I'm too scared to go to Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, or West Virginia after seeing Deliverance. You can't be too careful when venturing out into the woods in the South. Va only has ticks (and Walmart).
What did you do to your TJ today?
- Thread starter LJRubiconGuy
- Start date
I'm too scared to go to Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, or West Virginia after seeing Deliverance. You can't be too careful when venturing out into the woods in the South. Va only has ticks (and Walmart).
I hear @AndyG buries his millions in the back yard. Road trip?
p.s. I work more now (early retirement) than I did when I was self-employed. I'm limited to making $475 max a week now.
The key is ya work. Need more of that
I researched it again. I managed to buy a 12 pack from Amazon several years ago - it is now NLA, however you can buy the extract and mix up your own. I'm not sure what that entails.
There's several "designer" root beers, ICB being one of them, that are quite good. Mug is another old brand that you don't see often, but its good too - although it tasted better when it was bottled instead of canned. Barq's is probably the best among the commonly available root beers. I just don't like A&W, and a pox on the owners, Keurig Dr. Pepper, for promoting it at the expense of Hires. Did you try Dad's? All root beers taste like drek unless they're absolutely ICE cold - but Dad's loses its appeal quicker than others. If drank quickly when its freezing cold, its good enough.
A surprisingly good one is Mall*Wart's house brand, "Great Value". I keep a couple of 12 packs on hand. It's probably similar to Barq's, although I've never done a side-by-side comparison.
Kiwi TJ
Just asked myself if I’m crazy and we all said No
Supporting Member
Ride of the Month Winner
mmmmm yeah ice cold they are great....I'm hoping to be back in America next year (already started saving) so plenty of time to sample the goods lol
Really getting the itch again -
Got the dynamic duo out -
For you 3 season topless guys the Aftco Reaper Shell is the stuff- you can see where i hosed myself (dont say it @John Cooper ) and did not get a bit wet.
The built in neck gaiter is where its’ at- the iron man thing is just a light trick. Ok, well , maybe not….
Blaine’s tail lights looking good on the LJR … this TJ needs ‘em.
This little TJ is a stud. Drives tight, does nothing wrong as far as I can tell…no oversteer, shake, pull. Nothing.
Surprised how much I like the large screen and touch screen seems easier to operate in a bouncy jeep.
Plan now is some cool clear night rides with the top off and get the top on around thanks giving-
Survey- hard top or soft on the TJ?
If we wheel much its soft top, no question.
Got the dynamic duo out -
For you 3 season topless guys the Aftco Reaper Shell is the stuff- you can see where i hosed myself (dont say it @John Cooper ) and did not get a bit wet.
The built in neck gaiter is where its’ at- the iron man thing is just a light trick. Ok, well , maybe not….
Blaine’s tail lights looking good on the LJR … this TJ needs ‘em.
This little TJ is a stud. Drives tight, does nothing wrong as far as I can tell…no oversteer, shake, pull. Nothing.
Surprised how much I like the large screen and touch screen seems easier to operate in a bouncy jeep.
Plan now is some cool clear night rides with the top off and get the top on around thanks giving-
Survey- hard top or soft on the TJ?
If we wheel much its soft top, no question.
Last edited:
Well I got a little bit wet looking at the pictures and thinking about.......... . When are we gonna hit a trail again???????
I vote soft top on whitey!! Cause you are gonna wheel again before the year is over..........
I installed an Eaton TrueTrac in the rear diff and a Powertrax Grip Pro in the front. Powertrax is an Eaton competitor that makes similar traction products.
The Powertrax grip pro for the Dana 30 is on sale right now on Amazon for $300. The photo on Amazon doesn’t show the correct unit fyi. I’ll share the link below.
@Chris are able to share link? I think more may benefit that way.
Cheers!!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C8INE2W?tag=wranglerorg-20
The Powertrax grip pro for the Dana 30 is on sale right now on Amazon for $300. The photo on Amazon doesn’t show the correct unit fyi. I’ll share the link below.
