I have a couple of questions about some things with my 86 Bronco I'm on the tail end of restoring:
1) There is a chrome rope or trim in the rubber around the side windows on the top that is in pretty bad shape. Does anyone know the proper name for that stuff and or where to get it? I'm assuming I would buy it on a roll, or buy the foot.
2) Second, I had a lot of issue with the paint on this thing and I admit a lot of it was inexperience and some just bad luck. The paint is Viper Blue metallic pearl base/clear urethane. The first attempt at the paint went OK, but there was a lot of garbage in the clear. I figured I could sand a lot of that out until for some reason I decided to store an 8' step ladder next to the Bronco in the garage. I tripped over it one morning and the ladder and all of the items resting on the ladder fell down the left side of the Bronco causing damage to the left door and lf fender. As well the alternator setting on the top of it bounced, then rolled across the hood and right fender. After re-body-working pretty much the whole front clip, I decided to just sand the whole Bronco back down and respray to correct the clear issues and not worry about matching the paint. I built a paint booth in my building with heat, AC, lighting and ventilation that corrected the dirt in the clear issue.. I starting painting it once again and was getting frustrated with how it was laying down (here goes the inexperience) so I stopped spraying after the 1st coat. After some investigating the company I purchased the paint from online sent the wrong paint. The label was right on the can but the contents was single stage acrylic paint... So, I had to wash the whole Bronco back down with reducer to remove all of the bad paint, re-primer and final sand it once again. I finally got it painted properly but relied on a "friend" to spray it this time because he had experience. The paint is perfect, but the clear was full of bad orange peel, pits and runs. I've sanded and sanded, but cant get it all smooth. What is smooth looks phenomenal when I buffed it, but I'm scared of burning through if I keep sanding at the really bad spots. Plus, the concentrated sanding made some of it wavy. Is there any amount of clear that's too much? Would I be OK to 800 sand it all and re-clear the whole Bronco so I can get it smoother and or do this a couple of times if necessary?
I have a lot of time and money ($15k) into this Bronco and I need the paint to be perfect. All of the instruction and advice on this forum has been a great help!!! If I can figure out how to do it I'll post a picture...

Yes, you can add more clear it's done all the time.
It actually flows out better over itself hence it is often called a flow coat. You can put a couple of coats on should you choose to make sure you have enough UV protection.

Many times I add a retarder to the the mix to slow down the flash off process and let the last coat of clear melt in to the lower levels and lay down flat.

Here's a picture of the clear done this way before cut and buff:


As for the "chrome rope" I believe that helps expand the rubber seal and hold it into place like a retainer. I would look to buy a replacement seal and see if they carry just the retainer portion.

Wow, that looks so nice! Another question... the retarder slows the flash process down. I'm already using a slow reducer, would they work the same? I thought the slow reducer was to slow the flash down. I should use retarder and slow?

it depends on the temperature when your spraying the paint and air movement.
Jay D.

Jay is right.

I live in Arizona so summer booth temps are in the 90s. The retarder basically increases the tail solvents flash time from what I understand allowing it to flash off slower.

Using a slow activator and slow reducer should work fine for you if you are at 70 degrees or less. That being said, a small amount of retarder will slow the last coat flash even more. You just have to be careful because it will run on you and stays susceptible to dust longer.

mpqualdie wrote:1) There is a chrome rope or trim in the rubber around the side windows on the top that is in pretty bad shape. Does anyone know the proper name for that stuff and or where to get it? I'm assuming I would buy it on a roll, or buy the foot.

68 Coronet is right, it's called a windshield locking strip or lockstrip. I bought a roll years ago for my 78 Bronco and the same stuff fits both the windshield and the fiberglass top side windows. There are several types and sizes; my 78 used Precision brand, type WLS-100. I'll bet your 86 also uses the WLS-100 type. It's sold by the foot on rolls, and (I think) mine came from LMC. Restoration Specialties also sells it as well as most of the Bronco parts suppliers. You'll have to re-use the SS corner trim, as it isn't reproduced. You also need a Lisle 47000 installation tool (or similiar brand).

Cool Bronco.

Thank you Nighttrain!! sometimes half the battle with finding the right parts is knowing what the "correct" name for the part is... Huge help, Thanks again.

I flow coated the Bronco again this weekend, taking a lot of time to prep and smooth the existing clear. It turned out fantastic! I got a little dirt here and there in the clear. I'm guessing that I just didn't get the nooks and crannies clean enough before spraying it. But it 3000 sands right out and buffs mirror smooth. I was also able to obtain the chrome locking strip for the top rubber. Once again, thank you all for all of the help!!!

Glad the Bronco is turning out so well. Those are great old trucks and yours is a very nice one.

Some lube will help with the lockstrip installation. Carwash or dishwashing soap works well.