Painting ideas and technique.

[Matt]

Lets use this thread to suggest what to use and how to use it on what part of the XK. We can start with tubed fender and rails. Steel that will see some abuse.

I think a few good coats of rust preventing primer, then some gloss or matte black rustolium spray paint followed by a few coats of spray clear is the best way to go. Looks great if done properly and very easy to touch up.

I had a set of N-Fab bars on my silverado that were powder coated black. They looked good when new, but after they started getting beat up from offroading i could NEVER get my "touch ups" to look like the original powder coating. I eventually just sprayed them with the gloss black and some clear... from then on they were a breeze to touch up.

[NeilSmith]

ok we get it you guys don't like bed liner especially the roll on crap. Now give some suggestions on what to use in its place.

The big thing use to be powder coating. I remember when it first came out, they said you would dent the steel before you could scratch the powder coating. But now I watch tv shows building bikes and they are always scratching the new powder coating. Is it as strong as they say ? I dont know. A good paint job will last a lifetime , until you scratch it, which will happen on the tube fenders or rails. Paint does scratch easily. I would do a nice etching primer first. And then just use a quality satin gloss black spray paint. SEM makes the best, I think but its like $12 a can. Wurth also makes a good product. The thing is its EASY to touch up. Even if the piece is originally powder coated black, you can easily touch it up with some spray paint.

[Matt]

Yeah that was my point... easy touch up. The problem with touching up black powder coat is that I found it very difficult (basically impossible) to get the touched up area to match the rest. You could clearly see all of the touched up areas, so you're stuck repainting the whole thing (hence, why bother powder coating it in the first place?).

Once i sprayed the whole thing, i could easily touch up an area of it and make it blend in perfectly without having to paint the entire rail again.

[Sal-XK]

Not sure what happen there I merged the thread then it go deleted then the posts got deleted what PITA.

[NeilSmith]

Lets just say I was going to do some parts for myself. Being a pro, I have access to products that you guys don't unfortunately but you could pay a shop to do the same thing.
If the rails come in bare metal, hopefully the manufacturer oiled them down for transport to prevent rust. You do not want to paint over any rust. I dont believe in any refinishing product that claims to stop, convert, seal, trap, or prevent rust. Rustoleum , POR15, they are just paint. There is nothing special about them. All you need is air and moisture and you have rust. The only way to prevent air and moisture getting to the metal is a catalysed urethane clear coat system.
The bare steel should be cleaned thouroghly with a wax / grease remover. No soap and water. Mineral spirits or naptha is ok for starters if the part is really oily but I would follow up with a professional wax and grease remover. PPG , DuPont , RM, they all make a wax and grease remover. After it is clean, you do not want to get your greasy little fingerprints on the metal. I recommend using disposable rubber gloves.
So its now clean. The first product sprayed need to be a self - etching primer. Paint does not have etching properties meaning it will not stick to bare metal. Spray paint or even automotive basecoat or single-stage paint adheres thru a chemical adhesion, not thru a mechanical adhesion Meaning you cant just sand the bare metal and expect it to stick. The self-etching primer is basically a zinc-phosphate coating that actually bites into the metal. You can get it in spray can form for home use but I prefer the professional kind that of course, you probably cant buy. :)
After the etch, I would spray a primer-surfacer. This will fill any tiny imperfections and after sanding will provide a smooth surface in which to paint.
Next comes a primer - sealer. This fills any light sand scratches from sanding the primer - surfacer and also gives a uniformed color to achieve better coverage when applying your color coats.
Next comes the paint. You can use a nice, quality spray paint if you like. Its probably the only thing you can easily get to use in your garage. I like SEM brand black trim paint. It is designed to match oem black trim. It is expensive, about $12 a can.
Over the color coats should be applied a clear coat. In the perfect world, it would be a 2 part, catalysed urethane clear. The same thing that is on the exterior of your car. The modern clear systems are guaranteed for life against hazing, fading, peeling, cracking, crows feet, acid rain , etc. You can even add a flattening agent to kill the shine to a satin or even flat sheen. You at home will probably have to use a spray can clear. This is nowhere as good because it is not catalysed and therefore will not be waterproof and will not have the uv protection needed. But it may be your only option.

