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JKU 2010 Mountain-er

2K views 8 replies 3 participants last post by  andrewh13 
#1 ·
So I traded in my car for a JKU about a year ago. Had no idea how awesome this vehicle was when I purchased it, I just knew it looked bad ass. Its a 2010 Mountain Edition. Any way I got it used with a fair amount of miles on it but it runs like a champ so I went for it.

I really liked the stock look of the vehicle so I honestly didn't want to do much to it but once I started lurking everyones builds I realized how much more awesome it could be. annnnnd the build began.

I started out with some cheaper/cosmetic mods. This weekend I finished:

Rugged Ridge Grab handles front and rear:



AntennaX 13" :


Billet Grill inserts from Amazon:


They're tough to see in the picture but I think they came out great and contrast the grille color really well.(which is the reason Im not painting it black yet) Not to mention I feel a lot better knowing there at least some protection up there.

Finally, I decided to paint the current extremely faded fender flares. I know its probably not gonna hold up too well over time but for now they're more astectically pleasing. I haven't decided exactly what I want for fenders yet so this is buying me some time. May try cutting them at some point also.

Probably should have pulled the off to paint in retrospect

This photo is after just the first coat:


before:


After:



I Also removed the very faded hood mat decal and the "wrangler unlimited" decals.

On that note, Does anyone have suggestions for removing excess adhesive? Whats safe to use on the paint? The only product Ive used in the past is goo-gone but never on my car. There isn't a much on the hood, just a few spots. Basically the entire surface of the adhesive was left under the Wrangler stickers though.

On Deck for the second round:
(don't talk me out of these because they're already delivered)

Rancho 3" sport suspension kit w/Rancho 7000s
4 Terra Grapplers 325/65/R18 on 4 XD series addicts
Tramp Stamp
Flashpaq Programmer
AFE momentum intake
Dynomax Dual Axle Back
Dually LEDs
Rugged ridge aluminum hood latch

Coming soon to a trail near you!

Hope you all enjoy this and feel free to offer input and future mod suggestions. Like the fenders I'm also in the air about bumpers/ rock rails/ additional lighting. So if you have parts that you've enjoyed please share. Already thinking about the NEXT round of mods, this is a problem. All suggestions welcome considering this is a DD.

-AH
 
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#5 ·
Hey Everyone,

I wanted to do a simple post on the steps of painting the fenders because when I was searching for other people that had done it I didn't find a WHOLE lot. A lot of people have had Sahara style fenders painted which is completely different because they are made and finished to paint. Everyone thats painted something beyond water colors know most of painting is in the prep work. You need a texture that the paint will stick to and the right paint to stick to that material.

Things I Used:
Krylon Fusion Satin Black-2 cans
Krylon Fusion Clear gloss (ended up not needing it)
blue painters masking tape
newspaper
clorox household surface cleaner
blue sponges with abrasive pad
small flat head and a thick cloth

I apologize in advance for the lack of photos, I should have taken more throughout the process but I was so focused on getting it done.

SO.. First step was to clean and prep the fenders. First I used regular soap and water and scrubbed really well. Next I used the clorox house hold cleaner (it comes in a green spray bottle) then I used the blue sponge to scrub with the rough side. I used the soft side to soak up excess liquid. Then let it AIR DRY. this is important so you don't leave any lint where you're about to paint. There really isn't any thing else that needs to be done, the rough texture of the plastic actually makes for a perfect painting surface. no primer needed.

I said this before and i'll say it again. In retrospect I should have pulled them off and hung them to paint but I didn't and its done now. So the next step for me was taping them off to paint. (pictured above) theres a crevasse between the fender and the body thats hard to get to So what I did was slide the pieces of tape in between on the non adhesive side then used a flat head with a thick cloth over it to help press the tape down. Once I had the edges down I used news paper to catch any over spray.

Now the fun begins...

The Krylon fusion quotes on the can 15min dry time. I did coats every 25ish min just to be safe. It comes with a really good wide spray so its fairly easy to paint evenly but it would practice on a piece of cardboard or something first if you aren't comfortable. If it runs a little bit on the first 1 or 2 coats don't worry too much its easily covered by later coats.

