Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ engine mounts

Painting a TJ

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Martynt74

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I had a wee accident around a year ago and due to various miscommunications it's still at the garage. Work has finally been finished but now i have around a 2 month wait for the various modifications (LED headlights, larger tyres, tow bar and side steps) to be added to the technical documents. Spain don't make this easy!

Due to the cost of getting the repairs done and then squeezing in the upgrades above and also in the process of building a house. I've decided not to get it painted. As there are a few cosmetic issues it really could do with a full respray which is looking to be around €2500 which is much better spent elsewhere and i'm not yet sure whether to stick with the colour or go for something a little brighter.

As it's likely going to be a year till the house is built and i start getting some spare money again i'm thinking i might have a bash at painting the hood and fender myself. If it's a crap job then it'll probably be better than it currently looks and should tide me over for a while. The grille also needs painting but in it's current black state it doesn't look too bad and i'm liable to make a bigger mess trying to paint that too!
(Note the slight bent out of shape section behind the fender. No idea how to try and remedy that!)

j2auYlS.jpg


I found this website (again we're limited in Spain it seems vs the USA) and i imagine it's about as good as i'm going to get. As someone who has no prior experience of this. Am i better to buy the spray cans or should i get a compressor (which would come in useful for other tasks) and a cheap spray gun?

https://www.pintarmicoche.com/producto/pintura-pjn-moss-green-pearlcoat-jeep/
 
Martynt74 said:
Note the slight bent out of shape section behind the fender. No idea how to try and remedy that!
Click to expand...

Clearly the fender was shoved back into the tub during the wreck. I suggest leaving that to a professional body guy as it will be hard to get right, and it's easy to make it worse.

Martynt74 said:
Am i better to buy the spray cans or should i get a compressor (which would come in useful for other tasks) and a cheap spray gun?
Click to expand...

With paint, preparation is 90% of the job. If you are on a tight budget, spray cans will be cheaper and easier to learn, but likely won't be as good of a product long term, just know that up front. If you choose to go the spray can route, use a 2K paint and 2K UV rated clear, and practice on scrap before.

If you want to venture into the compressor & paint gun world, you really need to do a lot of research before buying anything. There are decent guns out now in the $200 range. Every paint gun will have a minimum air rating, and your compressor & tank must be able to maintain that minimum. By the time you buy everything (compressor, hoses, dryer, regulator/separator, gun(s), materials, paint, etc.), even being budget minded, I think you will quickly approach that $2,500 mark, plus you will be doing the work.

Martynt74 said:
As there are a few cosmetic issues it really could do with a full respray which is looking to be around €2500
Click to expand...

Do you mean the entire Jeep can be repainted for $2,500? If so, and they can do a decent job, I suggest going that route vs buying a compressor & gun. Here I would expect a total repaint to cost around $5,000 for a factory quality repaint, so $2,500 is pretty cheap.
 
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Martynt74 said:
I had a wee accident around a year ago and due to various miscommunications it's still at the garage. Work has finally been finished but now i have around a 2 month wait for the various modifications (LED headlights, larger tyres, tow bar and side steps) to be added to the technical documents. Spain don't make this easy!

Due to the cost of getting the repairs done and then squeezing in the upgrades above and also in the process of building a house. I've decided not to get it painted. As there are a few cosmetic issues it really could do with a full respray which is looking to be around €2500 which is much better spent elsewhere and i'm not yet sure whether to stick with the colour or go for something a little brighter.

As it's likely going to be a year till the house is built and i start getting some spare money again i'm thinking i might have a bash at painting the hood and fender myself. If it's a crap job then it'll probably be better than it currently looks and should tide me over for a while. The grille also needs painting but in it's current black state it doesn't look too bad and i'm liable to make a bigger mess trying to paint that too!
(Note the slight bent out of shape section behind the fender. No idea how to try and remedy that!)

View attachment 598305

I found this website (again we're limited in Spain it seems vs the USA) and i imagine it's about as good as i'm going to get. As someone who has no prior experience of this. Am i better to buy the spray cans or should i get a compressor (which would come in useful for other tasks) and a cheap spray gun?

https://www.pintarmicoche.com/producto/pintura-pjn-moss-green-pearlcoat-jeep/
Click to expand...

I prefer using a compressor and paint gun for body panels. It takes a little practice to set up the gun.

I did practice with cans for a long time before I switched to compressor and gun just for technique.
 
BlueC said:
Do you mean the entire Jeep can be repainted for $2,500? If so, and they can do a decent job, I suggest going that route vs buying a compressor & gun. Here I would expect a total repaint to cost around $5,000 for a factory quality repaint, so $2,500 is pretty cheap.
Click to expand...

