TJ Needs Paint

[CA-TJ-Dreamin]

Been working on this '03 TJ for about a year - replaced fenders, bumpers, headlights, tires - troubleshoot electrical - time to do something about this look. I think the oxidization on the hood is beyond repair, and the fenders clearly needed some love. Is this a DIY job or do I need to take it to Maaco? How much should I expect it to cost?

 

[Fouledplugs]

Been working on this '03 TJ for about a year - replaced fenders, bumpers, headlights, tires - troubleshoot electrical - time to do something about this look. I think the oxidization on the hood is beyond repair, and the fenders clearly needed some love. Is this a DIY job or do I need to take it to Maaco? How much should I expect it to cost?

View attachment 327553

To me it would depend on what the frame and torque boxes looked like, what the tub looked like under the carpet, what the tub looks like under the hood, on whether I’d keep dumping money into it.

Being that you’re in PA and from what I can tell, the frame has signs of bad rust.

Can you post some pics of the areas mentioned? A good gauge, in my opinion, is the tub mounted ememgency brake cable bracket area under the tub.

 

[CA-TJ-Dreamin]

To me it would depend on what the frame and torque boxes looked like, what the tub looked like under the carpet, what the tub looks like under the hood, on whether I’d keep dumping money into it.

Being that you’re in PA and from what I can tell, the frame has signs of bad rust.

Can you post some pics of the areas mentioned? A good gauge, in my opinion, is the tub mounted ememgency brake cable bracket area under the tub.

Not exactly sure that the tub under the hood is, but I'll grab some more pics shortly. The mechanic told me he'd seen much worse, but for sure the side rails rusted off years ago.

 

[Fouledplugs]

Not exactly sure that the tub under the hood is

Usually for me, when looking for a Jeep, if they don't have frame pics, these signs of rust circled in red are indicators it might not be good frame wise.

Under the hood on this one with the indicators in red, lead me to this damage on the frame:

My .02 is that if purchased, I’d want to prioritize the rust issues on the frame before painting the tub. Or I’d work on finding a new rust free frame from the deep south or out towards southern California/Arizona.

 

[Fouledplugs]

I talked to a very reputable body shop a few months ago about painting an entire tub and he ballparked it at about $3500 which I thought was very fair for a good paint job.

I dont know the ins and outs, but from what I understand it really comes down to prep and how good the guy with the paint gun is.

Spitballing here, if you could do all the prep yourself and then drive it to Mako for a spray, it may yield better results. But again, I dont have any experience with painting an an entire tub.