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I chose to go with a set of: Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015P and bumped up one size to 235 /70 R16 in Raised Outlined White Letters I think the aggressive pattern and lettering will look awesome and is a good look for a stock vehicle from this era. Some will hate but that's okay. They rate really well overall from all the reviews I've read and most importantly are a great on-off road tire that is not noisy and handles rain and snow extremely well.
The shine to the hard surfaces buffs-down upon wipe off of the sealant too but it has to set for 1hr. As of this morning we're all set with a nice satin finish.
Overall it is covered with oxidized clear coat and muck. My son took hold of the Flex 3401 polisher with a wool pad and I followed next with the Rupes Mille and a yellow finishing pad. The other great news is the paint thickness measures in between 4-5 mils which stock was likely 5-6 if that. Plenty of material to work with.
Some typical Jeep orange peel but overall the paint is correction just as expected.
Monday marks the day for new tires and wheel polishing and coating.
Thanks for reading all the above!
Going to like to hear your opinions of the Yokohama's. Have some 16' Icons that I was thinking about just running Cooper HT's in a 225 70 16. Somebody suggested going bigger.
Pretty clueless when it comes to detailing the inside or outside. But for the most part don't care. It is really not wanting my paint to deteriorate to the point where things start rusting.
Am curious to more details on how you do your interior? Products used etc. The sealant needing an hour to set confuses me.
Also wondering what you used with the wool pad first and the finishing pad second on the exterior? Again products used etc.
Was wondering how you measured paint thickness. So I Googled it. Saw some of those meters. Wow. Guessing you used something like that. Then this tire gauge looking thing on Amazon for $20.
Also no clue what orange peel was so Google to the rescue again
Then there is the wheel polishing. Looking forward to more details on that.
Always curious about the different ways people detail in and out. Especially since my '00 is just a DD and is all it will ever be used as.
Going to like to hear your opinions of the Yokohama's. Have some 16' Icons that I was thinking about just running Cooper HT's in a 225 70 16. Somebody suggested going bigger.
I had the geolanders on my Comanche and they were not good when it was dry, when it was wet, in the dirt or on the pavement. Those tires rode worse than the 35" mtrs on my Cherokee. Replaced them with some cheap street tires that are 235/70r16s and they fit nicely and they have outperformed the geolanders in every way.
I had the geolanders on my Comanche and they were not good when it was dry, when it was wet, in the dirt or on the pavement. Those tires rode worse than the 35" mtrs on my Cherokee. Replaced them with some cheap street tires that are 235/70r16s and they fit nicely and they have outperformed the geolanders in every way.
OK. Seeing how my Jeep is just DD those tires would be overkill even if you did like them. I have 225 75 15 Cooper Discovery HT's on my Eccos. I like them for what I use my Jeep for.
Was going to go with the same tire and size in a 16" size if and when I get around to using the Icons.
Thing is I am hoping to do an Up Country lift at some point. Just for a look. Not like I need it.
S8NNG8 pointed out that I probably should go to a bigger tire even with the Jeep just being a DD.
Despite the fact that a Jeep with an Up Country suspension would come from the factory with 225 75 15's.
Somebody who owns one was nice enough to let me have their build sheet and I could see that size tire on there.
It was the size that really caught my attention.
I would be OK with a bigger tire for the Icons but there is one catch.
It needs to fit in my '98 Grand Cherokee 5.9 spare tire cover I have.
I refuse to give that up.
OK. Seeing how my Jeep is just DD those tires would be overkill even if you did like them. I have 225 75 15 Cooper Discovery HT's on my Eccos. I like them for what I use my Jeep for.
Was going to go with the same tire and size in a 16" size if and when I get around to using the Icons.
Thing is I am hoping to do an Up Country lift at some point. Just for a look. Not like I need it.
S8NNG8 pointed out that I probably should go to a bigger tire even with the Jeep just being a DD.
Despite the fact that a Jeep with an Up Country suspension would come from the factory with 225 75 15's.
Somebody who owns one was nice enough to let me have their build sheet and I could see that size tire on there.
It was the size that really caught my attention.
I would be OK with a bigger tire for the Icons but there is one catch.
It needs to fit in my '98 Grand Cherokee 5.9 spare tire cover I have.
I refuse to give that up.
