Greetings to the Forum. New guy here, first post. I'm just a semi-retired career machinist in my early 60's who lives in rural NE Texas. I still have a small but decent manual shop that once in a while gets a little business and keeps me off the streets and out of the bars.

I have a 1998 Grand Cherokee Laredo with some paint problems. I am responsible for part of it due to lack of maintenance. Something from my childhood I think. As a kid, I was made to wash and wax all my Dad's vehicles like you are supposed to. I think that put me off mentally from doing a proper job myself on my own now. So I suffer the consequences. I say part of this because of a few small dents that will be involved in my restoration efforts. They are the result of being in the wrong place and the wrong time. A while back a tornado ran through a nearby area. I had a small shop customer at the time who lived in the zone. I had just left his shop and got caught up in the edge of the storm. On a two lane county road, several large trees were being knocked down and right in my path I saw one coming down across the road ahead. I chose to hit the ditch on the far side of the road, hoping to avoid getting smacked. Almost worked. Ended up with the top edge of the passenger side receiving a few bruises. I made it back to the road and was trapped between fallen trees in front and behind me until the state/county.emergency services cleared the trees. Took about two hours but I was merrily on my way.

Now for the question. The hood, roof and part of the rear hatch have basically lost a good bit of the clearcoat and it really looks bad and I plan to repaint it. I've painted before so will be able to execute that part of the repair without any trouble. I just would like to know what type of paint the factory used so I get the best match. I don't plan on just sanding off the clearcoat, but getting to a good, solid surface that will provide good adhesion. It will be a two part paint I am thinking, with clearcoat. On the fender issue, I am torn between just replacing it, or doing a fill repair. Replacing it seems easier, but after inquiring with a few salvage yards, none will tell me if their fender has intact (or at all) the pinstripe that came on the Laredo. If not, I'll be pushed into a repair. I've never been a fan of filler and frankly am not that adept at multiplanar contour filling. But I'll do it if I have to. BTW, it is single color black.

So if anyone would recommend a good quality paint type that won't stand out against the factory, I'd appreciate it. Also any opinions on the fender would be appreciated. I'm also curious about removing and replacing the rubber strips on the luggage rack. Specifically about the proper adhesive.

Happy to be here and will throw in anything I can to help when possible. I have kept this Jeep up since new, and am presently about 281k miles. Old reliable 4.0. Hasn't needed a thing yet beyond maintenance.Overall, the vehicle has only had a few of the main gremlins common to this animal, but they've been fairly easy to manage.

Thanks for having me here!

t

 

There should be a factory paint code sticker on the jeep, dont know where as yours is a Grand, on the some of the regular Cherokee it is on the firewall, near brake master, or maybe on the door or door jam?

if you do a partial paint job, even using the correct paint code, the remaining paint may be faded after near a quarter century of aging. a paint technique to help hide a mismatch is to gradually fade the new paint into the old paint area, a gradual transition. Doing this fade will help hide the color difference from new to old paint.

 

I believe all of the paint I need to do will be complete panels with no blending on a single piece. I'll do the entire hood, entire roof, and even though the clearcoat damage is only on part of the rear hatch it's not worth it to try and blend, so I'll do the entire hatch. After the new paint, I'll polish the rest, and being black I'm counting on not much contrast between old and fresh. Might be wrong, but hoping not.

I'm really curious as to what is currently the most popular as far as paints go. I just did a partial on my deceased father's little S10 for my Mom and used a 2 part single stage metallic charcoal gray. It matched pretty well, considering it is a '84, but with the Jeep, I know it uses a clearcoat system. Looking at an online paint supplier I see several options, but mostly urethane systems. I don't want to worry about adhesion so I figure after a mechanical prep a good sealer/primer should take care of that. I suppose I can consult with one of the paint suppliers, but since they have a vested interest in selling me as much as they can, I want to have as much knowledge as I can get to protect my wallet.

I have not looked for the build tag yet, but I'll locate it probably tomorrow. Fortunately, this is not my DD, so I can take it into the shop as long as I need and do the job right. Besides, more excuses to buy tools.

Any thoughts on the roof strips? I guess they could be left off since I don't carry anything, but I don't want to change anything, really. Can't see trying to work around them. If I replace them, the new ones likely would come with adhesive...may be peel and stick for all I know.

 

Pictures of what you are working with would be helpful. Especially for the fender questions.