@Chris are able to share link? I think more may benefit that way.
Cheers!!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C8INE2W?tag=wranglerorg-20
Last edited:
StoneCold
TJ Enthusiast
I just spent 10 days in the colorado mountains...doing jeep things with my jeep. 
Including driving it there and back! 
Including driving it there and back! 
Final chapter in my hardtop repair and refinishing ordeal (for now). I think we left the last installment with me having shot epoxy sealer and reduced Raptor, as well as some random large blobs of coagulated material, in a somewhat poorly lit garage. Scuff and respray were in order. Some progress has been made...
I decided to hand block the finish back as opposed to using a machine sander, I felt the foam backer might be a bit too forgiving on the large blobs and not flat them, which was the point of sanding in the first place. Not exactly "wax on, wax off", but I suspect I'd have done Mr. Miyagi proud (again).
Everything blown off, cleaned up and ready for remasking, I decided it was still too dark and added yet another 4' LED fixture at the head of the garage. Also rotated one of the ceiling fixtures and moved it to the spray side of the rear wall of the "booth" to help. The wall fixtures are wrapped in saran wrap to keep them from getting coated in overspray. Looks much brighter in the photos than it actually is, but about as good as this half-assed spray setup is going to get (maybe...).
Wiped down and tacked off, I prepped my spray kit and mixed up the Raptor. The new DeVilbiss 600 micron cup filters didn't quite fit in cheapo D1 Drizzle, but a razor blade and some fine sand paper helped persuaded it into place. I'm happy to report that the filter did its job perfectly, in both allowing the thick material to flow but also preventing the blobs from passing out of the gun.
The top is once again black and textured. If I'm being honest, while I am happy with my damage repairs, I'm not happy with the finish. But this is not down to the Raptor, the compressor, the gun or even the meat sack operating the aforementioned...I've identified two main remaining issues. The first is space, my garage is about 8'6" wide, 20' deep and 12' high, and while the length is fine and the height is workable, the width for spraying an item this size is pushing it. I nearly got runs at spots in every coat on the sides due to my elbowing the damn walls mid spray pass. There just isn't enough room for proper spraying technique and a 6' 5" human with a comparable wingspan to work. The second is ventilation, as in I had none. For smaller items this hasn't been an issue, but for something this size and with a very large horizontal surface, it was a bigger problem. I was getting good coverage and a pretty consistent surface finish upon initial application, but because I had no way to vent the overspray coupled with the 12' ceiling height in the garage, I ended up with a large volume of mist hanging above the sprayed top when I finished. As the mist settled, it fell on the curing finish, creating a more inconsistent, flat/matte finish.
This is what I was shooting for all over:
I accept that I was pushing the limits of pretty much everything in my situation, but sometimes we need to do things out of necessity. Lessons have been learned and I will be spraying more items for sure (half doors, bumpers, fender flares), but nothing this large in this location again. I've already got a design working for a cheap portable booth of sorts with ventilation to setup in the garage space, more on that later (and in another thread).
Still need to source some new foam seal and install the hardware, but I imagine she'll be back on Tess before the end of the week. I'd like to give it a few more days in the relative warmth of the garage for curing purposes before installing.
~~~~~
In other and overdue news, I'd like to give a shoutout to WTF member @MikekiM for doing me a solid on the door cards for my half door build. Mike had posted a couple of times in the past about having interior plastic parts dyed, and I thought it seemed like a better alternative to paint for long term durability. In trade for some 3D design and print work on my end, he agreed to serve as middleman to facilitate getting my cards dyed, given I couldn't seem to find anyone in my neck of the woods with the capability. Settled, off my door cars went to LI, NY and Mike's care.
I doubt either of us could have predicted what would transpire in the coming months (yes, months), but I do feel somewhat foolish about the whole thing now as I put him in the situation in the first place by asking, and I'm not particularly keen on burdening others. What neither of us knew was, literally days after dropping off my cards at his body shop, the tech that does the dye work was seriously injured in a boating accident and off work injured as a result.