The 235/70r16 isn't too much bigger. Just looked at the chart and it's only a .6" difference. There could be that much difference in two different brand tires that are listed as the same size. I actually went the other direction. The geolanders were 30x9.5r15 so I went an inch smaller on my truck
The 235/70r16 isn't too much bigger. Just looked at the chart and it's only a .6" difference. There could be that much difference in two different brand tires that are listed as the same size. I actually went the other direction. The geolanders were 30x9.5r15 so I went an inch smaller on my truck
Was able to confirm with an almost certainty that the '98 5.9 came with 225 70 16's from the factory. I have been poking around comparing tire sizes. 235 70 16 and 235 75 16. Thinking the 75 series is out. Almost an inch bigger then the 235 70. And almost an 1 /12 bigger then a 225 70.
What I do know at the moment that my 225 75 15's are pretty tight in there. Would be tough to guess if .6" would matter. I do know the guys at the tire shop. Wondering if putting a tire that is not on a rim would confirm what and what would not would fit. Thinking a little too flexible not being on a rim and not aired up. I have no problem spending money on tires for the Icons. But they must fit that tire cover.
New here so I've not had much time to jump in with both feet yet. Just picked her up mid last week so the only thing I've had a chance to really do is give her a fair once-over, a quick bath and I ordered up some new tires.
I just ordered up some new tires for it. Was originally going to go with some top-shelf Michelin's but after thinking about it and reading up on reviews and hieing the options, I chose to go with a set of: Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015P and bumped up one size to 235 /70 R16 in Raised Outlined White Letters I think the aggressive pattern and lettering will look awesome and is a good look for a stock vehicle from this era. Some will hate but that's okay. They rate really well overall from all the reviews I've read and most importantly are a great on-off road tire that is not noisy and handles rain and snow extremely well.
This weekend I was pushed for time but was able to bust out a full detail on the interior. Overall it was in excellent shape for it's age. No rips, stains, not much in the way of high traffic dirt even. The stock mats are still drying but they look brand new. For those that don't know, I took a home hobby to the max with my son who does 1-2 vehicles per weekend with me as the mentor/guide on projects. Today I steam-extracted all the carpet and seat areas and sanitized and cleaned all the hard surfaces. Looks and smells brand new. Ignore the blue tinge on some surfaces as it's the LED headlight I'm wearing as a light source combined with a cell phone as the camera. The shine to the hard surfaces buffs-down upon wipe off of the sealant too but it has to set for 1hr. As of this morning we're all set with a nice satin finish. Passenger side was hardly used. Seat is like brand new No marks or stains or tears, nothing Ignore the gloss as it gets buffed to a satin finish once the sealant has cured. Minimal use over it's life Under this mat is spotless. Previous owner took superb care of it Even the driver side carpet is spotless. Dare I say cleaner than my car. Driver seat is not broken down at all, solid, no wobble and looks brand new.
Lastly, I didn't have much time today, but I did begin the process of bringing the paint back to life. I pulled the front bumper, grill and headlight surrounds off as it makes for easier cleaning and polishing overall. I also completed the hood and front fenders.
Overall it is covered with oxidized clear coat and muck. My son took hold of the Flex 3401 polisher with a wool pad and I followed next with the Rupes Mille and a yellow finishing pad. The slightly sad news is the hood has early signs of "crows feet" which is a weakening of the clear coat. It's light to medium in nature so not bad enough to repaint but not perfect. I'm a little bummed but will get over it. It's not going to all be perfect right? I suspect the roof may have some as well but I didn't even get up there yet other than for a quick look-see. The side panels however are just fine which is great. That said, here are a few shots of what will soon be a full transformation. Next weekend I should have more time to do some 50/50 shots and some before and after vids. The other great news is the paint thickness measures in between 4-5 mils which stock was likely 5-6 if that. Plenty of material to work with.
Starting point - and the photo looks better than it really is. Notice the oxidation, tons of swirls an stains that were set in, likely from soap and car wash stains of water not fully rinsed just soaking into an oxidized clear finish.
Results are showing promise. The color is Patriot Blue Pearl and it really shows. This is a great color for an SUV. Some typical Jeep orange peel but overall the paint is correction just as expected. Painted corrected nearly 100% outside a few chips and marks that I will fix later
That's all for now, as I'm going to be swamped this week. Saturday next week I'll make quite a bit more progress with plans to hopefully complete all the paint correction leaving Sunday for Coating the paint, trim and glass. Monday marks the day for new tires and wheel polishing and coating.
Was able to confirm with an almost certainty that the '98 5.9 came with 225 70 16's from the factory. I have been poking around comparing tire sizes. 235 70 16 and 235 75 16. Thinking the 75 series is out. Almost an inch bigger then the 235 70. And almost an 1 /12 bigger then a 225 70.
