She's gonna get a face lift

[KenB]

When I bought my 81 CJ7 a few years ago, the only major flaw was the paint on the hood, front fenders and windshield frame. The clear coat was peeling off in large chunks. I wanted to repaint it, but not being an auto body guru, took it to a local shop for an estimate. $3000 I did ask if he wanted the title to it, and walked away. Fast forward a little. I had a 95 YJ with a messed up front fender and bubbled clear coat on the hood. While having some Transmission work done on it, I asked the tech if there were any reasonable paint shops in the area, and he turned me on to the local Dodge dealers body shop. Uh Huh, Right, the Dealership. Well it seems that the guy who does their paint/body work isn't part of the dealership, but is on the same property. $250, I supplied the new fender, they did theremoval/ replacement and all the prep, and it was a perfect match. The gears are turning in my head. So, for a Christmas present, I got a good orbital sander, and when the weather cooperated, began prepping the CJ. Worst case, I can rattle can it. Anyway, after a few days of sanding, a little bondo in some old screw holes, I took it over to see what he would say. $800, and they would finish the prep work on the whole tub exterior, plus replace the cowl seal, and color match the paint. He's got a job next week.

 

[defibvt]

That's awesome. Post pics when done.

 

[Petescj]

Yes we definately need pics when done Ken. I love that color.

 

[KenB]

Got her back today, and I am pleased. It's not a showroom job, but that's not what I was looking for. If she get's too pretty, she won't want to hit the backroads.

 

[mtnwhlr]

Looks good

 

[BajaEdition]

she is a thing of beauty
nice job

 

[TexasBlues]

nice...

what color is that?

it looks like some variant of 'putty'... or maybe its purty...

either way, i like it

 

[KenB]

Thanks all.
I don't know what that color is called. It is not original - found a layer of baby blue andthen a yellow when I was sanding. The 'mixologist' from O'Reilly actually went over to the paint shop and took pictures of the good paint on the tailgate to match it.

 

[Petescj]

Looks great. Any plans for some decals or not?

Got her back today, and I am pleased. It's not a showroom job, but that's not what I was looking for. If she get's too pretty, she won't want to hit the backroads.

 

[KenB]

No, no decals in the plans. I've seen some that looked pretty good, but I kind of like the 'plain jane' look. I'm painting some of the accessories (Vent cover, mirrors, antenna mount, soft top brackets, etc.) just to clean it up a bit more. Next thing will probably be replacement wheels. The chromed steel on there now has quite a bit of rust. I'm kind of leaning toward a set of aluminum wheels, not too flashy, but a clean look.
Funny thing, the guy at the paint shop said after he parked out front for me to pick up, he had 3 people stop and want to buy it. Well, I would consider selling it, but "If you have to ask, you can"t afford it".

 

[mtnwhlr]

sos pads work great for cleaning up rusty chrome. I used them all the time when I had a set of rusty chrome wheels.