Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ engine mounts

A Story of Indecision and Frivolous Spending

Were your Moab's painted?

I looked at the dish on the 16" Moab wheels compared to the 17", and I didn't notice it at first, but I do now. It's subtle, but yes, it's there.

I'm smitten with that @ObiWanWebWheelr build, that thing is just drop dead gorgeous. But truthfully, I think I like silver wheels in general more... at least on Khaki. I think dark wheels (Argent) look good on certain colors, and silver looks good on certain colors.

When I bought my Pintlers, I actually didn't know they were Argent, I thought they were silver. The photos on eBay were taken in the bright sun, and for some reason, they actually really looked more silver than Argent.


I painted them Gunmetal (close to argent).

Well, regardless of whether or not I keep my Pintlers, I couldn't pass this deal up:

View attachment 66143

A guy right down the road from me had these sitting in his shed. Take-offs from a brand new JK, with about 1000 miles on them he said.

Got them for $150! Can't argue with that one bit. Hell, even if it's just a set of spare wheels, this is a hell of a deal I would think.

I mean this DOES look good, no?

View attachment 66144
Those do look good, but they are the 16" TJ moabs...not the JK Moabs...You can tell by the amount of dish. Trust me...it will bug you.
 
I painted them Gunmetal (close to argent).


Those do look good, but they are the 16" TJ moabs...not the JK Moabs...You can tell by the amount of dish. Trust me...it will bug you.

You may be right. I think what I may end up doing is putting these JK wheels on, but then having my Pintlers refinished in silver, especially since they have some surface scratches on them all that have been bothering me. I personally think I would like them a lot better in silver.

I spoke to AEV however, and they told me that their wheels should not be powder coated, as the powder coating process (the heat) weakens the wheels. They told me they should only be painted, and that is how all of their wheels come when you buy them brand new, with paint, not powder coat. This is something I wasn't aware of, as I figured most wheels were power coated. I guess I was wrong about that.

If I come out of it on the other end with a spare set of wheels, I won't complain, since that actually may come in handy at some point. And for $150, it's not really anything to complain about anyways!
 
Most wheels nowadays, include your factory Moabs that you just picked up, are powdercoat primed, then wet painted over that. I researched this pretty heavy when I refinished my Pintlers. They use a powdercoat primer to "hide" the machining marks from manufacture and give the paint a nice smooth surface. When they bake them to cure the PC, it actually anneals the Aluminum (as I understand it). Another round of PC is said to make them more brittle. I'm not a metallurgist though...my info was gleaned from the interwebs so take it with a grain of salt. I sprayed my Pintlers...just to be safe.

I also found that on my JK moabs, if I got too crazy with the flap disc, I would go through the PC primer...Its pretty thick. That is why I avoided using any power tools on my Pintlers unless absolutely necessary. You will need to use body filler if you cut through the PC primer to get the surface back to level.

Do you have an air compressor? If so, pick up a paint gun from Harbor Freight and use the Duplicolor Paint shop line of paints. It is a lacquer, its pre-mixed and ready to spray, right out of the can. There aren't any reducers or temperature concerns, no recoat windows...if you can make rattle can spray paint look good, you can shoot this stuff. Its VERY easy to apply. Get some primer HERE). Use a few scotchbite scrub pads (I used the red ones), and clean with Acetone before painting. Super easy, done in a weekend (Since your wheels are already in good shape).
 
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Most wheels nowadays, include your factory Moabs that you just picked up, are powdercoat primed, then wet painted over that. I researched this pretty heavy when I refinished my Pintlers. They use a powdercoat primer to "hide" the machining marks from manufacture and give the paint a nice smooth surface. When they bake them to cure the PC, it actually anneals the Aluminum (as I understand it). Another round of PC is said to make them more brittle. I'm not a metallurgist though...my info was gleaned from the interwebs so take it with a grain of salt. I sprayed my Pintlers...just to be safe.

