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Getting my TJ painted!! Got questions (decals etc)...

23K views 36 replies 19 participants last post by  Timma888 
#1 ·
So I had quotes ranging from a high of $3000 down to $1500 from MAACO (no wet sanding and all hardware removed/installed by me). Found a guy who does good body work at his house with proof sitting right there in his driveway. He will wet sand and base coat clear/clear coat my 97 sahara for around $1200. I will be bartering in some items to get the price down to $450 cash on my end. Paint will be Dupont brand (any good?)
My Jeeps paint is seriously sundamaged and kills an otherwise really good condition vehicle. In the last 2 months I have repaired/ fixed numerous things on it and this is one of the last big things it needs.

My questions are -

Should I have him remove the windshield and/or is windshield removal par for the course on any paint job? Jeep has virtually zero rust/ body damage. There is a ding on the window pillar that he will be fixing.

Decals-
Online I have a full decal set - 2 x "Jeep", 2 x wrangler and 2 x Sahara badges costing around $170.

Should I replace all of these, some of these or none of these?

If not the factory badging what are some cool ideas you guys think would look good on a forest green freshly painted Sahara? All ideas are welcome. What ya got?

I appreciate all of your replies. Jeep is going in next monday and will be available for pickup the following saturday.

:dance: :punk:

 
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#3 ·
I took a year of auto body in college before switching. I painted a few vehicles and did some body work (dent removal, panel replacement, door handle shaving, roof replacement, etc). I also worked at MAACO for 2 weeks as an intern. I will tell you what I learned.

You get what you pay for. MAACO has no pride in their work. But, you're not paying for good workmanship so you can't complain! They wash the cars, they sit in a dirt parking lot getting rained on for a few days, then they sand the existing paint right over any dirt. That's pushing the dirt down into the substrate.

Their cheap paint job will typically last the warranty. After that expect issues. I would come to work and feel awful. I need pride in my work.

So I don't hate Maaco. It's there for a certain demographic. Remember, you get what you pay for.

It doesn't matter if it's DuPont or PPG, but the paint series is important. And that the directions are followed exactly.

Changing colors requires more work. If you are staying with the same color you don't need to tear down the vehicle as far. You don't need to remove the windshield, but the windshield reveal molding would be ideal.

You will want the decals removed before painting.
 
#6 ·
THanks for the replies guys. I purchased the OEM decals from morris 4x4, all except for the Sahara badges. At $90 a pair I had to pass. It's not being painted by Maaco but I did see them just to see what all they had to say. The owner was honest with me and I do appreciate that. The guy who will be painting it has over 20 years experience and has his own shop on his property in (semi)rural S.C. He had 2 vehicles he had just painted and they looked really good. One was a red Iroc camaro that looked awesome. I've seen some nightmare paint jobs and his worked looked damn good. I will keep you guys posted and throw up pics once it is finished.
 
#7 ·
You should have saved your money from the OEM decals and went to a graphic shop and had them custom make the decals in whatever color or font tickles your fancy. I can't justify spening $30 on one Jeep logo decal, Meijers automotive section has the Jeep decals for like $8 or so, the ones near the bottom of the body by the flares.
 
#9 ·
$1100 for paint and primer? Really??

I never painted my Jeep, but I had a black Honda Civic hatch, and an ex-girlfriend keyed "Cheater" all over it, so I took it to an old guy down the street who I knew worked on cars in his backyard garage. He told me to go to the local parts store and get a quart of "GM White" and a quart of primer. It came to $50 total. The guy taped it, sanded it, primed it, then sprayed it white, all in a few hours.

I was expecting it to look like a hack job, and didn't care because I just wanted to be able to park at work without having to explain to everyone...and I gotta say, it came out pretty good. In fact, I kept the car 2 more years, and sold it to my nephew, and he drove it for a few years, and I remember thinking, Dam! Paint still looks good.
 
#11 · (Edited)
$1100 for paint and primer? Really??
.
Yep and that was body shop cost.....good paint isnt cheap, but theres not reason to put good paint over mediocre body work.

Just for grins call your local Dupont dealer and price the following:

1 Quart Varprime and activator
1 Gallon Europrimer and activator
1 Quart of sealer and reducer
1 Gallon of White basecoat with activator and reducer
2 Gallons Clearcoat with activator and reducer

and that doesnt include the gold for all the artwork lol
 
#13 · (Edited)
$1100 seems fair if he does good work. People should consider that this guy is doing this "on the side" and does not carry the overhead that a body shop would, so there is absolutely no reason it should cost more.
Also consider that just because he does this on the side, doesn't mean he is not capable of good work....it just means he does it for himself and not for another company.
 
