A lesson learned—keep it light and nimble!

Is that Deep Amethyst Pearl / PCN? Thats the color of mine which needs paint but I'm afraid of the metallic. Looks like yours went well.
Yes….pcn

It came out pretty well. I put the TJ on its side and learned a lot about painting in the repair process. I ended up doing grille, hood, cowl and w/s frame. Body work is easy, but painting is chemistry.
 
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I understand that. To do half doors wouldn’t be bad , but it’s not economical to rattle can a panel or armor. Not very much material in a can.

No rattle can for me. I'm starting with a quart of their mixed paint, which I'll spray with my HVLP gun. I'm not really worried about the paint, more so the clear. I've had varying degrees of luck over the years when trying different clears. Some have laid down nicely, others, not so much. We'll see here!
 
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No rattle can for me. I'm starting with a quart of their mixed paint, which I'll spray with my HVLP gun. I'm not really worried about the paint, more so the clear. I've had varying degrees of luck over the years when trying different clears. Some have laid down nicely, others, not so much. We'll see here!

A couple of things I learned. With metallic paint, consistency is key. Maintain distance from surfaces, speed and air pressure. Three coats of color and then don’t touch it. If you want more sparkle do a drop coat (like a final mist coat). If you touch the color coat it will cause the flakes to lay down inconsistently. Let it flash off . Shoot two wet coats of 2x clear. Clear can be cut , sanded and buffed out but color can’t.
 
I’ll have to try my luck with paint at some point soon here. I’m doing patch panels and new fenders. I’d love a good “diy sprayer job” thread for paint rookies!

That would be good. There a lot to be learned. There are some people who are great at documenting what is hey do. I am not in that group. There is a guy on that one video channel call “ Paint Society “. I learned quite a bit from him.
 
That would be good. There a lot to be learned. There are some people who are great at documenting what is hey do. I am not in that group. There is a guy on that one video channel call “ Paint Society “. I learned quite a bit from him.

paint society is a great channel. I seem to review his channel before every project, since I don't do it all that often.
 
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That would be good. There a lot to be learned. There are some people who are great at documenting what is hey do. I am not in that group. There is a guy on that one video channel call “ Paint Society “. I learned quite a bit from him.

paint society is a great channel. I seem to review his channel before every project, since I don't do it all that often.

3x his content is how I’ve learned to paint and I’ve been happy with the results of my last few projects.
 
Finally painted my 1/2 doors and I'm happy with how they turned out. After the paint I installed new door weatherstripping and new DL-22 door locks. The doors I have are from a 1998 and I learned that the locks are different.

Also painted and installed a set of UCF windshield frame armor. All this is being done so I can take the TJ wheeling next week. I've got 4 days planned at Rausch and AOAA. Wheeling tires are on and I'm ready to go!

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The TJ represented well with the big boys. Had a blast for three days with my Son and some friends. It was mid nineties every day but still fun!

I went to the Big Dogs event over near Winchester. Had a lot of fun and likewise, the LJ held it's own. I think I was the only Jeep on 35s. I did have one pucker moment, but we both came through undamaged.
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I went to the Big Dogs event over near Winchester. Had a lot of fun and likewise, the LJ held it's own. I think I was the only Jeep on 35s. I did have one pucker moment, but we both came through undamaged.
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Nice! I haven't been there in a while. Last time I almost flopped on pennsyltucky.

I mght have to try one of the events this year. You get in there outside of the events sometimes. Or you use to be able to. I have done it and you get the park to yourself other than atv's.
 
I've had two good wheeling trips over the summer, totaling 7 days, and the Jeep continues to impress me. On 32" tires I've run every black trail at Rausch, and several Reds. The only real damage was a fender flare that got mangled and, on Crawl Daddy, a grenaded front yoke U-joint. I'm still really not sure what caused it, because it happened on an easy part of the trail. My guess is it was already damaged and decided to let go there. The problem was fixed, and I thought that was the end of it.

A few days ago I noticed gear oil on the garage floor and discovered the front pinion seal was leaking. Additionally, the Jeep threw a P1494, leak detection pump (LDP) code. I did a quick vacuum test on the LDP and it wouldn't hold vacuum. My guess on the pinion seal is it got damaged when the u-joint broke, so in went a new seal and LDP. Ending on a positive note, both Jeeps passed VA state safety inspection, so I'm legal for another year. Plus, the parts for the repair came in under $25. This only happened because I bought the LDP for $5 at one of Rock Autos close out sales. :)

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I think it's funny how many of us hold our breath each time we take it for inspection and celebrate not having to worry about that for another year 😄

We only have to do emissions here and I still wonder/hope to pass when I head over — even though you're almost guaranteed to pass if the DTC light is off and the emissions monitors are set (been driven for at least 1 cycle after the battery's been disconnect)... :D
 
I think it's funny how many of us hold our breath each time we take it for inspection and celebrate not having to worry about that for another year 😄

I love it that I can register mine at my cabin which is in a rural area that does not require any smog tests at all And I am in CA if you can believe that :LOL: