John you know more about sparkles than anyone else here.
Started painting my Jeep and it looks like a carnival ride or a bass boat (Keep going or buy another paint?)
- Thread starter Vtx531
- Start date
If you decide to go with solid grey after all, your TJ being silver in the first place is a good thing. I'm doing my LJ in solid grey and although I've done the door and tailgate jambs I did not want to paint the firewall as it would be too much of a hassle. It's staying silver and looks fine with the rest being grey. If I'd started out with a red, blue, etc. or almost anything but black or silver Jeep it wouldn't look good at all.
Good luck with it!
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automotivetouchup sells OE jeep colors......metallics are expensive, i think my khaki is like 450$ gl. and it has to be sprayed 1 direction. and it has to be clear coated to look right.
i found it laid better doing several light passes, rather than to try and wet it down in a single pass. the windshield frame i sprayed all willy nilly like an old bike frame and it's not the best, the fenders i sprayed 1 direction and they look pretty good.
clear didn't matter what direction it just needed to be nice and wet.
i found it laid better doing several light passes, rather than to try and wet it down in a single pass. the windshield frame i sprayed all willy nilly like an old bike frame and it's not the best, the fenders i sprayed 1 direction and they look pretty good.
clear didn't matter what direction it just needed to be nice and wet.
OP
If you decide to go with solid grey after all, your TJ being silver in the first place is a good thing. I'm doing my LJ in solid grey and although I've done the door and tailgate jambs I did not want to paint the firewall as it would be too much of a hassle. It's staying silver and looks fine with the rest being grey. If I'd started out with a red, blue, etc. or almost anything but black or silver Jeep it wouldn't look good at all.
Good luck with it!
Yea, I think my firewall will be getting some rattlecan flat black. That's the only thing I can't really paint because the spray gun wont fit without removing the engine and all the stuff attached to the firewall. I think I can get a rattle can in there for most of it though.
Shade photo this morning (with the ipad camera still making it look pixelated). Again, only the innerfender is painted. The left outside part of the fender is just overspray that will be sanded down later when the Jeep is all put together.
Battery and ABS tray indoor light
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Well, good painting, but if you don’t like the color, it’s time to change now. We tried ERA paint match in Patriot Blue Metallic and it was several shades off. Then we tried the Duplicolor Perfect Match and it was very close, if not perfect.
On another rig the Flame Red by Duplicolor was several shades too dark. I found Sunrise Red Rustoleum was near perfect. It’s painted on the tailgate armor and the corners are factory. If I were you I’d try a factory match.
A gray TJ is a head turner. I’m still surprised Chrysler never painted them gray. Your paint job looks amazing. Typical of all the work you do.
Thanks! I agree. I guess the colour grey (
spellings 
) wasn't that popular back then. I like the "Sting Grey" they came out with for the JKs and I think JLs and this is pretty close. It's actually "Gloss Grey" Tremclad single stage enamel which is basically Rustoleum "Smoke Gray". I don't think I'll have $200 in paint for this project ... and that's too!
OP
This paint was only about $100 but I think it looks like some sort of expensive custom paint. I think my local paint store said the color code for Jeep Silverstone Metallic PS5 in their cheap brand single stage would be $300-400 for a gallon. The paint actually looks really nice and glossy/wet/shiny in person. Can't tell its not clear coated besides some minor orange peel but no worse than a lot of production vehicles I see today.
Looks nice. I think I am actually prioritizing a decent looking coat compared to the actual color. The paint laid down pretty nice so I'm inclined to just stick with it.
I remember you starting this project and wondered how it was going. Nice that you can go in sections with that gray. I think the metallic needs to be sprayed all at one go to get it even and since I can't polish and buff to get the panels matching texture if I don't do clearcoat.
Shows some of the gloss here. The pits are rust pits from after sandblasting the battery tray so ignore that. (sorry but im not doing body work on a battery tray!) Adds character.
SLOWLY ... is how it's been going!
I got sidetracked with a few other projects but at least those are now complete ... I think. One was my expedition trailer which I painted the same colour. I've been using it and the paint is holding up well. I'm looking forward to getting the two together which might be for a late season camping trip.I think you're right about spraying metallic in basically one shot and that's partly why I went the route I did. This an outdoors backyard job so I have to pick my times for painting based on weather.