What I do know at the moment that my 225 75 15's are pretty tight in there. Would be tough to guess if .6" would matter. I do know the guys at the tire shop. Wondering if putting a tire that is not on a rim would confirm what and what would not would fit. Thinking a little too flexible not being on a rim and not aired up. I have no problem spending money on tires for the Icons. But they must fit that tire cover.
I have 235 75 15 Achillies on my new to me 94 SE, even with worn out factory springs have no issues. I like the ride no noise, and did good in the 9 inch snow fall earlier.
Going to like to hear your opinions of the Yokohama's. Have some 16' Icons that I was thinking about just running Cooper HT's in a 225 70 16. Somebody suggested going bigger.
On paper the Yoko's look great but a good friend of my who is HEAVY into off-roading his FJ loved them on his. His experience put me over the top as it's a regular on the road but he went off road and still does with it with the Yoko's and enjoyed them.
Am curious to more details on how you do your interior? Products used etc. The sealant needing an hour to set confuses me.
Interior wise, clean up is relatively easy. I use a variety of products depending on the stains and dirt. This one wasn't stained and really just had a build up of "dust" and normal dirt from 18 years of life so I simply used a steam extractor. 210* heat, 80psi and an extractor melts away/emulsifies any and all dirt and grease, etc. and sucks it out. Steam kills germs and eliminates odors. The biggest benefit is that steam leave no residual cleaners and thus never attracts more dirt. Key for interior detailing is to use as little cleaners as possible. If you do use the, mix in a little white vinegar into the rinse water so you can remove the alkalinity of most all purpose cleaners and soaps. You want to end up with as neutral of a solution as possible. Sealant wise most quality products require they be allowed to set-in and condition the material before they are buffed off. They lubricate the plastics and synthetic materials which is key. once buffed off they leave a nice satin finish. I'll have better pics when I'm back in town.
Also wondering what you used with the wool pad first and the finishing pad second on the exterior? Again products used etc.
When detailing the most important factor for correcting paint is the product used, then the pad used. In this case I used Meguiar's newest products in their professional line up which replaced their stand-by great products. They were known as M105 compound and M205 Polish but now they are M110 and M210 respectively. I was impressed with them both. I normally use CarPro ClearCut as my heavy cutting compound and CarPro Essence for the finishing polish to clear up any haze and to serve as a base for Ceramic Coatings but on this vehicle I'm using it as my test mule on some newer products I'm evaluating.
Wool pads such as Lake Country Purple and blue wool pads cut extremely well but leave the finish with just a very hint of haze that needs refined and polished. Time savings is key and wool offers that. The finishing foam pad refines the gloss, elminates that haze and leaves it ready to seal up. I use both Flex 3401 polishers and Rupes Mille Polishers. The Flex aka the "beast" is an oldie and a goodie that I tend to pair up with wool pads. I mount my finishing pads on the Rupes Mille as it's a much smoother and slightly faster polisher with less of an orbit so it's more precise. It's my new favorite in forced rotation polishers. They are the two best you can buy and well worth the investment if not just from a time savings perspective.
Was wondering how you measured paint thickness. So I Googled it. Saw some of those meters. Wow. Guessing you used something like that. Then this tire gauge looking thing on Amazon for $20.
Yes, paint thickness guages are a must IMO for anyone polishing a vehicle they are not familiar with. I do this every week so I won't touch a car unless I measure and document each panel. I don't have the model I bought handy here on the road but I have a couple and the $100-150 price range will get you a reliable and decent one. no need to spend more.
Also no clue what orange peel was so Google to the rescue again. Then there is the wheel polishing. Looking forward to more details on that.
Orange Peels is the "texture" of the finish and how the paint and clear coat are laid down. Every manufacturer is slightly different but it's something that is really unavoidable on factory finishes. YMMV depending on brand. I had an Audi S4 that finished out like a mirror with near ZERO texture and it was an amazing finish that always drew some comments. Some people wet-sand it down to refine it but I do NOT recommend that as they are removing precious clear coat when doing so. It's more common on the BMW forums for people who hate spending that much money and not getting a great finish. Here are some reflections from my Audi that show the mirror effect that can be achieved on finishes properly polished out.
On paper the Yoko's look great but a good friend of my who is HEAVY into off-roading his FJ loved them on his. His experience put me over the top as it's a regular on the road but he went off road and still does with it with the Yoko's and enjoyed them.
Yeah it was really the size you are running that caught my eye. Might do a very small lift at some point and somebody suggested bigger tires. Even though just a DD would still be open to a more aggressive tire. But it would just be for a look.