#16 ·
So just like everyone is saying you get what you pay for. I manage a auto body shop and most paint jobs is I do a full paint de-trim cut and polish low end is about 6k. To get a proper paint job there is alot of prep and time. Yes your jeep will look good but at the same time it is a jeep. My though would be to wrap it it's cheap and holds up to most off road adventures.
I am not saying your idea is bad just be careful on how much ur spending.
 
#18 ·
Thank you for the concern.You are obviously someone who speaks with experience on it. Bodymen, like all artists are all set in their ways and do things in their own way. No two do the same work the same way. I am confident he will do a good job and I have priced and checked out about a half dozen guys before this dude. His work looked better than all of them. He's a vet and I think I'm getting the hookup (also veteran). I am braced that his estimate might be a bit light and if it goes over a hundred or two hundred fifty I'm cool with it.
He just got back to me and said he will need 2 quarts of Nasons Dupont base, one quart of K2 primer and one gallon of clear. No roof to paint, no fenders, no interior of cab etc. Sound about right?
 
#20 ·
I never put new decals on, think it looks a lot cleaner without them.

I used PPG Omni single stage. Including primers I had about 600 dollars in just the paint.

Honestly if you use your jeep using 1100$ worth of paint is a waste of money IMO. PPG Omni is a great line of paint. It's held up great, the stuff shrugs off pine needles without a scratch.
 
#21 ·
BurlySoldier said:
Thank you for the concern.You are obviously someone who speaks with experience on it. Bodymen, like all artists are all set in their ways and do things in their own way. No two do the same work the same way. I am confident he will do a good job and I have priced and checked out about a half dozen guys before this dude. His work looked better than all of them. He's a vet and I think I'm getting the hookup (also veteran). I am braced that his estimate might be a bit light and if it goes over a hundred or two hundred fifty I'm cool with it.
He just got back to me and said he will need 2 quarts of Nasons Dupont base, one quart of K2 primer and one gallon of clear. No roof to paint, no fenders, no interior of cab etc. Sound about right?
That sounds right don't for get reducer and hardener with that. As a side note 1 quart of paint makes two reduced so u should be ok. Clear u put about 3 coats on for a good look. Like u said he has been in the field for some time. He is prolly giving you a deal which is great I did not mean for anything to sound bad.
 
#23 ·
The 500 paint job is not what you want. Base coat/clear coat is a huge step up. 1500 at maaco got you a 3 year warranty, base coat clear coat but no wet sanding and no hardware removal/installation. Owner told me he does 20-30 paint jobs a week. TO his credit (Maaco) he had a 5 star online rating (yelp) and an A rating with the BEtter Business Bureau. The lack of wet sanding meant a rush job and he seemed hesitant to do the work for me as I seemed like a slightly more educated consumer than he would usually see.

The guy I'm bringing it to is a hot rod painter and a good ole boy. He stands by his work and the jobs he had on site looked really good.
Got out on my jeep tonight and tightened up some loose ends on it, fixed my one fog light and gave it a washing. Next time I wash that jeep it will be with a new coat of paint. Very excited.

VicM- No worries man! I appreciate your advice and I am glad I asked him some more questions about materials etc.
 
#25 ·
Alright guys! Dropped my TJ off last Monday and picked it up on Saturday. Here are pics of my budget paint job. I basically bartered my way into a minimum $2000 paint job and I could not be happier. I took some things I had laying around posted them on Craigslist and hustled my way into eventually getting my Jeep base coat clear coated. In addition to the paint job I also hustled my way into a brand new set of KC slim lite 100w fog lights. Here are some pics-
2 weeks before -

And after-

Note the dark charcoal OEM jeep badging-

And the addition of some USA flag decals from Pixel


Zombie response and new Quadratec mat I got on sale for $30 (had to remove seat hardware but thats another story)


Overall I am very pleased. He did a great job considering and he held up his end of the deal perfectly. All hardware was removed as instructed, vehicle was taped off properly and he even painted/clearcoated some under the hood. In addition to this he painted my windshield wiper brackets, hood latches etc. Vehicle was reassembled correctly etc.

I took a used guitar I didn't play and flipped it and flipped and flipped till I got what you see here. Took some leg work but it beat paying out of pocket 2 or 3 grand. Certainly a better paint job than I would have gotten at MAACO.
 
#30 ·
Your jeep really looks great!! Your painter did a quality job. I know you are happy.

Take care,
 
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