I got in a wreak no too long ago and now need to paint my replacement fender and header panel. My 98 cherokee sport is red. where or what paint do i need to buy in order for the paint to match. will it match? and what is the complete process of painting my panels so they look damn near perfect...thanks!

 

If you go to a good paint store in your area they should have a tool that basically takes a pic of your current paint and then sends it to the mixer to make a matching can of paint. I would go this route. If you just use the paint code it will more then likely be slightly off because the new paint will be the shiny new factory color and the paint on your jeep will be a different shade because of inevitable fading to paint due to the sun. It is especialy bad on red paints. If you dont know of any place to get paint find any repituble body shop and ask them where they get theirs.

Now as for the painting part if you are planning on doing it your self make sure you have the propper tools. Prep work is the key and the type of spray gun makes a difference as well. If its your everyday driver and you want to have that nice factory smooth look then i would prop get a professional to do it if you never have before. Most of the time it takes a bunch of f ups to finally do a decent job.

 

I just looked over and noticed that you are from Raleigh. Im out of Clayton and when we get our paint it is dupont and we buy it from a carquest in Smithfield NC

 

First off Red is the hardest color to match, silver is second. You can slightly change the shade by adjusting gun pressure and you should fade it into the door, no sharp cutoff lines. The amount of clearcoat can also change the color, more clearcoat the darker the paint. I painted mine with a single stage and at 50ft/50mph it looks great but in sunlight you can see the difference in color, it's my DD so it doesn't need to be perfect, mine is green.

 

Completely agree with what Dakota is saying. Red is a monster to match and then add in the age of your XJ, and asking for "damn near perfect" is going to be damn near impossible. Even a professional paint guy with years of experience would have a challange on his hand. You should be prepared to go into this with limited expectations or ask a professional to do it for you.

 

well almost.....GOLD is the worst color i've ever dealt with but if you get the paint code off of you door jamb should be 3 letters mine for example is pjn give carquest that will get you a match then buff the truck