Now I was in no hurry to have them back, wanting them done properly and still having more work to do on the shells, so I did not press for updates. Mike checked in occasionally with both me and the shop, but apparently the shop did not make him privy to the situation initially, maybe not the best customer service decision on their part. In the end, the tech eventually recovered and returned to work, the cards got dyed and sent back to the PRoMD approximately 3 months after sending them off.
I don't know the gory details of what Mike might have dealt with on his end, but he handled the situation as admirably and tactfully as I imagine anyone could have (at least on my end) and I believe put a lot of pressure on himself over the whole thing. As well, throughout the entire ordeal I believe he was also dealing with some Jeep transmission issues of his own. So just thought I should offer a public "Thank You" for the effort and an apology as well. It wasn't my plan to insert a minor shit show into your life, and for that I am sorry.
The cards came out great, I think you'll agree. The cards/doors are from an early TJ, the shop redyed to match my '05 and I've got to say, the color match to my full factory cards is about as close as I could have ever hoped for.
Before:
After:
I decided to hand block the finish back as opposed to using a machine sander, I felt the foam backer might be a bit too forgiving on the large blobs and not flat them, which was the point of sanding in the first place. Not exactly "wax on, wax off", but I suspect I'd have done Mr. Miyagi proud (again).
Everything blown off, cleaned up and ready for remasking, I decided it was still too dark and added yet another 4' LED fixture at the head of the garage. Also rotated one of the ceiling fixtures and moved it to the spray side of the rear wall of the "booth" to help. The wall fixtures are wrapped in saran wrap to keep them from getting coated in overspray. Looks much brighter in the photos than it actually is, but about as good as this half-assed spray setup is going to get (maybe...).
Wiped down and tacked off, I prepped my spray kit and mixed up the Raptor. The new DeVilbiss 600 micron cup filters didn't quite fit in cheapo D1 Drizzle, but a razor blade and some fine sand paper helped persuaded it into place. I'm happy to report that the filter did its job perfectly, in both allowing the thick material to flow but also preventing the blobs from passing out of the gun.
The top is once again black and textured. If I'm being honest, while I am happy with my damage repairs, I'm not happy with the finish. But this is not down to the Raptor, the compressor, the gun or even the meat sack operating the aforementioned...I've identified two main remaining issues. The first is space, my garage is about 8'6" wide, 20' deep and 12' high, and while the length is fine and the height is workable, the width for spraying an item this size is pushing it. I nearly got runs at spots in every coat on the sides due to my elbowing the damn walls mid spray pass. There just isn't enough room for proper spraying technique and a 6' 5" human with a comparable wingspan to work. The second is ventilation, as in I had none. For smaller items this hasn't been an issue, but for something this size and with a very large horizontal surface, it was a bigger problem. I was getting good coverage and a pretty consistent surface finish upon initial application, but because I had no way to vent the overspray coupled with the 12' ceiling height in the garage, I ended up with a large volume of mist hanging above the sprayed top when I finished. As the mist settled, it fell on the curing finish, creating a more inconsistent, flat/matte finish.
This is what I was shooting for all over:
I accept that I was pushing the limits of pretty much everything in my situation, but sometimes we need to do things out of necessity. Lessons have been learned and I will be spraying more items for sure (half doors, bumpers, fender flares), but nothing this large in this location again. I've already got a design working for a cheap portable booth of sorts with ventilation to setup in the garage space, more on that later (and in another thread).
Still need to source some new foam seal and install the hardware, but I imagine she'll be back on Tess before the end of the week. I'd like to give it a few more days in the relative warmth of the garage for curing purposes before installing.
~~~~~
In other and overdue news, I'd like to give a shoutout to WTF member @MikekiM for doing me a solid on the door cards for my half door build. Mike had posted a couple of times in the past about having interior plastic parts dyed, and I thought it seemed like a better alternative to paint for long term durability. In trade for some 3D design and print work on my end, he agreed to serve as middleman to facilitate getting my cards dyed, given I couldn't seem to find anyone in my neck of the woods with the capability. Settled, off my door cars went to LI, NY and Mike's care.