I also found that on my JK moabs, if I got too crazy with the flap disc, I would go through the PC primer...Its pretty thick. That is why I avoided using any power tools on my Pintlers unless absolutely necessary. You will need to use body filler if you cut through the PC primer to get the surface back to level.

So would the best way (in your opinion) to repaint my Pintlers an entirely different color be to take them down to bare metal, have them powder coat primed, and them paint them? Or do you think it would be better to just scuff up the paint (like you would on a car) and get the surface scuffed up enough to where a new coat of paint would adhere to them without having to re-powder coat them?

I can do the prep work, but I can't paint. My issue is that with JK Pintlers being $235 a piece brand new, it wouldn't even be worth refinishing them unless I can do it for around 3/4 the cost (preferably less) of what a brand new set of Pintlers would cost.

I suspect I can though, since I can't imagine painting would cost a lot of money if I did the prep work.
 
You'd be best scuffing the existing finish, spot putty any nasties, then spray the color of choice. Clear coat will aid in maintenance.
 
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So would the best way (in your opinion) to repaint my Pintlers an entirely different color be to take them down to bare metal, have them powder coat primed, and them paint them? Or do you think it would be better to just scuff up the paint (like you would on a car) and get the surface scuffed up enough to where a new coat of paint would adhere to them without having to re-powder coat them?

I can do the prep work, but I can't paint. My issue is that with JK Pintlers being $235 a piece brand new, it wouldn't even be worth refinishing them unless I can do it for around 3/4 the cost (preferably less) of what a brand new set of Pintlers would cost.

I suspect I can though, since I can't imagine painting would cost a lot of money if I did the prep work.
Hopefully someone with a better knowledge base will chime in, but I know sealer is really good about covering colors for a respray, if that's necessary, since it sounds like you are moving to a lighter color.
 
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Well, regardless of whether or not I keep my Pintlers, I couldn't pass this deal up:

View attachment 66143

A guy right down the road from me had these sitting in his shed. Take-offs from a brand new JK, with about 1000 miles on them he said.

Got them for $150! Can't argue with that one bit. Hell, even if it's just a set of spare wheels, this is a hell of a deal I would think.

I mean this DOES look good, no?

View attachment 66144
Two very different looks. The only thing I dont like about the JK Moab's is the lack of concave; they are very flat. The TJ Moab's are concave and have some depth to them.
 
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I don't have a choice, I can't go to a 15" rim. I have @mrblaine's 17" big brake kit, which requires 17" wheels.

I don't mind the 17s either, since the 35s make up for the the bigger wheel in my opinion. I also don't mind, because I have to say, this 17" big brake kit is pretty friggin' phenomenal in terms of stopping power.

All I can say is that those JK Moabs look absolutely killer on @ObiWanWebWheelr's rig.
Imagine Obi's build with TJ Moabs! I would love to see a side by side comparison..I'm just sayin, it could look even better for all we know. The JK wheel belongs on a JK, Ill be the one that says it first. Nothing aginst his choice in wheel., as I understand his reasoning behind the choice in wheel, but personally, I would have gone another route.
 
Imagine Obi's build with TJ Moabs! I would love to see a side by side comparison..I'm just sayin, it could look even better for all we know. The JK wheel belongs on a JK, Ill be the one that says it first. Nothing aginst his choice in wheel., as I understand his reasoning behind the choice in wheel, but personally, I would have gone another route.

I suspect he went with 17s because they're a better option than a 16" wheel, we all know that. The tire choices for 16s are absolutely horrible. Not to mention that with JKs and JLs being 17s all around, I'm finding that it seems the off-road tires are shifting more and more towards 17s being the primary size. Maybe I'm wrong about that, but 17s have a ton of tire options, whereas it used to really be 15s was the best bet.
 
