Rattlecan Ranger Reclamation

[Lefty]

This story begins with a fire that burned down my friend's garage. His Ranger was inside. Lucky for him the fire department arrived within minutes. The garage was in flames by then.

They put the fire out right away, but his 2002 Ranger XLT was still inside. It was a mess. The asphalt shingles had turned molten and dripped down on the truck.

Every horizontal surface burned. The tonneau cover had caught fire.

What didn't burn formed a heavy coating of residue, some of which had bonded to the paint work.
We went to work right away, power washed what we could. The whole thing still smelled like fire, even from a distance. I clay bar cleaned it, then buffed every surface down. I washed away the more stubborn stuff with acetone. Since then, we have been working one panel at a time, sanding, priming, sanding again, painting, and finishing with a couple coats of clear.

Believe it or not, our efforts have paid off. We have a long way to go, but it's beginning to look like new again.

Maybe we should have worked on the whole truck at once and sprayed it with a cup gun, but our schedules are too busy. We can only give this restoration a few hours at a time. We still have a long way to go, but if you are interested, I will keep you posted.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

I am amazed the truck survived. I'd like to see more pics from different angles to see the new paint please.

 

[Lefty]

This closeup is an example of what we are up against. This is a photo of the top edge of the pickup bed just behind the cab. The surface is pitted and bubbled. So we will sand that down maybe with an orbital sander, prime, and paint and blend.

 

[rumblecloud]

Yes please. More pics of the progress.

 

[ekrampitzjr]

What caused the fire? I assume the garage is a total loss?

 

[Bgunner]

Wow I never thought shingles would melt like that. You guys have your work cut out for ya. Getting that sanded down so that you don't see the rings from it will be a task for sure. Pics are always a plus with the added benefit of it being immortalized here on TRS. keep up the good work.

 

[Lefty]

What caused the fire? I assume the garage is a total loss?

We think kids set it on fire. It was started on the outside. What remained of it was torn down the next day.

 

[dvdswan]

Wow I never thought shingles would melt like that. You guys have your work cut out for ya. Getting that sanded down so that you don't see the rings from it will be a task for sure. Pics are always a plus with the added benefit of it being immortalized here on TRS. keep up the good work.

shingles are made with asphalt, which has tar.

 

[Lefty]

Mostly I am impressed with how good a rattle can paint job can look. It takes time and practice to achieve, carefully spraying in an overlapping pattern, neither too dry or too wet. I've seen a lot of bad paint jobs, usually sprayed too dry and too thin. As a result a spray pattern emerges. Too dry means the overspray crystalizes on the painted surface, like dust.

Dusty is okay when you apply the primer. Each coat gets a scuff sand anyway, usually with 220 grit. If the top coats look dusty, we wet sand until smooth and try again. It seems as though 3 top coats work well for us.

I personally prefer wet, the wetter the better, so much so that it is in danger of dripping or puddling.

A rattle can paint job will not last as long as a two part epoxy paint. A few clear coats will help. These days Eastwood makes a 2K, two part epoxy, in a spray can. Maybe we will finish the whole job with that.

This truck only cost $2,000. My friend spent a few hundred to fix it up. Not long ago we went to the junkyard and pulled a tailgate as well as three doors. Luckily those were still being stored in my garage when the fire broke out.

 

[Lefty]

shingles are made with asphalt, which has tar.

Yup! The melted tar stuck to the finish. Some of it burned into the paint.

 

[Lefty]

Here you can see the back end. The left side of the pickup bed looks pretty good. We didn't have to do too much to it: several wipes with alcohol, a clay bar job, and two passes with a buffer and some polishing compound. The buffer actually made all the difference.

It's still scratched from falling debris. The roof of the cab has been painted. The tail lights looked bad so my friend purchased new ones.

 

[RobbieD]

Wow! I'm impressed.

You guys are really Rembrandts with a rattle can.

Please keep posting the progress.

 

[rumblecloud]

I had never heard of "Clay Bar" until now and you mention it twice.
I hadda look it up.
Now I know, Thanks.

 

[Bill]

Wow I never thought shingles would melt like that. You guys have your work cut out for ya. Getting that sanded down so that you don't see the rings from it will be a task for sure. Pics are always a plus with the added benefit of it being immortalized here on TRS. keep up the good work.

Was that a shingle? I thought it looked like a rubber chicken that melted.

 

[sgtsandman]

A solid color is so much easier to work with when it comes to matching and blending. When I replaced the passenger door and repaired the tailgate on my ‘98, it was all rattle can, wet sanding from 320 grit down to 3,000 grit, polishing compound, and waxing. If you didn’t know what was replaced, you could tell the difference.

Now when I installed the windshield visor on my 2011, the metallic paint was a real nightmare. I had to keep painting, wet sanding, clean, and wet the surface to see what the finished product would like about 4 or 5 times before it came out right.

Next time, if there ever is one, I’ll pay someone to do it.