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Has anyone tried buying, ordering, painting ect their tops and fenders on a JK to match their body??? Or if you got it painted professionally how much it will cost?
Painting a Hard Top and Fender
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Probably cheaper to have a shop paint them. Painting plastic fenders can be tricky as they have to be prepped correctly so there is no lifting over time. The JK fenders will leak the mold release agent over time lifting your paint job all the way down to the primer.
We tested some that we wanted to dip. We tried a liquid cleaning agent that is suppose to get the mold release agent out of the plastic but we had to "flame treat" them in order to get good adhesion.
With just the chemical cleaning the paint job lasted about 3 weeks before it started to lift. Flame treating was the only way we got it to last.
With that said I dont know what the factory does when they come painted from the factory...different plastic or what prep process they use.
Just be sure whoever paints them as some expierence in painting plastic. Most shops should be ok as they paint plastic bumpers etc everyday.
As for cost...
If I did it...
$1900 for the hard top and fenders.
We tested some that we wanted to dip. We tried a liquid cleaning agent that is suppose to get the mold release agent out of the plastic but we had to "flame treat" them in order to get good adhesion.
With just the chemical cleaning the paint job lasted about 3 weeks before it started to lift. Flame treating was the only way we got it to last.
With that said I dont know what the factory does when they come painted from the factory...different plastic or what prep process they use.
Just be sure whoever paints them as some expierence in painting plastic. Most shops should be ok as they paint plastic bumpers etc everyday.
As for cost...
If I did it...
$1900 for the hard top and fenders.
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Body colored fenders are made out of a much different plastic than the stock black ones. They feel much thinner and smooth like glass. No texture at all.
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Ya you can "knock down" the texture using high fill primers which is what any reputable shop should do to get that smooth finish.
My guess is they use the same fenders so they dont have to have 2 runs of fenders but have them prepped accordingly to be painted.
I am guessing they have some automated flame treating setup like this:
Flynn 3D Flame Treating Ext Plastic Bin - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJb5slyTDUk
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When they are flame treating the dash - you can see it get a wet look to it....thats the mold release agent coming out of the plastic.
That will ruin your day if you dont get it out and paint the plastic part. After a few weeks the mold release agent will leach out lifting the primer, paint and clear right off in chunks.
That will ruin your day if you dont get it out and paint the plastic part. After a few weeks the mold release agent will leach out lifting the primer, paint and clear right off in chunks.
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Professional job, they did the top, freedom panels, 4 fenders and 2 bumpers for $450. Has been on for 6 months and looks perfect. ( I should probably mention a friend runs the paint shop!!)
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Thats pretty cheap...I would ask what kind of paint they are using as well as the tpe of clear.
If its a single stage paint..meaning it has the clear in the paint, the clear wont matter.
But you want a PPG or chromabase basecoat.
The clear needs to be a high solids clear if they are doing a 2 stage paint...meaning he paint and clear are seperate apllications.(UV resistant).
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Professional job, they did the top, freedom panels, 4 fenders and 2 bumpers for $450. Has been on for 6 months and looks perfect. ( I should probably mention a friend runs the paint shop!!)
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Wow..thats got to be at cost of materials.
A QT of good paint is gonna run you at leat $60.00....and thats more than a QT of paint..plus primer, and looks like a flat clear.
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I would be all over that(if its a good job).
Red, yellow, Orange, and some greens are expensive paint.
I QT of red chromabase costs me $120.00. You will need maybe 2. Add in primer, sand paper, clear, labor...
Thats a smokin deal. I would get some feedback from past customers to ensure they do good work. It may look good when you get it but months down the road you dont want it looking like crap.
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yea, it's flat. He is a friend and I traded a used Glock for the job!!
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Awesome deal!
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ullinghair:
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If anyone is interested in unusual color combinations, I just started a new thread called Free Color Mock-ups.
I have a sport 2015, I took the plastic fenders off and purchased the painted and primed fenders from Auto Warehouse for a really good price and took them to the body shop and got them painted white to match the jeep. From what I hear it's hard to get the plastic painted. I'm looking to get my top painted white in the next month. I want to get my mirrors and bumper painted chrome.
Yeah but no way a bulk body shop is painting with chroma.
Materials cost if using Nason paint (2K primer, base, clear) would be probably $200 or so including wax & grease remover, sandpaper, etc. You will spend a lot of time in prep if you haven't done it before. I think you can do it with a quart each of primer, base and clear. Around here rental of a booth would be $200/day. You'd have a hard time finding a reputable body shop in Austin to do it for under $700. But you can probably cut a deal with the Maaco guys and get it done for $250 if you bring the parts in masked and prepped.
And believe me, if you're not a pro, even with bulk-fleet quality paint the Maaco job will come out WAY better than what you could do in your garage.
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