopper nearly full is not easy to manipulate. AL's is a OUTSTANDING product, I will be buying more!!!

 

[1994FordBronco]

Very Awesome job. I am doing the inside of mine to but just repainting it. looks really good

 

[Ranger429]

I have gotta give a thank you to Ranger429 for the AL's Liner suggestion.

Your welcome.:thumbup Glad it all worked out good for you Mike.

 

[quinault]

Thanks again Scott.

I have driven the truck 5-600 miles since the Al's liner and it made a dramatic difference in the road noise. I can talk to my passengers!! I still have to do the tail gate, I have a little crumpled steel to take care of before I get there.

I'm thinking about doing to my wifes Civic now!!