[Matt]

Some great info in there man! Thanks

[Sal-XK]

That is some nice info bro thanks for posting that up. I plan on doing the bottom of my XK bumper to bumper. Those are the areas I hit the most and I want something that can resist light starches but is real easy to touch up. What are your thoughts on this project types of paints that kind of stuff. I was thinking about using the bed liner for this project but now you guys have me unsure about it.

[Holaday07 4.7]

Sorry to be bashing on the bed liner earlier, it just got so overused with the roll on stuff that looks terrible. I think done right with line-x or Rhino Lining it is a cool product, but those places are not cheap.

[NeilSmith]

bed liner has its place. if i was to buy a truck i would definitely have the bed lined with line-x. but its not cheap. the cheap roll-on products are a waste of money. regular paints are going to scratch if you slide it across a tree or some rocks. i would probably go the spray can route . is it the best paint option ? NO. not by a long shot. but it is the best for being able to touch up which will probably have to be done often .

[Matt]

Neil, is there a heavy duty (almost industrial) type of clear coat that would resist damage better and maybe be easier to clean up with some fine grit wet sanding? Like something possibly used for construction or farm equipment protection. I've noticed those coatings hold up extremely well and take a good beating..... not sure what they use though. Maybe its another option?

[NeilSmith]

there are some, not familiar with em though. i dont know if you could get your hands on any either . the epa has gotten pretty strickt on industrial coatings and who can buy / use them.

[Sal-XK]

My bumpers and fenders are pretty scuffed up and I need to do something that I can do and repair myself. Of course I don't want it to look like crap which I think flat black spray paint would probably do. Huey did his in bed liner and they look pretty good. Maybe all the bad hype comes from people doing it them selves and not doing proper paint prep and just throwing this stuff on without much thought.

[LWM]

My back bumper is rattle can and my sliders will be rattle can as well. I like that I can do touch up at home in the driveway without breaking the bank.

[IamJEEP]

My back bumper is rattle can and my sliders will be rattle can as well. I like that I can do touch up at home in the driveway without breaking the bank.

This should be the train of thought for those who wheel a good amount and WILL get damage to those areas.

I have used that rubberized undercoating spray inside of fenders and it holds up well if preped correctly. Then if it does get scuffed up, just respray the area and sinse it is a textured product, it covers (touch-up) nicely. Especially if you don't want to be professionally painting your parts every time it is scuffed.

[Holaday07 4.7]

I scraped up the back bumper pretty bad a couple weekends ago, if you end up moving forward on this, I would really like to know how it works out. If I could touch stuff up the primary driver for the weekdays, fiance, would be much happier to say the least. Whatever you do I hope it works out so we all can copy after you take the risk lol.

[Sal-XK]

I'm getting close to getting my bumpers painted. I have some pieces left over from chopping my bumper so I did some testing today. I scuffed it up with a sanding pad then used a primer/etcher. Then I used rustoleons bed paint. There paint seemed to have less texture to it. It turned out real nice and I had to work pretty hard to scratch it so I could test out repairing it. The repair is drying right now and looks pretty good so far.

[Sal-XK]

This is about what I'm looking for.
https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/07/101_3451JPG-1.jpg

[cico7]

Cool look.

[LWM]

This is about what I'm looking for.
https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/07/101_3451JPG-1.jpg

I like that too!

[IamJEEP]

This is about what I'm looking for.
https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/07/101_3451JPG-1.jpg

I remember this pic, you should deffinately do it!

[Sal-XK]

I'm going to do this in stages. I'm going to start with the front bumper and see how it looks then if all is good the back bumper. If I still like it the wheel flares then last thing I'll do is the bottom of the doors.