I doubt either of us could have predicted what would transpire in the coming months (yes, months), but I do feel somewhat foolish about the whole thing now as I put him in the situation in the first place by asking, and I'm not particularly keen on burdening others. What neither of us knew was, literally days after dropping off my cards at his body shop, the tech that does the dye work was seriously injured in a boating accident and off work injured as a result.
Now I was in no hurry to have them back, wanting them done properly and still having more work to do on the shells, so I did not press for updates. Mike checked in occasionally with both me and the shop, but apparently the shop did not make him privy to the situation initially, maybe not the best customer service decision on their part. In the end, the tech eventually recovered and returned to work, the cards got dyed and sent back to the PRoMD approximately 3 months after sending them off.
I don't know the gory details of what Mike might have dealt with on his end, but he handled the situation as admirably and tactfully as I imagine anyone could have (at least on my end) and I believe put a lot of pressure on himself over the whole thing. As well, throughout the entire ordeal I believe he was also dealing with some Jeep transmission issues of his own. So just thought I should offer a public "Thank You" for the effort and an apology as well. It wasn't my plan to insert a minor shit show into your life, and for that I am sorry.
The cards came out great, I think you'll agree. The cards/doors are from an early TJ, the shop redyed to match my '05 and I've got to say, the color match to my full factory cards is about as close as I could have ever hoped for.
Before:
After:
Last edited:
Final chapter in my hardtop repair and refinishing ordeal (for now). I think we left the last installment with me having shot epoxy sealer and reduced Raptor, as well as some random large blobs of coagulated material, in a somewhat poorly lit garage. Scuff and respray were in order. Some progress has been made...
I decided to hand block the finish back as opposed to using a machine sander, I felt the foam backer might be a bit too forgiving on the large blobs and not flat them, which was the point of sanding in the first place. Not exactly "wax on, wax off", but I suspect I'd have done Mr. Miyagi proud (again).
View attachment 652757
Everything blown off, cleaned up and ready for remasking, I decided it was still too dark and added yet another 4' LED fixture at the head of the garage. Also rotated one of the ceiling fixtures and moved it to the spray side of the rear wall of the "booth" to help. The wall fixtures are wrapped in saran wrap to keep them from getting coated in overspray. Looks much brighter in the photos than it actually is, but about as good as this half-assed spray setup is going to get (maybe...).
View attachment 652759
View attachment 652760
Wiped down and tacked off, I prepped my spray kit and mixed up the Raptor. The new DeVilbiss 600 micron cup filters didn't quite fit in cheapo D1 Drizzle, but a razor blade and some fine sand paper helped persuaded it into place. I'm happy to report that the filter did its job perfectly, in both allowing the thick material to flow but also preventing the blobs from passing out of the gun.
The top is once again black and textured. If I'm being honest, while I am happy with my damage repairs, I'm not happy with the finish. But this is not down to the Raptor, the compressor, the gun or even the meat sack operating the aforementioned...I've identified two main remaining issues. The first is space, my garage is about 8'6" wide, 20' deep and 12' high, and while the length is fine and the height is workable, the width for spraying an item this size is pushing it. I nearly got runs at spots in every coat on the sides due to my elbowing the damn walls mid spray pass. There just isn't enough room for proper spraying technique and a 6' 5" human with a comparable wingspan to work. The second is ventilation, as in I had none. For smaller items this hasn't been an issue, but for something this size and with a very large horizontal surface, it was a bigger problem. I was getting good coverage and a pretty consistent surface finish upon initial application, but because I had no way to vent the overspray coupled with the 12' ceiling height in the garage, I ended up with a large volume of mist hanging above the sprayed top when I finished. As the mist settled, it fell on the curing finish, creating a more inconsistent, flat/matte finish.
