Hi all,

My Jeep is the one in my avatar. It is a 91' Briarwood. I bought it over 5 years ago, and the paint was immaculate. Over the years I've had it, the paint has been gradually oxidizing, now it is in need of a paint job.

I have been keeping it outdoors in California. Although the weather is not harsh here, it has been taking its toll on the paint which has probably caused the oxidizing.

What I'd like to know is if there is any 'bulletproof/weatherproof' paint I can use to repaint it? I would like to keep the same color. Maybe I can get some Military paint....lol. I would appreciate some suggestion on brands, etc. that I can consider.

Also, I need to replace some of the wood paneling. Mainly the trim. Where can I find replacement trim, and how can I make the wood paneling more resilient?

I'd appreciate your input.

By the way, I was not sure if this is an appropriate area to post this question, if not you are welcome to move it to a more appropriate area.

Thanks

This is what I did. Don't know about the wood panel sticker replacement. I got the camo flat black paint from Wal-Mart

Do you want the paint job to be glossy or flat? Do you prefer a spray-on or roll-on?
Do you care about being able to touch it up easily? What’s the budget for this project?

Almost any paint should do; it’s the prep that makes all the difference.

In the past, I've painted a couple beater pick-ups with polyurethane equipment enamel. It's basically the type of paint you would use on a tractor or a piece of constuction equipment. It's pretty durable and seems to hold a gloss pretty well, but it's definitely not really automotive paint.

I got the stuff at Duron Paint when they were in business. Last time I went by there they were called Fancy Colors, I think.

any paint will do the same if you fail to wax it regularly....and i don't mean with "spray wax".

If the clear is not pealing, have you tried to buff it out with some polishing compound and wax?
I like to use the turtle wax light duty polishing compound.I think it is recommended to do it by hand but I have used a cheapish power buffer with it before and it works wonders on scratched/varnished paint.I even used it on the hood of my JD lawn tractor which is plastic and it took nearly all of the scratches out and polished it up like new.
If you do try it make sure to apply it with a wet applicator and work it by hand a bit then hit it with the buffer,if you keep it wet its basically what you do on a new paint job when you finish the wet sanding process.

Of course if the clear and or paint is pealing this will not help.

I painted my XJ using roughly 15 cans of Rustoleum White Acryllic Automotive Enamel and about 2 cans of Krylon gloss clear coat. It is really just a temporary paint job until I get my XJ painted by a professional. My Jeep had a really bad paint job on it when I first bought it. There was chips down to the primer and scratches down to bare metal so to keep it from rusting in the winter I just went to autozone and bought the spray paint. You can check out my photos to see if you like the look or not. It took a lot of wetsanding to get it to look alright too lol.

spoonman has the right idea.

Agreed. I fixed the oxidized finish on my sail boat just by waxing it with a buffer. When i bought it, it was a mess and I had to restore it. It sat in a barn uncovered for 15 years. now it looks brand new and all i really had to do was pressure wash it and give it a good wax/buff.

I will try this. I do not see any signs of pealing on the paint itself (how can you tell if the clear is pealing?).
However the trim is pealing, but that's like a sticker anyway. I could probably get a new set on EBAY or something like that.

If I have to repaint it, what kind of paint do you recommend? Ideally, I would like the most durable paint that requires the least amount of maintenance .

Thanks

If the clear is peeling you will know it.
Those aren't the clouds reflecting off of the shiny paint in the pic LOL.Well some of it is but you can see the difference.

Be careful when using the power buffer especially on edges and corners of the body panels. You dont need to go super high speed and you dont need to apply pressure to the buffer.If you hit these areas too hard you can burn through the clear/paint.
Do small areas at a time, and use the light duty polishing compound wet and once done hit it up with a few coats of wax.Do the wax by hand.
I would suggest that you do the larger flat areas with the buffer and hand buff the edges and corners.

Paint type in my opinion is basically like oil type discussions,it is a matter of preference. Get what you can afford.
To me what makes a real difference is in how well you prep the surface to be painted and how well you apply the paint.
I see a lot of posts on the net of people using spray can paint and buffing and polishing that out with nice results.
If you want what i think is a good paint then go with the PPG 2 stage base/clear .
Do some research and come to your own conclusion is the best advise I can give on that though.

Im not a professional painter I just know that I love the turtle wax light duty polishing compound when it comes to situations like yours.I havent seen the condition of your jeep's paint but I think that once you try the easier option,polishing and buffing it you will realise you wont need to paint your jeep .

If you've got about 100 spare hours, and about $100, try what I did. Rustoleum roller paint job. I'm only a clear coat and two wetsand's away from being done, but I'm really happy with the results so far.

Check it out:

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f46/19...oration-70689/

However, if you want to maintain the original paint, I definitely say +1 to attempting to buff out the original clear. Don't use a rotary though if you've never used one before, I have yet to meet anyone who has used a rotary as a first timer and not burned through the paint.

BUT, if you want to repaint it, this is the cheapest and best way to go. Just understand it takes a lot of patience and a lot of work, but it's REALLY CHEAP and REALLY durable if you do it right and maintain it properly just like any other automotive paint job.

I agree, you defiantly need to be careful when using a power buffer if you have never used one before.There is only one way to learn though .

If you are unsure about using the power buffer the polishing compound works good if you do it by hand too,just a bit more elbow grease needed is all.

If you're going to buff it, I'd recommend using 3m's finish restorer. Great stuff! Available at most parts stores in the paint and body section.... (I know we carried it at Autozone last time I checked). Clean/buff with the restorer then go with polish to replenish the oils in the paint and finish up with some wax


Mine was through the clear so I sanded it down and sprayed it with bedliner. Then I sanded that some to remove most of the texture, leaving a nice hammered feel and top top coated with Kyrlons outdoor spaces satin green and black. It's supposed to be UV resistant and durable. So far it's held up great but it's only been on a month A quick pic

Imron, it's tough as nails.