Jeep Enthusiast Forums banner

Project 23's Paint

110K views 952 replies 86 participants last post by  PROJECT 23 
#1 ·
I am going to use this thread as documentation of Project 23's paint project. After going back and forth with tackling this project myself or hand over my life savings to have a shop shoot the paint, I have decided to do it myself.
A few things that came into play when making this decision are
-Many of you have posted the satisfaction of doing this yourselves
-The money saved
-I have a buddy with a son that is a painter and he is going to offer his services when it comes time to shoot the paint
-I just found out last night that my wife has a good friend that is a "big wig" at Sherwin Williams. Can you say major discount on paint, primer, clear, spray gun, etc.
-My brother has offered one of his garages for me to build a temporary paint booth
So with those reasons I would be a fool not to take on this project. My intention of this post is to document my progress with this project to include pictures. I have already started to prep the hood, tailgate, doors, dash and hinges. I am actually heading over to work on the tub today. I will post pictures later today of my progress so far so stay tuned.......
 
#3 ·
Sold the hardtop today as I will never use it. Got it for free and sold it for $250. The crappy thing is that my wife was taken today by some guy for $250. She found a set of Centerline Hellcats (wheels I have been looking for) and the seller told her they would fit my CJ7 so she bought them.
She was so excited to give them to me and I was stoked to get them. I threw them in my car to go try them on Project 23 (being stored at my brother's house) to find out the bolt pattern is wrong and they don't fit over the front hubs.
SOB, I fricking hate dishonest people!!!!!! Now I need to sell these wheels because they are worthless to me....
 
#4 ·
Hood, flares, doors, windshield frame, dash, tailgate, rocker guards and battery tray removed. Parts are in my shop getting prepped for paint. Started to sand the grill this evening, but had to stop because the wife wanted to spend some time together. I will continue with the sanding tomorrow.
 

Attachments

#6 ·
The hood after being sanded. Need to get the hood latch holes filled as I will be installing a set of TJ latches instead. Thinking about investing in a small mig welder so I can tackle little jobs like this.
The second picture is the hood prior to sanding. It appears the PO attempted to paint without taking the time or lacked the knowledge of proper prep work. Hopefully I won't make the same mistake with this project ;)
 

Attachments

#7 ·
That really sucks about the wheels. It is sad, you can't trust anyone. I put a brand new set of 31" BFG All-Terrains on craigslist. I didn't want much for them, they came on a Jeep I had and I didn't pay much for the Jeep, I think I asked for like $300. Within 2 hours I had a guy there to look at them. I didn't expect them to sell that quick so I hadn't even taken them off the wheels yet. The guy said he had a buddy that owned a tire shop right around the corner and he would bring back the wheels in a couple hours. I knew he was never coming back but I only paid $400 for the whole jeep so I decided to trust him. Of course he never did come back.
 
#10 ·
Tailgate soft top snap holes filled and smoothed out. Sprayed a thin coat of primer on it to protect it until real primer and sealer can be sprayed.
Also a few pictures of the tailgate prior to working the minor rust and pitting. For a rookie at body work, I think it turned out great.
 

Attachments

#12 ·
Attempted to refinish various parts with Chasis Saver. BIG mistake as bubbles and pits formed once the parts cured. Had the parts stripped and powdered. I will post pictures of the parts tomorrow. I had the mirror hardware, spare tire carrier, spare tire carrier hardware and some other small parts powdered.
 

Attachments

#14 ·
At a stand still right now waiting to get Project 23 to the paint shop. Oh, there has been a change of plans with getting it painted. I will not be taking on this project myself per the wifey pooh. She thinks not having the proper ventilation and painting gear is going to be harmful to my health. I guess she really does love me :rolleyes:
Anyways, still prepping parts to get them ready for the painter and to help cut costs. Still haven't finished sanding the grill. I will get that knocked out within the next few days.
Project 23 is being transported to the paint shop on March 12th. They should have it between 2-3 weeks. I will then have it transported back to my house where assembly will start. I am looking forward to it so I can get my workshop space back. I have parts scattered everywhere.
 
#15 ·
Finished sanded all the parts that I removed from Project 23 (hood, tailgate, grill, doors, etc). I now have to get over to my brother's house to remove the bedliner from the door sills and around the lip of the tub. Also need to knock a small dent out on the passenger rear quarter (right on the corner).
Other than that it's now a waiting game till she's dropped off at the paint shop. The shop is 5 minutes from my house so I will make my daily visits to see the progress. Hoping to get some pictures of the process while in the shop.
Other than prepping it for paint, I bought new wheels, family roll bar from a 94 YJ, mics small parts (front turn signals, oil pressure guage, voltage guage, new head lights) and a new spare tire (since my old one had no tread and I wanted a complete matching set).

Been working some major overtime to pay for all these goodies and paint job :)
Also helps that we are splitting the tax returns this year. I guess it was a good year financially for me and the wifey pooh.....:2thumbsup:
 
#17 ·
Hood, doors, grill, dash, rollbar spreaders, hinges, windshield frame, rocker guards and other misc parts all packed up to be dropped off tomorrow morning at the paint shop. Gotta make a second trip for the roll bar.
I can't believe this thing is finally going to get some paint shot on it. Still can't decide on the lighter or medium silver metallic. I guess it should be decided soon. Either way, I'm stoked about getting it done.
 

Attachments

#23 ·
LT1CJ7 said:
From the looks of it, It was originally a Cali Jeep.
I bet the lack of rust made for a much easier job prepping for paint/body.
Cant wait to see the outcome. Did you decide on the light or medium silver :confused:
Yep, it was originally a Southern Cali Jeep. The sheet metal is in beautiful condition, but does have some fairly deep chips on the grill, fenders and front edge of the hood. Other than that it's in great condition.
I am going with the original light silver with the blue Renegade decals for an 85.
 
#25 ·
PROJECT 23 said:
I am going with the original light silver with the blue Renegade decals for an 85.
LT1CJ7 said:
Sweet................ That's a great looking combination :drool:
X2, thats going to look great!

Looking forward to seeing the 'after' pics!

JF member 'huntersdad' has a Scrambler with that same paint/decal combo.

He has more pics in his profile if you're interested. http://jeepspace.jeepforum.com/huntersdad





.
 
#26 ·
Well, I pulled an all nighter at work and I am whooped after getting 3 hours of sleep. I was woken by a phone call from my wife letting me know that it looks like we have sold our house. We have to be out in a little over a month and tell me what you thought popped into my head when hearing this news...........
Yep, where am I going to reassemble and when will I have time to reassemble Project 23? Other than that I'm fine with selling the house (well, sort of). So thinking realistically, I am unsure if Project 23 will be done for the summer of 2012 which sucks because I was super stoked to get her back together.
Oh well, I'm going to get dressed, grab a bite to eat and go see how the paint job is coming along. Hope to have some pictures of the progress later today which I'll post.....
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top