View attachment 652763
This is what I was shooting for all over:
View attachment 652764
I accept that I was pushing the limits of pretty much everything in my situation, but sometimes we need to do things out of necessity. Lessons have been learned and I will be spraying more items for sure (half doors, bumpers, fender flares), but nothing this large in this location again. I've already got a design working for a cheap portable booth of sorts with ventilation to setup in the garage space, more on that later (and in another thread).
Still need to source some new foam seal and install the hardware, but I imagine she'll be back on Tess before the end of the week. I'd like to give it a few more days in the relative warmth of the garage for curing purposes before installing.
~~~~~
In other and overdue news, I'd like to give a shoutout to WTF member @MikekiM for doing me a solid on the door cards for my half door build. Mike had posted a couple of times in the past about having interior plastic parts dyed, and I thought it seemed like a better alternative to paint for long term durability. In trade for some 3D design and print work on my end, he agreed to serve as middleman to facilitate getting my cards dyed, given I couldn't seem to find anyone in my neck of the woods with the capability. Settled, off my door cars went to LI, NY and Mike's care.
I doubt either of us could have predicted what would transpire in the coming months (yes, months), but I do feel somewhat foolish about the whole thing now as I put him in the situation in the first place by asking, and I'm not particularly keen on burdening others. What neither of us knew was, literally days after dropping off my cards at his body shop, the tech that does the dye work was seriously injured in a boating accident and off work injured as a result.
Now I was in no hurry to have them back, wanting them done properly and still having more work to do on the shells, so I did not press for updates. Mike checked in occasionally with both me and the shop, but apparently the shop did not make him privy to the situation initially, maybe not the best customer service decision on their part. In the end, the tech eventually recovered and returned to work, the cards got dyed and sent back to the PRoMD approximately 3 months after sending them off.
I don't know the gory details of what Mike might have dealt with on his end, but he handled the situation as admirably and tactfully as I imagine anyone could have (at least on my end) and I believe put a lot of pressure on himself over the whole thing as well. So just thought I should offer a public "Thank You" for the effort and an apology as well. It wasn't my plan to insert a minor shit show into your life, and for that I am sorry.
The cards came out great, I think you'll agree. The cards/doors are from an early TJ, the shop redyed to match my '05 and I've got to say, the color match to my full factory cards is about as close as I could have ever hoped for.
Before:
View attachment 652772
After:
View attachment 652773
Really nice work.
Hopefully made my exhaust smash resistant.
Went from this
to this
I cut off the exhaust tip just beyond the crush zone and installed a 2 1/2" silicone intercooler connector pipe.
Went from this
to this
I cut off the exhaust tip just beyond the crush zone and installed a 2 1/2" silicone intercooler connector pipe.
Last edited:
I just spent 10 days in the colorado mountains...doing jeep things with my jeep.
Man I’ve been out there. I arrived at 1am, woke up in the fog in silverton, rode a dirt bike into the mountains and I was in the Rockies as the fog lifted for my first view. I cried like a baby it was so beautiful. The American west is just awesome.
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I'll say this much for the product, reduced 3:1:1 and sprayed through an HVLP or LVLP gun (with big air cap, nozzle and needle), it produces what seems to be a really nice durable finish and texture. The texture can be varied by application methods allowing for almost any level of aggressiveness. I think for bumpers, rockers and the like, it might be a seriously good refinishing solution. And you can get it tintable as well to match body color.
For reference, they have two products, a ready-to-spray and what I used, which is a two part catalyzed product. I would avoid the ready-to-spray product.
Kiwi TJ
Just asked myself if I’m crazy and we all said No
Supporting Member
Ride of the Month Winner
Final chapter in my hardtop repair and refinishing ordeal (for now). I think we left the last installment with me having shot epoxy sealer and reduced Raptor, as well as some random large blobs of coagulated material, in a somewhat poorly lit garage. Scuff and respray were in order. Some progress has been made...
I decided to hand block the finish back as opposed to using a machine sander, I felt the foam backer might be a bit too forgiving on the large blobs and not flat them, which was the point of sanding in the first place. Not exactly "wax on, wax off", but I suspect I'd have done Mr. Miyagi proud (again).
