MY poor man's paint job and herculiner

**Sahara Matt** · 05-18-2008, 08:00 PM

So I finally got started doing something I always wanted to try. My jeep is not longer my daily driver. I don't have the funds to build it up yet with buying a new house and a kid on the way. But I have been intigued with reading about people paiting cars with roll-on paint for low cash. I figured I would give it a shot.

First- this is my experience and how I went about doing this. I'm sure there are write-ups of exactly how to do this and I'm sure they work better. This is just how I am doing it.

This is the before picture:

**Sahara Matt** · 05-18-2008, 08:11 PM

Here are supplies I used. The herculiner, and the paint and rollers.

Along with other things like:
- Automotive sand paper. The wet and dry kind.
400, 600, 800, 1000 grit.
- mineral spirits
- water bottle
- Scouring pads
- Plastic sheeting
- blue painters tape
- paint tray
- basic mechanics tools to take apart your jeep.
Everything I bought came from Advance Autoparts and Home-Depot

I'm sure I'm missing some things but I'll mention them as I go.

**Sahara Matt** · 05-18-2008, 08:38 PM

First step in dissasembly I did was take the fender flares off.

Started taking the seats out.

Tailights, rear bumper, license plate holder.

And on and on.......

94WorknProgress · 05-19-2008, 10:26 AM

good luck with the paint, i did mine the same way in march, i am very happy with it. only tip i have is, order the jeep emblems that you are going to paint over, it just doesn't look the same after they've been painted over.

acadian · 05-19-2008, 10:44 AM

Wow, I've never heard of doing this. Good luck!

**Sahara Matt** · 05-19-2008, 06:59 PM

Set aside plenty of time to take your jeep apart. It takes a lot longer than you think it will. Use some cardboard boxes for the bigger parts, small boxes, plastic bags or whatever else you want for the bolts and screws. You will be glad you did.

**Sahara Matt** · 05-19-2008, 07:02 PM

Almost ready to start prepping for the Herc.

Take a wire wheel to any of the surface rust.

**Sahara Matt** · 05-19-2008, 07:19 PM

You can use what you want to scuf the surface. I used one of those green scouring pads.

I used blue tape to cover the areas I didn't want Herc on. You might want to use two pices of tape. It is easier when you try to take it off.

**Sahara Matt** · 05-20-2008, 07:34 PM

When laying down the Herculiner, I used the roller in slow back and forth motions. i used a paint stirrer to spread it on the roller. This way it isn't to thick. I did two coats. I also used a couple of foam brushes for the hard to reach places. In addition to the floors and inside I also did the roll bar. I wanted to paint it back anyway so I figured I might as well use the Herc. I let it dry overnight between coats.

i also did my tuffy storage console.

**ih8pepl73** · 05-20-2008, 10:45 PM

Looks good but GD that's a lot of work!

Someone tell me how to line the exterior panels!!!

**Sahara Matt** · 05-21-2008, 05:38 PM

Now on to the painting. This is where I made my first big mistake. Not doing my research, I thought I had to take the paint down to bare steel. 1- that would take forever. and 2 - it is a lot harder when I tried to do it with and air sander. When I realized I could just scuf the paint and then paint over the original it was to late. To fix my mistake I used primer on the bare steel and then tried to sand it back to even level. Didn't work to well. I didn't have the patience. Plus, its a jeep. It doesn't have to be perfect. For me anyway. So that is the reason the next pictures look the way they do.

Here it is taped off and scuffed with one of those green pads again. I stripped as much of the jeep as i could without going overboard.

officialvin · 05-21-2008, 05:45 PM

looked fine befoe.. why ruin a a good paintjob with a not properly done roll on job?

**Sahara Matt** · 05-21-2008, 05:45 PM

Its also easier to take the hood off and paint it off the jeep.

Now on to the painting. Mix the mineral spirits with the paint. I used a about a 1:2 ratio. 1 part mineral spirits for 2 parts paint. Use a small paint tray. About $1 from Home depot. Its easy to move around the jeep as you work. Do a section at a time. Biggest trick is make sure there are no runs.
Here is what it looks like with the first coat of paint. What ever you do, try not to roll it on to thick.

JEEP97TJ · 05-21-2008, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by officialvin

looked fine befoe.. why ruin a a good paintjob with a not properly done roll on job?

Sorry, but I have to second this....I'd love to have a green sahara Jeep.(I'd trade my blue one haha) Though I will reserve my final opinion until the 'After' pictures....

**Sahara Matt** · 05-21-2008, 06:10 PM

Don't be discouraged if it looks like that after the first coat. It may take 4 coats just so none of the paint underneath is visible. I forget what coat I was on in this picture but you see that it is getting better. I think it was after 3 or 4.

You need to wet sand every 2 coats.
coat 1 ,2 then wet sand with 400 grit
coat 3, 4 then wet sand with 600 grit
coat 5, 6 then wet sand with 800 grit
coat 7, 8 then wet sand with 1000 grit

after 8 coats you should be good. You can polish the paint and make it shine. After my 8th coat I wet sanded and then did one more coat for good measure.