Yeah, pretty much quoted 1800 plus taxes for a respray, or 2200 plus tax for a respray including taking off door trim etc and doing a more complete job. I agree prices are good, just a lot with everything i already have going on at the moment so just going for something cheap in the short term to make it look less rubbish for 12 months or so when i can get it properly redone. Would be leaving the bent tub alone. As you say more chance of me doing a rubbish job and making it worse.


Cheers guys. Definitely sounds like cans is the way forward here as it's only going to be a one off task and don't foresee me ever wanting to get any more into it. This website do offer 2k varnish so that was on the list already.

There's loads of scrap sites around so will try and grab some old panels to practice on, but again as long as it looks a slightly similar colour i'll be happy!
 
Martynt74 said:
Definitely sounds like cans is the way forward... There's loads of scrap sites around so will try and grab some old panels to practice on, but again as long as it looks a slightly similar colour i'll be happy!
Click to expand...

Find some panels, scrapyard hoods work well, and practice with the paint you intend to use. You should be able to find an online source for a color matched paint (color code), which should be close to what is on your Jeep. I've seen some decent spray can paint jobs. Remember, prep work is 90% of a good paint job.
 
Yeah, i'll get some practice in. I've worked out that in the 23 months i've owned this thing i've only been able to drive it for around 3 so can't wait to get it back!
 
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Martynt74 said:
Yeah, i'll get some practice in. I've worked out that in the 23 months i've owned this thing i've only been able to drive it for around 3 so can't wait to get it back!
Click to expand...

That’s a great price for a re-spray. I advise against spray cans on panels because it tends to come out splotchy. As mentioned, 90% is prep, so if you do all that work, why use spray cans for the final 10%? I’d hate for it to turn out frustrating for you. The difficulty for most people is getting over the hump of figuring out the compressor and gun. If you did figure it out you may not be interested in paying to get it re-sprayed. I’ll post some pics of sections on my Jeep that I painted versus factory. YMMV.

Links to painting:
JMT

Post in thread '05 Flame Red TJ Build'

Prepping the aluminum armor for paint.

Wash
1:1 distilled water and white vinegar (before and between each sanding grit drying each time with a clean microfiber cloth)

Sanding (I used an orbital 5" sander and discs. I make one pass vertical, one pass horizontal, and then what I call an level'ing pass where I eyeball it to make it all look level and no circular spots)
120 (remove all the nicks and scratches at this stage)
220 (you're just removing the scratches from the 120 as you make finer scratches)
400 (just removing the scratches from the 220 as you make finer...
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Link to pictures:
JMT

Post in thread '05 Flame Red TJ Build'

Got home from trip and after unloading everything I went straight to work.

A-Pillar armor, corners, and tailgate armor all painted and installed. I decided to paint the tail light bezels silver to match the flares. I also sanded the scratches out of the gas fill bezel that resulted from the flop and painted with SEM black. I also color matched the hardware to make the armor as low profile as possible. I kind of wish I painted the rub rail, but it’s going to get rubbed, so what’s the point?!

What do you think about the color?

IMG_0558.jpeg


IMG_0559.jpeg


IMG_0560.jpeg


IMG_0561.jpeg
...
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JMT said:
That’s a great price for a re-spray
Click to expand...

I'm always very suspicious when I hear of such a low price. I've been around the car & body shop world long enough to know what a budget job is, and more importantly what it isn't, and budget jobs are usually on par with an amateur spray can job. I don't know his local market, but here in the USA, I know a price like that is "a price so nice you'll pay it twice". ;)
 
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BlueC said:
I'm always very suspicious when I hear of such a low price. I've been around the car & body shop world long enough to know what a budget job is, and more importantly what it isn't, and budget jobs are usually on par with an amateur spray can job. I don't know his local market, but here in the USA, I know a price like that is "a price so nice you'll pay it twice". ;)
Click to expand...

Seems like a very good candidate of "cares and doesn't know" does a better job than "knows and doesn't care" at that price.

I rattle canned some of my MR2 and it's honestly not horrible - but I don't think the 80s OEM paint is anywhere comparable to what is on our jeeps either
 
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lBasket said:
Seems like a very good candidate of "cares and doesn't know" does a better job than "knows and doesn't care" at that price.

I rattle canned some of my MR2 and it's honestly not horrible - but I don't think the 80s OEM paint is anywhere comparable to what is on our jeeps either
Click to expand...

Auto paint in different era’s is interesting study in itself. Old muscle cars (to be restored to pristine OEM) need a certain amount of orange peel. It’s very specific for purists. For factory paint jobs Ford went beyond everyone else for many years. It was their environment (paint rooms) that was the main determinative factor in improved paint jobs. I think if you can get a very good color match with a spray can you can do a good enough job. If the color is off the whole thing is off.
 
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