View attachment 652757
Everything blown off, cleaned up and ready for remasking, I decided it was still too dark and added yet another 4' LED fixture at the head of the garage. Also rotated one of the ceiling fixtures and moved it to the spray side of the rear wall of the "booth" to help. The wall fixtures are wrapped in saran wrap to keep them from getting coated in overspray. Looks much brighter in the photos than it actually is, but about as good as this half-assed spray setup is going to get (maybe...).
View attachment 652759
View attachment 652760
Wiped down and tacked off, I prepped my spray kit and mixed up the Raptor. The new DeVilbiss 600 micron cup filters didn't quite fit in cheapo D1 Drizzle, but a razor blade and some fine sand paper helped persuaded it into place. I'm happy to report that the filter did its job perfectly, in both allowing the thick material to flow but also preventing the blobs from passing out of the gun.
The top is once again black and textured. If I'm being honest, while I am happy with my damage repairs, I'm not happy with the finish. But this is not down to the Raptor, the compressor, the gun or even the meat sack operating the aforementioned...I've identified two main remaining issues. The first is space, my garage is about 8'6" wide, 20' deep and 12' high, and while the length is fine and the height is workable, the width for spraying an item this size is pushing it. I nearly got runs at spots in every coat on the sides due to my elbowing the damn walls mid spray pass. There just isn't enough room for proper spraying technique and a 6' 5" human with a comparable wingspan to work. The second is ventilation, as in I had none. For smaller items this hasn't been an issue, but for something this size and with a very large horizontal surface, it was a bigger problem. I was getting good coverage and a pretty consistent surface finish upon initial application, but because I had no way to vent the overspray coupled with the 12' ceiling height in the garage, I ended up with a large volume of mist hanging above the sprayed top when I finished. As the mist settled, it fell on the curing finish, creating a more inconsistent, flat/matte finish.
View attachment 652763
This is what I was shooting for all over:
View attachment 652764
I accept that I was pushing the limits of pretty much everything in my situation, but sometimes we need to do things out of necessity. Lessons have been learned and I will be spraying more items for sure (half doors, bumpers, fender flares), but nothing this large in this location again. I've already got a design working for a cheap portable booth of sorts with ventilation to setup in the garage space, more on that later (and in another thread).
Still need to source some new foam seal and install the hardware, but I imagine she'll be back on Tess before the end of the week. I'd like to give it a few more days in the relative warmth of the garage for curing purposes before installing.
~~~~~
In other and overdue news, I'd like to give a shoutout to WTF member @MikekiM for doing me a solid on the door cards for my half door build. Mike had posted a couple of times in the past about having interior plastic parts dyed, and I thought it seemed like a better alternative to paint for long term durability. In trade for some 3D design and print work on my end, he agreed to serve as middleman to facilitate getting my cards dyed, given I couldn't seem to find anyone in my neck of the woods with the capability. Settled, off my door cars went to LI, NY and Mike's care.
I doubt either of us could have predicted what would transpire in the coming months (yes, months), but I do feel somewhat foolish about the whole thing now as I put him in the situation in the first place by asking, and I'm not particularly keen on burdening others. What neither of us knew was, literally days after dropping off my cards at his body shop, the tech that does the dye work was seriously injured in a boating accident and off work injured as a result.
Now I was in no hurry to have them back, wanting them done properly and still having more work to do on the shells, so I did not press for updates. Mike checked in occasionally with both me and the shop, but apparently the shop did not make him privy to the situation initially, maybe not the best customer service decision on their part. In the end, the tech eventually recovered and returned to work, the cards got dyed and sent back to the PRoMD approximately 3 months after sending them off.
I don't know the gory details of what Mike might have dealt with on his end, but he handled the situation as admirably and tactfully as I imagine anyone could have (at least on my end) and I believe put a lot of pressure on himself over the whole thing. As well, throughout the entire ordeal I believe he was also dealing with some Jeep transmission issues of his own. So just thought I should offer a public "Thank You" for the effort and an apology as well. It wasn't my plan to insert a minor shit show into your life, and for that I am sorry.
