Paint gurus, need your help

[glwood]

The time has come to paint the half doors I picked up last winter. They are dark blue, and I want to match the bright silver paint of my Rubicon. What's the proper way to prep the blue factory paint prior to applying primer?

Not very well versed in auto painting...thanks.

 

[Alex01]

Rough it up with some 180 sand paper then 320. Apply some acetone to clean it up. Then apply the primer. Good luck don't forget to take photos .

 

[bobthetj03]

What kind of shape is the factory blue in?

 

[glwood]

What kind of shape is the factory blue in?

It's actually in very good shape. They were the original doors on the TJ, were replaced by full doors, then pretty much stayed in storage for the last few years. I'll see if I can dig up some photos, or take some more.

 

[glwood]

How they sit as is:

 

[bobthetj03]

The factory substrate is a good foundation to start. Pull the handle, lock cylinder, and door panel. I'd pull the hinge plates too, but not absolutely necessary. Clean the surface with a good mutipurpose cleaner and a gray scotchbrite pad. Dry and wipe down again with wax/grease remover. Wet sand with 400-600 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Try not to sand thru the basecoat if you can help it. When everything looks dull and uniform, clean again with wax/grease remover(always use clean, lint free, disposable towels for cleaning), and apply your primer. Let the primer dry for a bit and check your work. The primer will tell you what you've missed, and what is acceptable. Sand with 600 grit and apply more primer if needed. Your top coat will only look as good as what is under it, so it is important to have the final primer coat looking good.

 

[Mike_H]

x2 to this^^

 

[jeepndogs]

If the doors are clean and there are no chips or scratches in them sand with 600-800, dry or wet your choice. No need to prime them if you don’t sand through anything. Apply a 2k sealer and then color and clear.

Are you planning on painting yourself or bringing them to a shop to have them spray them? I can tell you one thing 100% of the shops out there will usually quote you more if you prep them....... In one of my shops I would charge $450-500 to do those if you dropped them off as is. Probably $550-650 if you sanded them and primed them.

 

[JMT]

Add to X2 above, thin coats, thinner than you think, take your time.i.e. Your first prime coat should not provide full coverage

 

[glwood]

If the doors are clean and there are no chips or scratches in them sand with 600-800, dry or wet your choice. No need to prime them if you don’t sand through anything. Apply a 2k sealer and then color and clear.

Are you planning on painting yourself or bringing them to a shop to have them spray them? I can tell you one thing 100% of the shops out there will usually quote you more if you prep them....... In one of my shops I would charge $450-500 to do those if you dropped them off as is. Probably $550-650 if you sanded them and primed them.

Decided to have them painted at a shop after getting a price of $250 + cost of paint. Disassembled the doors:

And delivered the doors and paint to the shop. I did not do any prep, the guy I spoke to said he would do what it needed. They should be done Friday, maybe Saturday. I'll post photos when I have picked them up.

I need to paint the interior panels to match the current dark slate gray.

Anyone found a spray paint color that is close to the dark slate gray?

 

[glwood]

Picked up the doors from the paint shop today. Still need to paint the interior panels a dark gray, to match closer to the factory interior.
Then I can put everything together again, and mount up the doors. Here's a couple photos I took of the painted doors, two in the back of my truck, and two propped up against the full doors,

before my camera's battery died...they look in the photos a little darker than the TJ, and may indeed be so, but they did a great job, and they are leaning at a different angle, and really are so close I am thrilled with the outcome. Can't wait to get everything back together and see my TJ with half doors!

 

[bobthetj03]

Silver can be a tough color to match, but those look pretty durn good!

 

[glwood]

Silver can be a tough color to match, but those look pretty durn good!

You're not kidding...even when I was at the NAPA paint store, he had about 6 or 7 sample swatches, based on the factory paint code. They all were very close, but each one had a slightly different tint or shade. We finally selected the swatch that matched the closest, and they mixed up the paint based on that swatch.

Considering these are summer doors I plan to run part time when the top is down, I think they are just the ticket. The paint guy said they would look a bit better with a wet sanding, but he likes to wait a couple weeks to let the paint cure fully before attempting that.

 

[GTboosted]

I think they look great. I may need to go this route because I am having a hard time finding them in Chilli Pepper Red to match my TJ.

 

[glwood]

Installed door photos updated on my TJ page in my sig below.