On my 00 black xj my roof desperately needs painting. It has pitted cracked and now needs repainting. My brother had this problem on his 01 black xj. Why is this only on the roof???

 

It gets the most exposure to the elements would be my guess.

Since its the roof just sand it down, spray it with a rattle can, and clear it.

I did it to my entire truck, minus the clear (easier to fix trail damage), and it actually turned out pretty good. I didn't even try very hard.

 

The body shop wants $900 to fix

 

I rattle can'd my entire Jeep for about $30.

 

Theres a paint code on the sticker in the door, you could even use a touch up pen or ratle can of color matching paint from Jeep if it's not too bad rust

 

Same problem here man. 1999, Black. Spotted minor rust, but TONS of little spots.

Oh XJ, why do you do this to me?

 

I feel your pain Danny, my 2000 XJ's Patriot Blue is falcking on the roof, with resulting minor rusting. As soon as the weather warms up for good, I'll give it a couple of coats to reseal it.

 

that's crazy talk. Either do it yourself, or get it done at Maaco. They don't do the best work, but hey, it's your roof and it will cost a crapload less than a collision shop.

http://www.maaco.com/

 

Is the 'spraycan method' really a viable option? Does it look like crap or is it passable?

I don't care too much what the old girl looks like, but I don't want her looking like she's owned by some teenager with a Home Depot gift card either.

 

Well if you have access to an air compressor, paint gun, and d/a sander, you could fix it right for under a $100. A quart of black single stage paint only cost about $30 and the sand paper won't cost you $15. You can do it in a day. Its nothing to it.

 

I do have lots of little rust spots all over the whole roof. Won't I have to sand the whole roof before I send it there??

 

I don't want it looking bad either. And all the salt here in Chicago is killing it. It's pretty bad up there. I feel it has to be sanded down before it's paintable.

 

correct, or it will just keep spreading. Rust is like cancer, you can't just cover it up you must eliminate it.

 

My father has all that. I don't want it looking bad though. I'm not sure if I trust myself that much to do the painting

 

Man its so much easier than you think. And plus black is the easiest color to spray because is reflects so much. Also painting the roof might give you come confidense to maybe try it again on something more visible. Besides theres no way to mess it up so bad it can't be fixed. Thats how I started painting. I just jumped right into it. I say give it a try