The cards came out great, I think you'll agree. The cards/doors are from an early TJ, the shop redyed to match my '05 and I've got to say, the color match to my full factory cards is about as close as I could have ever hoped for.
Before:
View attachment 652772
After:
View attachment 652773
Seriously love your work....i have dabbled in the spray-painting dark arts and know the subtle inconsistences that come into play between a good and bad finish. I think it looks great much better than it was at the start. (you're always going t be your work critic) ....well done. Those door cards look primo !
This is true, and quite a bit.
A large component is knowing your equipment and materials and following the directions. To be fair, everything was new to me on this one. Spraying technique is the other large component and that's down to the individual. I shoot for precise yet fluid movements, mechanical but smooth, keeping the gun moving consistently when on-trigger. Like anything, putting in more reps hones the skills...and I'm a good 35 years out of practice...
I will say that achieving a great paint job is incredibly fulfilling when it goes right. I could do the frame straightening, panel beating and filler work, but shooting color and clear was just the best. I always got really nervous just before spraying, walking from the mixing room to booth, almost like amping up before a big game. As soon as the paint started flowing, an incredible singularity of mind and movement consumed and and the only things that existed in that moment were the paint and the surface. The only other place I've ever experienced this is when shooting guns, handguns in particular, but it happens sometimes with long gun shooting at distance as well.
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Fought with my ignition cylinder. Stuck the key in and wouldn't turn. A little WD40 sprayed into it and it turned like new. It's only been 2 days since I started it 
.
Loaded it up for a trip next week/weekend for Hollerwood (Slade, KY) for the 10th Annual Meet & Greet ride. I'm out of town for work until late Wednesday evening and we leave early Thursday morning so this was my only time to get it loaded.
.Loaded it up for a trip next week/weekend for Hollerwood (Slade, KY) for the 10th Annual Meet & Greet ride. I'm out of town for work until late Wednesday evening and we leave early Thursday morning so this was my only time to get it loaded.
speeding_infraction
TJ Enthusiast
Fought with my ignition cylinder. Stuck the key in and wouldn't turn. A little WD40 sprayed into it and it turned like new. It's only been 2 days since I started it
Loaded it up for a trip next week/weekend for Hollerwood (Slade, KY) for the 10th Annual Meet & Greet ride. I'm out of town for work until late Wednesday evening and we leave early Thursday morning so this was my only time to get it loaded.
View attachment 652851
What are you towing that setup with?
A 2025 Silverado 2500 with the L5P. Combined weight is only 24k and change according to a CAT scale.
Final chapter in my hardtop repair and refinishing ordeal (for now). I think we left the last installment with me having shot epoxy sealer and reduced Raptor, as well as some random large blobs of coagulated material, in a somewhat poorly lit garage. Scuff and respray were in order. Some progress has been made...
I decided to hand block the finish back as opposed to using a machine sander, I felt the foam backer might be a bit too forgiving on the large blobs and not flat them, which was the point of sanding in the first place. Not exactly "wax on, wax off", but I suspect I'd have done Mr. Miyagi proud (again).
View attachment 652757
Everything blown off, cleaned up and ready for remasking, I decided it was still too dark and added yet another 4' LED fixture at the head of the garage. Also rotated one of the ceiling fixtures and moved it to the spray side of the rear wall of the "booth" to help. The wall fixtures are wrapped in saran wrap to keep them from getting coated in overspray. Looks much brighter in the photos than it actually is, but about as good as this half-assed spray setup is going to get (maybe...).
View attachment 652759
View attachment 652760
Wiped down and tacked off, I prepped my spray kit and mixed up the Raptor. The new DeVilbiss 600 micron cup filters didn't quite fit in cheapo D1 Drizzle, but a razor blade and some fine sand paper helped persuaded it into place. I'm happy to report that the filter did its job perfectly, in both allowing the thick material to flow but also preventing the blobs from passing out of the gun.