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I'm either going to run the 16 or 17" BBK since I'm planning a fairly heavy build with roof rack and trailer, otherwise I would be dropping down to some ravines and doing a beadlock conversion on them, but with liking the ability to actually stop in a timely manner I think bigger brakes will be much better. Also not having to do any grinding on the unit bearings is an added bonus.
The look with the wheel you are going far is worth a different route than a BBK; You have more than one choice. If you want increased braking power but want to retain your factyory brake setup as well as keep the wheels you want for your build; A hydro boost will increase yur braking power.
http://www.vancopbs.com/product_p/6.htm

I dont see it talked about a lot on here. Can the factory brakes handle the Vanco hydro boost pressures? Looking for @mrblaine input.
 
Two very different looks. The only thing I dont like about the JK Moab's is the lack of concave; they are very flat. The TJ Moab's are concave and have some depth to them.
Once he gets that that mid arm stretched out in the rocks. This build will completely change directions. The topic of little imperfections of his wheels will cease to exist.
 
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Once he gets that that mid arm stretched out in the rocks. This build will completely change directions. The topic of little imperfections of his wheels will cease to exist.
HA! It's the little things that bother him the most.

It's also the little things that set a great build apart from a good build. Maybe I am wrong, it's just my .02
 
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So would the best way (in your opinion) to repaint my Pintlers an entirely different color be to take them down to bare metal, have them powder coat primed, and them paint them? Or do you think it would be better to just scuff up the paint (like you would on a car) and get the surface scuffed up enough to where a new coat of paint would adhere to them without having to re-powder coat them?

No way man. Why fix something that isn't a problem. Scuff up the existing paint and shoot them. You can't repowdercoat them...that is a one time deal. Why don't you want to tackle this project yourself? If you can use a rattle can, you can spray the wheels. Toughest part is getting full coverage without sagging.

You could always have your neighbor do it? Didn't he paint your hood?
 
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The look with the wheel you are going far is worth a different route than a BBK; You have more than one choice. If you want increased braking power but want to retain your factyory brake setup as well as keep the wheels you want for your build; A hydro boost will increase yur braking power.
http://www.vancopbs.com/product_p/6.htm

I dont see it talked about a lot on here. Can the factory brakes handle the Vanco hydro boost pressures? Looking for @mrblaine input.
We do hydroboost a fair bit. I run it on some of my stuff as well. In fact, if I had my way, every big brake kit would be run with hydroboost.

The factory calipers can handle it. The factory knuckles will suffer. The cast sliders that the brake pads react against to stop the rotor will bend and the ends of the pads will bend over once that has happened and they are subjected to enough high energy brake events.

I subscribe to the philosophy that those who give up function over form, deserve what happens.
 
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No way man. Why fix something that isn't a problem. Scuff them up the existing paint and shoot them. You can't repowdercoat them...that is a one time deal. Why don't you want to tackle this project yourself? If you can use a rattle can, you can spray the wheels. Toughest part is getting full coverage without sagging.

You could always have your neighbor do it? Didn't he paint your hood?

I’m not opposed to doing it myself at all. I just don’t know how good I could get them looking with a rattle can?

My neighbor is a retired painter, so yes, he could shoot them for me.
 
I’m not opposed to doing it myself at all. I just don’t know how good I could get them looking with a rattle can?

My neighbor is a retired painter, so yes, he could shoot them for me.

I did my first set with a rattle can. They turned out great, and held up decent. I used an automotive spray gun on the second set, and the results are much better. Haven't had them off road yet though, so I still don't know how durable it will be.

Nice thing about paint is that its pretty easy to fix...
 
I did my first set with a rattle can. They turned out great, and held up decent. I used an automotive spray gun on the second set, and the results are much better. Haven't had them off road yet though, so I still don't know how durable it will be.

Nice thing about paint is that its pretty easy to fix...

That's true. It's never hard to fit things with a rattle can, that's for sure. I'll have to see if I can find a DupliColor paint that matches the satin silver finish you commonly find on wheels.
 
Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ engine mounts