Originally Posted by pdqgp
Interior wise, clean up is relatively easy. I use a variety of products depending on the stains and dirt. This one wasn't stained and really just had a build up of "dust" and normal dirt from 18 years of life so I simply used a steam extractor. 210* heat, 80psi and an extractor melts away/emulsifies any and all dirt and grease, etc. and sucks it out. Steam kills germs and eliminates odors. The biggest benefit is that steam leave no residual cleaners and thus never attracts more dirt. Key for interior detailing is to use as little cleaners as possible. If you do use the, mix in a little white vinegar into the rinse water so you can remove the alkalinity of most all purpose cleaners and soaps. You want to end up with as neutral of a solution as possible. Sealant wise most quality products require they be allowed to set-in and condition the material before they are buffed off. They lubricate the plastics and synthetic materials which is key. once buffed off they leave a nice satin finish. I'll have better pics when I'm back in town.
I get the steam extractor. Despite my carpet being in pretty decent shape I would love to hit that with one. I think I get using just a little vinegar in water to wipe everything down. Understand the waiting time for the sealant to set. Just wondering what you use for a sealant for the plastic interior pieces?
Originally Posted by pdqgp
When detailing the most important factor for correcting paint is the product used, then the pad used. In this case I used Meguiar's newest products in their professional line up which replaced their stand-by great products. They were known as M105 compound and M205 Polish but now they are M110 and M210 respectively. I was impressed with them both. I normally use CarPro ClearCut as my heavy cutting compound and CarPro Essence for the finishing polish to clear up any haze and to serve as a base for Ceramic Coatings but on this vehicle I'm using it as my test mule on some newer products I'm evaluating.
Thanks for listing the products you used. Might give them a try.
Originally Posted by pdqgp
Yes, paint thickness guages are a must IMO for anyone polishing a vehicle they are not familiar with. I do this every week so I won't touch a car unless I measure and document each panel. I don't have the model I bought handy here on the road but I have a couple and the $100-150 price range will get you a reliable and decent one. no need to spend more.
I would not buy one. But I can see why folks into real detailing would. I guess I am more amazed that something like that can be measured in the first place. No going to lie when you stated the thickness of your paint I was like huh.
Alright I just want to make sure I am understanding those pics. Those are shots of the door, roof, hood, etc showing a reflection? WOW. I'm impressed
Originally Posted by pdqgp
I'm a bit OCD on things so I keep all of our vehicles looking sharp, even the ones I track and actually "use" Even daily drivers stay sharp
Hope the above helps. Happy to address or answer any questions related to detailing.
That was super informative. So much so that despite I don't a have clue might try to do better. I really don't care in a sense. More a trying to protect the paint thing so it won't deteriorate to the point that I have more rust issues then I already have. Which is minimal. For a Jeep in New England anyway. Mine is pretty solid.
It got to be about 60 degrees today.
Ran the Jeep through the $6 automatic wash bay and hit it with some spray wax.
I would post a picture but it would just be like every other one I post with the Jeep in the driveway. LOL.
To pdqgp:
Come April when I attempt to detail the Jeep good, do it twice a year (April for the summer and October for the winter) , I will attempt
to do a better job with your pointers. LOL.
I'm sooooooooooooooooo jealous of pdqgp's truck. That looks great, man!
My jeep is off the road because I'm working on the suspension and disc brake conversion.
Over the weekend, I got the cruise installed using the parts I bought at the junkyard a few months ago. Now it has the airbag light on. I don't know what to do about that, and it's killing me that I have to wait so long to get it sorted...
I'm sooooooooooooooooo jealous of pdqgp's truck. That looks great, man!
My jeep is off the road because I'm working on the suspension and disc brake conversion.
Over the weekend, I got the cruise installed using the parts I bought at the junkyard a few months ago. Now it has the airbag light on. I don't know what to do about that, and it's killing me that I have to wait so long to get it sorted...
I put cruise in my '00 that did not come with it. I had the same problem with boneyard parts. Or maybe one of Craigslist part out scores. Clockspring was no good. But I had extras so. Did you pull the parts? Were the wheels straight when you did? If not did you recenter the clockspring?
02-05-2019, 06:14 AM
I think the aggressive pattern and lettering will look awesome and is a good look for a stock vehicle from this era. Some will hate but that's okay. They rate really well overall from all the reviews I've read and most importantly are a great on-off road tire that is not noisy and handles rain and snow extremely well.