The top is once again black and textured. If I'm being honest, while I am happy with my damage repairs, I'm not happy with the finish. But this is not down to the Raptor, the compressor, the gun or even the meat sack operating the aforementioned...I've identified two main remaining issues. The first is space, my garage is about 8'6" wide, 20' deep and 12' high, and while the length is fine and the height is workable, the width for spraying an item this size is pushing it. I nearly got runs at spots in every coat on the sides due to my elbowing the damn walls mid spray pass. There just isn't enough room for proper spraying technique and a 6' 5" human with a comparable wingspan to work. The second is ventilation, as in I had none. For smaller items this hasn't been an issue, but for something this size and with a very large horizontal surface, it was a bigger problem. I was getting good coverage and a pretty consistent surface finish upon initial application, but because I had no way to vent the overspray coupled with the 12' ceiling height in the garage, I ended up with a large volume of mist hanging above the sprayed top when I finished. As the mist settled, it fell on the curing finish, creating a more inconsistent, flat/matte finish.
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This is what I was shooting for all over:
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I accept that I was pushing the limits of pretty much everything in my situation, but sometimes we need to do things out of necessity. Lessons have been learned and I will be spraying more items for sure (half doors, bumpers, fender flares), but nothing this large in this location again. I've already got a design working for a cheap portable booth of sorts with ventilation to setup in the garage space, more on that later (and in another thread).
Still need to source some new foam seal and install the hardware, but I imagine she'll be back on Tess before the end of the week. I'd like to give it a few more days in the relative warmth of the garage for curing purposes before installing.
~~~~~
In other and overdue news, I'd like to give a shoutout to WTF member @MikekiM for doing me a solid on the door cards for my half door build. Mike had posted a couple of times in the past about having interior plastic parts dyed, and I thought it seemed like a better alternative to paint for long term durability. In trade for some 3D design and print work on my end, he agreed to serve as middleman to facilitate getting my cards dyed, given I couldn't seem to find anyone in my neck of the woods with the capability. Settled, off my door cars went to LI, NY and Mike's care.
I doubt either of us could have predicted what would transpire in the coming months (yes, months), but I do feel somewhat foolish about the whole thing now as I put him in the situation in the first place by asking, and I'm not particularly keen on burdening others. What neither of us knew was, literally days after dropping off my cards at his body shop, the tech that does the dye work was seriously injured in a boating accident and off work injured as a result.
Now I was in no hurry to have them back, wanting them done properly and still having more work to do on the shells, so I did not press for updates. Mike checked in occasionally with both me and the shop, but apparently the shop did not make him privy to the situation initially, maybe not the best customer service decision on their part. In the end, the tech eventually recovered and returned to work, the cards got dyed and sent back to the PRoMD approximately 3 months after sending them off.
I don't know the gory details of what Mike might have dealt with on his end, but he handled the situation as admirably and tactfully as I imagine anyone could have (at least on my end) and I believe put a lot of pressure on himself over the whole thing. As well, throughout the entire ordeal I believe he was also dealing with some Jeep transmission issues of his own. So just thought I should offer a public "Thank You" for the effort and an apology as well. It wasn't my plan to insert a minor shit show into your life, and for that I am sorry.
The cards came out great, I think you'll agree. The cards/doors are from an early TJ, the shop redyed to match my '05 and I've got to say, the color match to my full factory cards is about as close as I could have ever hoped for.
Before:
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After:
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The hard top looks great. The texture as seen in the picture is perfect.
Glad the door cards ended well.
Fought with my ignition cylinder. Stuck the key in and wouldn't turn. A little WD40 sprayed into it and it turned like new. It's only been 2 days since I started it
Loaded it up for a trip next week/weekend for Hollerwood (Slade, KY) for the 10th Annual Meet & Greet ride. I'm out of town for work until late Wednesday evening and we leave early Thursday morning so this was my only time to get it loaded.
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I love how the paint scheme on the camper makes it look like you have a pickup with a bed camper loaded up to go.
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