[Sal-XK]

I have the front bumper painted already my hand cramped up after all the sanding and priming and caused me to have a run in the paint:( I also have the driver side wheel flare done it looks great. I'm going to get something to eat I'll try to get some pics up later.

[IamJEEP]

I have the front bumper painted already my hand cramped up after all the sanding and priming and caused me to have a run in the paint:( I also have the driver side wheel flare done it looks great. I'm going to get something to eat I'll try to get some pics up later.

Cant wait to see this.........

[Sal-XK]

Here is a couple of pics of the progress. It's 104 outside so I'm inside taking a break from the heat and the fumes. I really stink at painting to by the way I could never do this for a living LOL

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/07/100_5001JPG-1.jpg

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/07/100_5006JPG-1.jpg

[Holaday07 4.7]

Nice, that looks great

[NeilSmith]

Dude, you should come hang with me for a couple of days ! It was 103 the other day but the temp in the booth was 112, it draws air directly off the roof. At our shop, the body side has a.c that will keep it comfortable at least, the paint side has no a.c and with both boothes baking and radiating so much heat it wouldn't help anyway. I drink between 10 and 12 bottles of water a day and try my best to at least stay inside out of the sun. When painting in temps like this, I have to use the slowest reducers and hardeners so that the base and clear dont start setting up too fast. It takes some getting use to, thats for sure.

[IamJEEP]

Looking good homie!

[NeilSmith]

Thats starting to look nice. One other thing I need to mention. When using spray paint in the humid summer months, try to do it on a less humid , dry day. Have you ever spray painted something and it kinda turned milky white instead of a true black ? Thats what is called " blushing ". Basically , the moisture in the air is being trapped in the paint and the white look is the water. Usually it will evaporate out but not always, sometimes the paint will dry and " cap " over the moisture. This not only looks bad but can lead to premature adhesion failure and it starts to peel off. This usually happens during the summer, especially if its raining out. Just wait for a better day. Try doing it earlier in the morning before the humidity gets crazy.

[Sal-XK]

Ok I have 1 1/2 wheel flares to go but I'm done for today. I'll try to finish Sunday it's suppose to be a little cooler outside. Here are some pics of the parts I got done.
https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/07/100_5018JPG-1.jpg

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/07/100_5017JPG-1.jpg

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/07/100_5014JPG-1.jpg

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/07/100_5016JPG-1.jpg

My test piece is solid and I just hope that the rest dries just as hard. I had some issues doing it but the heat and some stuff just made it hard I'm not a painter that's for sure LOL. Everyone including myself thinks it looks pretty good so far I'm happy. We'll just have to see how durable this stuff is it wasn't cheap but not the best money can buy either. At this point I'm not confident enough in the product to use on the bottom of my doors but we will see.

[NeilSmith]

That looks very nice. Now, you know you gotta wear that hat and pose with the finished product. LOL

[Sal-XK]

That looks very nice. Now, you know you gotta wear that hat and pose with the finished product. LOL

LOL that's my fishing hat I love my hat :)

[IamJEEP]

That looks great! You might not have to do the doors.

[LWM]

Looking good, glad to see you post photos faster then I do :)

[Sal-XK]

Looking good, glad to see you post photos faster then I do :)

Ya these guys were ready to send some thugs out there to find you and those fenders. LOL

[pjmjr508]

The paint job looks great. still love the trimming of the front bumper. I just noticed that your fender flairs do not have bolthead appearence on them; was that an option or did you remove them to paint them?

[LWM]

The paint job looks great. still love the trimming of the front bumper. I just noticed that your fender flairs do not have bolthead appearence on them; was that an option or did you remove them to paint them?

bolt heads were an option on the Limited model.

[Sal-XK]

The paint job looks great. still love the trimming of the front bumper. I just noticed that your fender flairs do not have bolthead appearence on them; was that an option or did you remove them to paint them?

