JRPCHAMELEON

Hi all I am planning on repainting my 60th anniversary xj Cherokee this summer to the factory silver color and I was wondering if there was any people out there with experience in painting that would be able to give me helpfull advice on what I should do and also what I shouldnt do/try and avoid. I know there are videos on painting but I would like multiple opinions on what to do but most of all I would like to know what to avoid doing. My jeep is heavily sun damaged so a nice new coat of paint would be awesome. Thanks.

DeltaOP4

I am by no means an expert when it comes to paint, but I do know the key is prep. If real estate is about location, location, location, paint is ,prep, prep, prep. Don't skimp there just because it's boring. Do your research, make mental notes of techniques,what to watch for, and so on. Good luck!

JRPCHAMELEON

Thanks very much!

MsMassakre

I actually just did some touch up work on the xj I bought. Very true on the prep. Make sure you tape all around what you don't want paint on, cover it good with garbage bags and tape them down all around, paint has a way of being sneaky. Also make sure you rough up any surface you are painting, sand all the rust away, prep the bare metal before shooting with paint. I'm no expert buy seems to be holding up good on mine. Do a lot of research and watch some tutorials before hand too to know what grit sandpaper etc to use. Good luck!

andrewmp6

Is the clear coat gone or just not shiney ?

JRPCHAMELEON

Well um lets just say its pretty bad... The roof is burned through the clear coat, silver paint and primer and is rusting and the hood bumpers and fender flares are realy bad clear coat damage and is starting to affect the paint.

andrewmp6

It needs a full paint job if you see primer,And its illegal to paint a car at home going by the epa.And really with out a down draft paint booth and a good spray gun the the paint job is not gonna look that good.The only at home option i know is pastidip,Or you could let a place like macco respray it the factory color.

TwistedWrench

X2... Except for the Maaco thing, lol, Rattlecan would look better and last longer.

If you really want to do this yourself, there are plenty of people who will rent out a paintbooth for a day. This will be your very last step however.

First, accept the fact that this is not going to save you much/any money if you take the time to do it right. Prep is 95% of a good paintjob. Sandpaper, tape, blocks, filler, primer, sealer, reducer, activator, paint, clear... This stuff adds up, fast. We avg $1K+ in supplies per paintjob, and we get everything at a discount.

Buy good guns. That crap you see at Harbor Fright is only going to make your job harder. Get a 1.8 HVLP for primer & sealer, 1.6 for paint/clear. I cannot stress enough how important it is to keep your guns CLEAN. You can rent a booth, no painter is going to loan out his guns. Not ever. Figure on spending $400+ on a decent pair of guns. I'd invest in the adapters to run the 3M bladders, getting those metal cups clean is a PITA.

Remove all lights, trim, etc that you can. Sand it down. Address all the dents, dings, rust, etc. Rent a booth. Blow it out, wash it, clean it with precleeno, tack cloths. Prime it, seal it. Take it back home, fix all the **** you missed.

Wetsand with 320, then 400. Final scuff with grey pads. Every square inch. Rent the booth again. Blow it out, wash it, mask everything off, clean it as before. Wipe it down with tack cloths. Do this like your life depends on it, because your sanity does. Follow the instructions on the cans for prep, mixing, tack times, etc... TO THE LETTER.

Shoot your base, shoot your clear.

Kick yourself over every imperfection, and lose your frikin mind when the gnat that snuck into the booth with you embeds itself in your clearcoat.


There's a reason so many paint & body guys are drunks/junkies/bat**** crazy.

USN_JeepXJ

A good paint job can be done yourself in your garage. It is NOT illegal if you are a hobbiest (aka not doing it professionally or for money) and paint only 2 cars a year and I quote: "Surface coating or paint stripping performed by individuals on their personal vehicles, property or possessions, either as a hobby or for maintenance of their personal vehicles, possessions, or property provided they coat no more than two vehicles per year." Straight from the EPA https://www3.epa.gov/ttn/atw/area/paint_stripb.pdf I lucked into a professional HVLP system for cheap from an auto body shop going out of business and turned my garage into a paint booth with some box fans and a/c filters.























The current build. A much better paint booth setup with heavy mil plastic creating a low pressure bubble:

DeltaOP4

Wow those both look really good!

Rogue4x4

Same XJ?

If so, why did you switch colors?

Because that yellowish/orange was the BUSINESS

Regardless, both great jobs. The first one just is better in my opinion...

USN_JeepXJ

Nope! I built the orange one for my Parents who live in Ouray Colorado and needed something a little more capable than their KL Cherokee for the trails.



I liked it so much that I built one for myself... slightly more capable



I'll agree that Grabber Orange is the better color but I definitely prefer the Yas Marina Blue.

Rogue4x4

Both great jobs. Color is a matter of preference, so I won't fault you, LOL

Fantastic work, sir...and kudos on your homebrew booth, fantastic. I do some powdercoating here and there, so I know a good booth is worth its weight in gold...