This truck has been USED, badly. Its a worktruck all its life, but now I wanna make it look nice again.

How much of this can I "buff-out" and what needs some more attention?
(I put them into sets so it will be easier to reply)


I have to warn you, its a very messed up and dirty truck.






I'll start with the worst


Set 1: My guess is a body repair shop for these.








Those above were from me, the first three was from hitting a guard rail (surprised it didn't do more), the last was what I found after parking at Walmart.






Set 2: I think these should just come out with polish, not sure though.














Set 3:










Set 4: Unrelated

Previous owner thought self tapping screws would suffice for the bed rail repair.







And finally here's a nice pic to look at, after being forced to view all that carnage

 

The scratches you can catch a fingernail on won't buff out; the others will with the right tools and compounds.

Jim

 

All of set 2, and the fist pic of set 1 (where my thumb is) is good then? That a relief.

The rest however my finger nail definitely get caught in, is it even worth repairing?

 

I would at least get some touch up paint to prevent rusting and make them a little less noticeable.

 

You may not be able to get all of the little scratches out all over, but the truck itself I'm sure will look much better with a proper detail. It was a work truck, it's going to have some "character." I'd clean, polish and wax what you've got, and carry on!

 

Shine it up, then step back and see how it looks.
Then you cango from there.

 

Just keep what you got and save up for a new paint job.

 

If it were me - I wash and wax it and drive it... there's too many deep scratches - IMO it would need a complete paint job. Throwing good money after bad.

 

Those bare metal spots will need some proper touch up at the least.
Here is a link to how to properly apply touch up paint.

There are also many waxes, sealants and glazes that will either somewhat or in many cases completely hide your defects.

Clay, wash and wax it with some good products. Maybe try some compounds and polishes...to see if you can live with the look.
If you can live with it you save at least a couple of thousand on a decent paint job.

 

So general consensus is, it's time to wax and clay the truck? Well then, I'll try to get some pics up when I'm done with it, hopefully this will end up with a dramatic after pic.

 

You want to clay, touch up the bare metal, (maybe seal or glaze) then wax.
For your LSP, look for products that claim to hide swirls and scratches.
Good luck.

 

If you are going to do this by hand, wash it and clay it. Then touch up the bare metal and let the touchup cure for a week or so. Then wash it again and get some Meguiars Ultimate Compound and have at it. Some spots will need to be hit again. Then you can wax it with NXT 2.0. Do NOT put the NXT on thick or you will never get it off, use sparingly and rub in thoroughly and let it dry for an hour before removal.

 

Make sure you do a test spot first so you don't do the entire truck only to be disappointed!

 

If it comes down to it...take it to a local community college/tech school that has an auto body program theres always kids lookin for projects and all you pay for is your paint and other supplies and whatever shop costs there may be and you save by not paying the high labor costs that a pro shop would charge...it might not be a professional job but they still got the training and supervision from a professional

 

Really?! That is a good idea for the Bronco...