Like Jon said it was an option that I don't have.

[Holaday07 4.7]

That's awesome. For not being a painter it looks really clean, can't wait to see it finished.

[Sal-XK]

That's awesome. For not being a painter it looks really clean, can't wait to see it finished.

Thanks I had to runs on the bumper, I was able to sand and repaint one of them but I'm out of sand paper now. The nice thing is I can sand and repaint any damage any time any wear no body shop needed. On my test piece the repairs were easy one step process except for the deepest scratch I put in it that one needed some work to fill.

[IamJEEP]

Quit your jabbin' and get to paintin'!!!!!!!!!

[Sal-XK]

Quit your jabbin' and get to paintin'!!!!!!!!!

Listen here knuckle head! I have to do something in between coats. I'm on my last fender then just the rear bumper left. But I'm going to go find another brand of paint for that and see how it turns out.

[pjmjr508]

your paint job is looking great.

[IamJEEP]

Listen here knuckle head! I have to do something in between coats. I'm on my last fender then just the rear bumper left. But I'm going to go find another brand of paint for that and see how it turns out.

Whats the deal with the paint you were using?

[Sal-XK]

Just got back from the store with Duplicolor bed liner now. Nothing really wrong with it but I want to see what another brand is like. The duplicolor is twice the price so we will see what the difference is in it. I want to make sure when I spray my doors it's the best stuff I'm using I only want to do the doors once.

[Sal-XK]

Ok I got everything done except the doors now. The duplicolor brand dries identical to the rustoleom brand there are no differences. The Duplicolor is harder to use and is also messier. It does how ever cover twice as much and seems to go on thicker but costs double the other brand. This was all spray on cans.

The steps I used.

1. Washed the XK real good.
2. Taped of and covered all parts not being painted.
3. Cleaned with mineral spirits.
4. Sanded the area mostly with steel wool.
5. Cleaned again with mineral spirits
6. Primed the area light coat let dry
7. Primed a second time let dry
8. Sprayed bed liner on light coat try to avoid runs let dry
9. Final coat of bed liner if this coat don't cover don't worry just go light and let it dry and put another coat on. If you force the coverage you will get runs in the liner.

Fixing runs: My first paint run I let dry sanded down and repainted it worked but a lot of work. My second run using a towel already covered in paint I dabbed at the run blending it in which since were talking textured paint was pretty easy to do. Ok now some pics.

Still a little wet
https://theultimatejeep.com/notfound.png[/IMG]
https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/07/100_5021JPG-1.jpg

A little drie now

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/07/100_5024JPG-1.jpg

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/07/100_5023JPG-1.jpg

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/07/100_5025JPG-1.jpg

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/07/100_5028JPG-1.jpg

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2010/06/100_5029JPG-1.jpg

[IamJEEP]

Looks Awesome! The doors need to be done tho. Imo.........

[pjmjr508]

looks really good

[Sal-XK]

Looks Awesome! The doors need to be done tho. Imo.........

ya the wife pointed out a new line on the door where it would look good I will give that a try.

[Sal-XK]

looks really good

Thanks bro

[Holaday07 4.7]

Nice, I hate bedliner on the outside, but that looks awesome. Maybe if you just take your time and do it right it looks good, lol

[HueyPilotVN]

Hey, that looks familiar. To get good coverage I had to start with spray for the edges and then use the liguid in the can for texture.

[Sal-XK]

Nice, I hate bedliner on the outside, but that looks awesome. Maybe if you just take your time and do it right it looks good, lol

Taking your time and doing all the prep work and doing multiple passes makes a big difference.


Hey, that looks familiar. To get good coverage I had to start with spray for the edges and then use the liguid in the can for texture.

I just use the can but it was time consuming getting the coverage on the larger pieces the roll on might make that part easier. There is a little texture to this stuff nothing dramatic though.