Thinking of painting the Ranger

[1990RangerinSK]

Nah. Too 90's for me.

Tell that to Chevrolet. The 2022 Corvette apparently is available in pink.

 

[Lefty]

We took most everything apart: hood, front grill, doors, cab, bed, tailgate, even removed the windshield and the rear window. We removed the badges and the lights, even the rubber moldings. It took longer that way, but it was well worth the effort. I repainted the frame and bottom sides too.

Not that anyone else cares, but I'm driving brand new. People think the most expensive part of a truck is the engine or transmission. in most cases,it's not. It's the paint and body work. Good luck, buddy. Post some pictures please.

 

[Roert42]

Anything other then dark blue, with or without( preferably with) metal flake, is simply a base coat/primer.

I have a 3:3 ration on the blue:red vehicles. Getting rid of the two red trucks soon. Just be stuck with the red tractor.

 

[sgtsandman]

It depends. I like green but painting a vehicle a different color hurts possible resale value. A darker color will he hotter in the summer though. Keeping the original color will be cooler and may even boost up the resale value.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

I'm not worried about resale value since I plan on keeping it another 10 years, 100,000 miles.

 

[JoshT]

I'm with you on the paint affecting resale value. You've got to resale for resale value to be affected. If you don't plan to resale, who cares.

I live silver for the reasons mentioned, that's why I went for silver when buying my car. In my experience with silver, the problem is that it hates clear coat. I haven't seen many older factory silver vehicles that have the clear coat intact. At least not the Fords. The factory pain on the Kia is holding up pretty considering the neglect, but the areas that it was professionally repainted 10 years ago the clear coat is failing.

If the Kia gets repainted it'll go back silver, mostly due to resale value and factory color repaint is usually cheaper.

When the 99 Ranger gets repainted, it'll stay the factory Medium Peweter Metallic (or is it Dark Shadow Gray Metallic?) because I really like the color.

If the 85 Ranger gets repainted it'll probably be a dark blue metallic and silver two tone, or dark blue with silver stripe work. Or maybe a dark silver and light silver or white two tone.

The F-250 most likely won't get repainted. It's oxford white, and I think buying replacement used panels might be cheaper than paint. Oxford White Super Duty parts are everywhere.

The one I'm really torn on is the F-100. I'm unsure as to what color I want to go on it. Factory color would have been Rangoon Red. Current body is Royal Maroon and Wimbledon White deluxe two tone (maroon lower body & roof / white upper body), but most of it needs to be replaced. I'm torn between mixing the two with a Rangoon Red and Wimbledon White two tone (red body/white roof), or going custom with a burnt copper type color.

I've also thought about building a LBC (little british car), something like a MG-B or Locost Seven, and thinking green for that if I do. British Racing Green is common color for cars like that, but I think I'd mix it up a little bit with Ford's Highland Green.

So yeah, I'm not help on picking colors. I like too many, and can't afford to paint half of what I want to. If I ever get a shop built I might have to include provisions for a makeshift paint booth and learn to do it myself.

 

[Lefty]

I have always like Game Warden Green

 

[Ranger850]

I have always like Game Warden Green

Florida Wildlife Commission uses Silver, for reasons stated above, dirt doesn't show up

 

[Lefty]

I'm not worried about resale value since I plan on keeping it another 10 years, 100,000 miles.

There are two reasons to paint a truck. One is for other people. Enhance its value. make it look brand new again. Why not? The used car market is a seller's market today.

The trouble is that the humble Ford Ranger is just not special. It's not a classic, although it might be someday. The return on the dollar is not that much. Only a few want to pay an extra $10,000.00 for this little truck, especially in a world that thinks bigger is better.

The other reason is for yourself. Make it mint again. Drive brand new. The most important component of a stock vehicle is not the engine, not even the entire drivetrain. It's the body and fender work, the condition of the frame. And besides, it's fun. It makes you feel good. That Ranger may get a lot of compliments, but there is a special joy in taking something old and making it brand new again. It's a real bargain too.

Like what you said, that paint will will give you another 100,000 miles: without high insurance rates, without a pricey monthly note.

The Ranger in the foreground was painted in a body and fender shop. All the dents were pulled out and the rusty parts were replaced. I painted the frame with POR 15. The Ranger in the background was restored with Rustoleum and a clear coat. the rustiest bits were replaced with junkyard parts. The frame will be repainted next summer.

 

[1990RangerinSK]

The Ranger in the foreground was painted in a body and fender shop. All the dents were pulled out and the rusty parts were replaced. I painted the frame with POR 15. The Ranger in the background was restored with Rustoleum and a clear coat. the rustiest bits were replaced with junkyard parts. The frame will be repainted next summer.

The one in the back is the one that you fixed after the garage fire, right?

 

[Lefty]

The one in the back is the one that you fixed after the garage fire, right?

Yes it is. Most of the glaring problems have been fixed. It has a new grill now, a bull bar, fender flares to cover the rusty fenders, The rocker panels need to be replaced.

 

[Lefty]

Here's another more recent photo of the fire survivor, the XLT on the right, with a bull bar, nerf style rails, fender flares, blackout lights, 17" wheels, and crazy big Falken tires. All four doors came from the Upull yard along with a tail gate. The front grill had melted so the grill from the smaller Ranger grill replaced it.

Rustoleum rattle can spray paint works pretty good. It's not a perfect match, but no one has noticed. It doesn't lay down as good as 2 part catalysed paint coming out of a gun. It required a lot of "aftercare," namely fine sanding, buffing and a couple clear coats too. Rustoleum won't last as long either, but it's easy to touch up. The XLT has come a very long way since the insurance company wanted to total it out, but it still has far to go.

Next summer the tub comes off. The frame gets painted, and it gets new rocker panels: the real ugly stuff nobody ever wants to do.

I'm sure Saddle Tramp will do much better than I. Please keep us posted with lots of pictures. It's fun to watch these old trucks get restored.