 

Equipment Listing
VIN XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Vehicle Description 1998 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE SPORT UTILITY 4-DR
Monotone Paint
117 Amp Alternator
600 Amp Maintenance Free Battery
Anti-Lock 4-Wheel-Disc Brakes
Low Back Bucket Seats
Rear 60/40 Folding Seat
Driver & Front Passengern Air Bags
Floor Carpet
Cargo Compartment Carpet
Cargo Net
Cargo Tie Down Loops
Front & Rear Floor Mats
Spare Tire Cover
Cargo Compartment Cover
Passenger Assist Handles
Full Length Floor Console
4-Spd. Automatic 42RE Transmission
Lock-Up Torque Converter
3.55 Rear Axle Ratio
Tinted Windshield Glass
Front Door Tinted Glass
Flipper Liftgate Glass
Rear Window Defroster
STANDARD EQUIPMENT

Rear View Day/Night Mirror
Sun Visors w/Illum Vanity Mirrors
Power Mirrors, Fold-Away
Keyless Entry with Panic Alarm
Hood Insulation
Deluxe Insulation Group
DO NOT USE - See JP, KA classes
120 MPH Primary Speedometer
Var Intermittent Windshield Wipers
Rear Window Wiper/Washer
Cigar Lighter
Dual Note Electric Horns
Locking Glove Box
Power Windows
Power Locks
RADIANT SILVER MET. C/C - Badge
RADIANT SILVER MET. C/C - Badge
NEUTRAL DARK GRAY - CLADDING
Illuminated Entry
Warning Chime
Courtesy Lamps
Glove Box Lamp
Ash Tray Lamp
Underhood Lamp
Cargo Compartment Lamp
Halogen Headlamps
CHMSL Lamp
Black Windshield Moldings
Roof Rack

23 Gallon Fuel Tank
Speed Control
Black Clear Coat
4 Speakers
Fixed Long Mast Antenna
Power Rack and Pinion Steering
Leather Wrapped Steering Wheel
Normal Duty Suspension
Tilt Steering Column
Inside Mounted Spare Tire
Goodyear Brand Tires
15X7.0 Sport Aluminum Wheels
Build To U.S. Mkt. Specifications
U.S. Dealer Retail
Zone 63-Dallas
Texas Ship to State Code
Texas Sold to State Code
Cloth High Back Bucket Seats
Agate
Laredo Decor Group (97-02-26)
4.0L Engine(ERH)/4Spd Auto Trans(DGK
Overhead Console
All 4-Speed Automatic Transmissions
175MM Rear Axle
All Engines
4.0L I6 Power Tech Engine
Deep Tint Sunscreen Glass
OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT

Left Power Fold-Away Mirror
Right Power Fold-Away Mirror
All Vehicles W/Power Mirrors
Air Conditioning
RED(GR4)/LT. QUARTZ(HA2) - BODYSIDE
ARGENT - BODYSIDE MOLDING
Traveler/Mini Trip Computer
Front License Plate Bracket
Bright Grille
Federal Emissions
Black Clear Coat
All Radio Equipped Vehicles
AM/FM Cassette Compact Disc Radio
Full Size Spare Tire
P225/75R15 OWL All Season Tires
Matching Spare Wheel
All Aluminum Wheels
7 Additional Gallons of Gas
Spring - Left Front
Spring - Left Rear
Spring - Right Front
Spring - Right Rear
GVW Rating - 5000#
FAM: ZJ TRACKING: 70717J09
Customer Preferred Package 2TX
Customer Preferred Package 26X
Regional Jeep Discount
Customer Preferred Discount




Pass side fender dents

Bad clearcoat

Bad clearcoat

Bad clearcoat

 

I like Paint Society on YouTube.

 

TCW, if those few dents are the only areas on the fender that are bad, I'd fix the fender rather than replace it. Unless you can find a black one without too much hassle. I forget you are in TX and the junkyard parts aren't rusty either.

I bought my XJ in Texas and it is rust free, but up here everything is rusty, lol.

 

Old Man Minimalist.....yeah, we don't have the rust problem you guys do up north. It's only been in the last few years that the state has begun to add a little salt to the sand they spread. And then they only spread the sand on the bridges and overpasses. Never a problem here, until you get to the coast. But there aren't that many black ZJs in the yards either. I guess I could just be patient and if needed, fix it. I have a feeling it would bother me to have repaired the rest of the paint and still have those walnut size dings in it though.
Since I'm going to be painting anyway, I'll probably just fix the fender. I priced a replacement from a ways off, because I couldn't locate one locally, and they wanted a fortune to ship. Dallas is about 100 miles away, so if I could find one there I might replace it, but nothing yet. I'd just drive up and get it. Even the ones I found couldn't or wouldn't verify the pinstriping, so I was leery anyway.

I guess I'll go talk with a supplier to see what the recommended paint is. I'll sand down into the base coat, seal/prime it, then proceed as normal. It's not that big a deal.