I originally wanted to use a gloss clear coat over the black but once I had the satin black on there I really liked the look. So on the front two fenders which I did first I did 4 coats then tried the gloss, didn't like it so I went back with one more black coat. that one coat of black brought it straight back to the satin look so the front 2 have 6 coats total. The back 2 have 4 slightly thicker coats. I used one can one the front fenders and one on the back. the last coats out of the can were a little weak so I might suggest a third can for thicker late coats.

I waited about 90min after the last coats before removing the news paper and tape. The whole thing took about 5 hours between gathering supplies and prep time. the most tedious thing is the taping.

I posted the before and after pictures in my first post. What a difference this 15$ project made to the look of my jeep. I will eventually upgrade them for clearance purposes but they look 1000 times better for right now.

Hope this helps, feel free to ask if you have any questions about the process.
 
#6 ·
Im a few days late on this post but with the holidays and what not, you know. I got the call that my parts came in about a week before christmas. As I was headed out of town for the holidays I dropped off my jeep in the capable hands of the people at Jeepers Den in Orlando FL. Im wayyyy on the other side of orlando but after checking out all other local places I chose to use JeepersDen.

Now before I get jumped for not doing it myself let me just say. I don't have the time to work on it myself really and I do have to budget, and for now its still the DD so its not like i could leave it on a stands overnight while I worked on it.

Anyway, now for the fun stuff!

I ordered and had installed:
Rancho 3" sport suspension kit
w/Rancho 7000 shocks


Tramp Stamp representing JD


AFE momentum intake honestly make for a much cleaner engine sound.


Dynomax Dual Axle Back much louder than stock but i love the rumble when in idle.


Rugged ridge aluminum hood latches- highly recommend these-Ive experienced zero hood flutter since installing these.


4 XD series addicts
with 4 325/65/R18 Nitro Terra Grappler G2s
This is the new look so far.



I also go the Flashpaq Programmer which I haven't messed around with too much, anyone have suggestions of settings they prefer?

Next Up:
CB system, leaning towards the Cobra 75
LED Headlamps
LED interiors
Still deciding on bumpers and a winch. what do you have? like/dislike about it?

Following this up with another post of some small cosmetic stuff I did yesterday.
 
#7 ·
Once the spare tire hardware was gone and the tramp stamp was on there I wanted to clean up the back and get rid of the bump stops. I got the idea from Darkfire' Matchbox build thread to use these to plug the holes with. I got the 1" for the brake light cable hole and 9/16" for the two smaller bump stop holes.


As He said in his build thread, Only found at Lowes!

They didn't fit 100% perfectly but close enough that they're flush and will stop and debris from getting in. this is the look i ended up with.


You can already see in the pictures above that I removed the 'wrangler unlimited' decals at the same time I panted the fenders but I didn't say much about it. my biggest issue with doing this was getting the adhesive off completely once the stickers were off. I started a new thread HERE solely about removing decal adhesive. If you don't wanna go reading through it the final solution was using plain gasoline with a soft cloth.
Heres shots of the plain black panels.



Sorry about the pictures being rotated, idk what it does that..
 
#8 ·
Had some free time on new years day to head out to Croom and get a little dirty..







Again sorry for the rotated images. Im using tiny pic as a host maybe someone can help me out?

Anyway, It was starting to get dark and I thought I'd hit one last trail.. saw a little mud off to the side of the trail and I couldn't just drive by... I thought I had it! Then I went and got myself nice and stuck! It was about 6:30pm so basically pitch black out and I almost started walking to find someone to help pull me out because I didn't have a winch. Right at the same time another jeep rode by! A fellow keeper named Jeffery was kind enough to help snatch me out!(after going home to get a chain since neither of us had one) whoops!









Put it in 4L to try and wiggle out. When I hit it in reverse with the driver side window down this is what happened...



Washed off the hubs and headed home. This was the after math.





next up:

CB radio
winch
more lights
 
#9 ·
I pulled the trigger on a cobra 75, waiting on the parts. Should have it in sometime in the next two weeks.

Meanwhile Im torn between front bumpers: LoD mid width or OR-fab Mid width? anyone have either of these? likes/dislikes? how was the install? gonna go with a 10" light bar on the bull bar of either on I choose and a VR8000s.

Rear bumper Im set on a JCR off road mid width with a set of rigid D2s.

hopefully get some more parts ordered and have pictures in the next couple weeks.
 
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