Paint "USN" and a bunch of numbers on the hood, doors, and bumpers and you will be official. Seriously, all USN vehicles were painted that color back in the '70s.
Now, this is a true story. In 2012 we owned an '07 GC with the 3 liter CRD engine. The turbo had just cratered for the fifth time and we were at a local Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM dealership. They had just hired a new service manager and I let him have it. Turns out the engine was a Mercedes, but Jeep had modified the intake. There was a TSB to fix this, but every dealer I had visited had neglected to make the fix.
Jeep decided they wanted our GC back and told the dealership to give us an "offer we couldn't refuse" and they would make the dealership whole. I told them to roll out what they thought would do the job for us and they brought a 2012 GC Overland Summit with everything, I mean every, option available is on this vehicle.
The sales person is explaining all of the bells and whistles to me, but something is bothering me. I keep looking at the Jeep and finally I say, "Wait a minute. Nobody in South Texas buys a black vehicle." His response, "You don't see them, but there are gold speckles in the black paint that reflect the sunlight back into the sky, so the car stays cooler." I had a good laugh and asked about the deal. They were right, we couldn't refuse it and, today, that GC has almost 100k of highway miles on it and has been the best vehicle we have ever owned.
Now, this is a true story. In 2012 we owned an '07 GC with the 3 liter CRD engine. The turbo had just cratered for the fifth time and we were at a local Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM dealership. They had just hired a new service manager and I let him have it. Turns out the engine was a Mercedes, but Jeep had modified the intake. There was a TSB to fix this, but every dealer I had visited had neglected to make the fix.
Jeep decided they wanted our GC back and told the dealership to give us an "offer we couldn't refuse" and they would make the dealership whole. I told them to roll out what they thought would do the job for us and they brought a 2012 GC Overland Summit with everything, I mean every, option available is on this vehicle.
The sales person is explaining all of the bells and whistles to me, but something is bothering me. I keep looking at the Jeep and finally I say, "Wait a minute. Nobody in South Texas buys a black vehicle." His response, "You don't see them, but there are gold speckles in the black paint that reflect the sunlight back into the sky, so the car stays cooler." I had a good laugh and asked about the deal. They were right, we couldn't refuse it and, today, that GC has almost 100k of highway miles on it and has been the best vehicle we have ever owned.
"USN" as in United States Navy? Are you saying my grey LJ looks like a battleship?
Up here we have a lot of beige armed forces vehicles. Just like our national motor sports racing colour ... "Canadian Racing Beige". BTW - I have a fully optioned '05 GC but with the 5.7L hemi. Great Jeep. The 3 litre CRD is very popular in Europe but I understand not so much in N. America. I don't know but maybe the modified intake has something to do with that.
OP
SLOWLY ... is how it's been going!
I think you're right about spraying metallic in basically one shot and that's partly why I went the route I did. This an outdoors backyard job so I have to pick my times for painting based on weather.
I actually tried the Rustoleum smoke gray with a roller on one of my doors a couple years ago. It got a lot of bubbles on it (didn't look good) and had a little too much blue color in it for my taste.
It definitely has a hint of blue in it. I'm OK with that as it complements what comes out my tail pipe. lol.
Yes, United States Navy. No, we don't use battleships anymore. Looks more like a destroyer.
There are a bunch of old threads on another site about the 3.0 CRD and how Jeep messed it up.
We had two Jeeps like this aboard our ship and I drove one of them all over North Carolina one hot and steamy night. You get up to about 50 and feel like your are riding a tornado - loud and windy!
I say paint the whole damn thing that silver.
But I’m two 9% beers in and I like metallic paint.
You’ll never lose it in the woods.
But I’m two 9% beers in and I like metallic paint.
You’ll never lose it in the woods.
OP
Yes, exactly- whole thing, stripping it all down. Next up is the grill, tailgate, half doors, inside and out.
I just don't want to end up in the unfortunate TJ of the day thread. I'm leaning more and more to just rolling with this. As long as it is glossy and even.
Wife likes it