XJ paint suggestions
 

I have no idea if this is in the right place, but I am looking to repaint my XJ. It is dark green right now and completly covered in scratches and a lot of surface rust on the roof. The doors are all covered in dents beyond repair so I might pick some up at the salvage yard and convert them to half doors. Anyways here are my ideas: plasti-dip, bedliner, or regular paint. I like the plasti-dip can be peeled off if it gets ruined and it can go on right on top of the paint. Bedliner is the most durable out of the 3 but I'm not a huge fan of the look. And regular paint... well it's just regular paint. If you have a plasti-dip or bedliner paint job (no neon colors or black), can you post them so I can get an idea of what I would like the most? Thanks

plastidip would be the easiest and cheapest but youd have to touch it up quite often so that could get annoying for sure

I strongly disagree with the use of plasti-dip, unless it is to temporarily change the color of a high end car.
It only lasts a few years, and to do it right takes almost as much prep as paint. Don't waste your time or money.


Body work and paint is really the only way to go IMO.
It will last for 20+ years if done right and maintained.
That being said, if it was easy / cheap everybody would do it.

i would agree, dont waste your time with plasti-dip. from your post im assuming you want to do this yourself, i would just paint it with rustoleum. atleast thats how i did mine but i actually sprayed it with a gun.
it all depends how nice of a job you want to do, do you care about the door jams, etc...

bedliner is ok on like the lower bodyline and down, dont do the whole jeep with it.

Idk about using regular paint, unless its a small area touch up.Prepping a large area for actual paint is time consuming, and can get expensive, unless your into that. You can really make a car look worse if not done correctly lol. Been there, done that. DON'T USE PLASTI-DIP!
However, my dad and I used Herculiner to protect the bottom of his 82' Delta 88, and the rocker panels and door bottoms of his Commanche, and the Wagoneer to great effect. The Commanche is rode through all kinds of nasty environments but it holds up well. We applie it every 5 years. No rust getting to that old steel.
What my buddy did to his CJ-6 in High School ( 8 years ago ) is sand the entire body, 3 layers of primer, and a layer of exterior Gray house paint. Actually look dang good and that paint is still on his Jeep like the day he did it. When you touch it though, it feels funky, but mud and salt doesn't stick to it.

Thanks for the help. I saw that sports cars and stuff used plasti-dip but I just remembered how easy it is to peel and scratch and it would get ruined within a week of trail driving. I might use a colored bedliner because the bus I'm taking to school until my XJ is street legal has bedliner on the floor and I've been riding it for a few years and it doesnt seem to be chipping or peeling unless they touch it up over the summer. That seems like the most durable option for the type of trails ill be driving with a few rocks around and lots of trees and tree branches. I'm more for functionality over looks so I dont mind the bumpy texture on it.

It would also help against flying rocks, and hail. If it does chip, just take a small brush and touch up! Be sure your surface is clean and clear of any dirt, mud, bird poo, anything that may in the least, inhibit it from sticking. What we did is use semi-dine sand paper, a small wire wheel ( be careful with this one ), and some scotchbrite pads for prep.
And if you n bedliner, be sure not to clog any drain holes/ run-off passageways for rain water, as some bedliners have a milk-shake consistency, they can clog those, causing a moisture/ rust/ puddling problem elsewhere.

I have a lot of surface rust on the roof so I have to do a lot of sanding so get it all prepped. That's the main reason I want to paint it. I definitely dont want rust holes. The paint right now looks like somebody tried to wash it with sandpaper because it was used as a woods beater before I made it street legal. It just looks absolutely horrible right now

Let me ask you this, what is the main purpose of your jeep? Daily driver with occasional offroad? Daily with a lot of offroad? Street legal trail jeep?

It's my daily for now and I dont care about looks too much. I just want something that doesnt look like a POS. I'm almost 2 hours from the closest offroad part so I wont do much offroading other than some light trails nearby. I want to start going at least once a month though and theres a lot of tight trails where I can run across trees and possibly a rock or two

Okay. With that knowledge, let me say this...paint prep sucks. The better you want it to look, the more it's going to suck, lol...

If you want a new pretty girl, then you gotta do a full makeover, LMAO...I've also been debating on my paint. My clear coat looks like hell. Debated the same thing, and think I'm going to do a flat camo job. As far as color and patterns go, I'm undecided, as I may move soon, and want it to match the environment I'll mainly be in.

I don't want a pretty paint job, just going to get scratched anyway

Raptor liner, I did my whole Dakota with it and it looks great, and holds up good. I am going to put the black on the bottom half of my Jeep too.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...b569a88e98.jpg

Summit Racing or Eastwood both have automotive paints that will be a bit more budget friendly than your typical BC/CC 2-stage urethane.

Also - there are less expensive single stage urethane paints (such as Nason).

If you're looking for a cheapo paint job, check out Maaco if you have one local. Buy you should do as much prep (and trim / accessory removal) your self to get the best result.

John Deere blitz black is the cheap way to go if you like it mat black,if not... I would say regular paint, plastidip needs heavy preparation and is really delicate, and not really cheap, you can find primer, plain car paint, spray and regular can, and clear coat for a few bucks more.