• Notice for iPhone users: DO NOT use the image size reduction option when uploading photos to the forum. This causes portrait images to post as landscape. We have added a warning to the image insert pop-up as well.

What to do with the original paint?

hastings215

hastings215

Basic User
City
New Orleans
State
LA
So my '81 scrambler has the original paint and decals on it and I have no intention of getting rid of it or re-doing the paint. I need some advice from the scrambler nation.
My question is what is the best way to protect the paint and keep it the way it is for as long as possible? There are some areas where bare metal is showing through and some smaller areas of surface rust that is beginning. I want to keep the paint and the patina that the scrambler has earned over the years. Also some of the original decals have warn off or faded in areas.

So do I:
1. Keep the paint and the decals the way they are and just buff it out really nice
2. Keep the paint and decals the way they are, buff it out really nice AND then have it clear coated for better protection
3. Replace the warn decals and then do either of the above

As for the small areas of bare metal and surface rust what is the best plan of action for them?
1. Leave them as they are
2. Remove the surface rust and clear coat the areas

-or any other ways to go about the above problems

Now the pictures:
First a few of the whole jeep:
IMG_2674.jpgIMG_2163.jpgIMG_2238.jpg

This is the patina, you can see the bare metal in the middle
IMG_2682.jpg

Some areas of bare metal and surface rust:
This is light surface rust on the door jam
IMG_2683.jpg
IMG_2685.jpgIMG_2687.jpgIMG_2688.jpg

Examples of the cracking decals:
IMG_2686.jpgIMG_2689.jpgIMG_2691.jpg

Basically looking for what the best plan is to preserve whats there and how to best protect it from further damage.
Thanks for the help guys
 
Last edited:
Wax the hell out of it.

Or clear coat it.

either way, that looks awesome!!!! Beautiful!!! :drool:
 
My opinion would be to mask off the stripes on the hood and that one fender, and float some black paint on there in a way to just take away those two large areas of no paint from the eye, and then do various touchups elsewhere, and then you could clear cote the whole thing optionally. Even rust oleum comes out of the can pretty nice and you can achieve various looks just based on distance from the nozzle to the surface and also temp, sun, and time of day. You have a black jeep, so like white, your gonna get a pretty good match with a little experimentation. That would preserve it and still retain the patina. Just in a way to not notice those two large areas and preserve the rest. Oh and PS...masking off the letters will take a lot of time and patience :wave:
 
jerseyjeeps said:
My opinion would be to mask off the stripes on the hood and that one fender, and float some black paint on there in a way to just take away those two large areas of no paint from the eye, and then do various touchups elsewhere, and then you could clear cote the whole thing optionally. Even rust oleum comes out of the can pretty nice and you can achieve various looks just based on distance from the nozzle to the surface and also temp, sun, and time of day. You have a black jeep, so like white, your gonna get a pretty good match with a little experimentation. That would preserve it and still retain the patina. Just in a way to not notice those two large areas and preserve the rest. Oh and PS...masking off the letters will take a lot of time and patience :wave:
Click to expand...

:thumbsup:
 
I had the exact same question! Nice looking Scrambler! My plan is to buff and wax the ever-loving hell out of it...touch up some of the small nicks with matched paint...and then buff and wax the crap out of it again.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_3505.jpg
    IMG_3505.jpg
    54.4 KB · Views: 184
bobbysjeep said:
Hastings215,

I would polish and wax. Here is a link to what I used on mine.

https://www.cj-8.com/forum/showthread.php?32558-More-Before-amp-After-Photos
Click to expand...

Yes. This. Yes. This.Yes. This.Yes. This.Yes. This.Yes. This. Yes. This.Yes. This.Yes. This.Yes. ThisYes. This. Yes. This.Yes. This.Yes. This.Yes. ThisYes. This. Yes. This.Yes. This.Yes. This.Yes. ThisYes. This. Yes. This.Yes. This.Yes. This.Yes. ThisYes. This. Yes. This.Yes. This.Yes. This.Yes. ThisYes. This. Yes. This.Yes. This.Yes. This.Yes. This

:D

I was at Racin Rudy's shop this week drooling ALL OVER a red -7 that had very similar paint and patina to yours and said all I would ever do to it is just clean it up and wax the $&?% out of it and drive the wheels off of it.

The link bobby posted is perfect to see how amazing it can be. :drool:
 
I don't want to discourage either one of you with what I am about to say but the black colors of the early 80s are single stage paint without clear coat meaning that when you wax you are takin off color and not just the clear part on top. Sometime '83-'86 depending on the color jeep switched to base coat clear coat paints and when the clear coat gets chalky and baked looking you can do what Bobby's jeep did. On this one what you see with that pinkish looking primer and bare metal is where all the black is completely gone. Also be careful waxing other areas as single stage paints once you buff through you will literally remove all that black thin paint and go right through to the primer. Start with a small amount of just wax in a not so seen area and watch how much comes off on your towel etc. if the paint is deep enough u can then gradually increase polish to compound and work the area more.
 
Jersey, Thanks for the advice about the thin paint and no top coat. I will start slow and see how it goes.
Thanks to all the other responses as well.
My plan is going to be to wax it till it's purdy (without stripping any paint off).

Whats the though on clear coating it once it is waxed and buffed real nice. It should help keep the paint longer and make it easier to wax and buff later on too?

Also as far as the areas where there is some small surface rust starting, whats the recommendation for those areas? Light sanding, 0000 steel wool to remove the surface rust and the either touch up black paint or clear coat the areas?

Thanks again guys
 
Not a problem. Id say u don't need to clear coat just touch up. For the areas shown with some bubbling I would spot treat and that will stop it
 
One thing to remember: it is super humid here. Any bare metal/existing rust spots will grow/get worse fast:twocents:. You might want to consider pulling all of the hinges off and painting the bare metal you will find underneath. Also, the front fender to body tub will be bare metal.

Also, keep the Scrambler indoors while you are not driving it. The sun doesn't do any favors etiher:twocents:

Looks cool, try to preserve it:thumbsup:
 
This is one awesome photo, I love everything about it...

attachment.php
 
left.jpgI wouldve left mine the way it was but the guy had painted the fenders. It did look good though.

Karl
 
After reading this Thread it appears that there is a strong emphasis on keep the original paint if one can. The paint on my 81 is original and has some faded areas above the words scrambler on the hood. The other problem is there are Three rust holes on the passenger side and it is where the interior of the jeep floor attaches to the exterior sides. Can these be fixed and the decal stripes be repaired so I can keep it as original as possible. See Pictures
http://s717.photobucket.com/user/rmonks_photos/library/Scrambler Paint
 
Man that looks good. My paint is new. When I picked it up from the paint shop, I thought "That's gonna look great in 20 years". I hope it looks as good as yours!
 
If you want it really good...
1. Clean your Jeep
2. 3M makes a buffing compound in a purple bottle, use it with a white waffel pad on an orbital
3. 3M makes a buffing compound in a black bottle, use it with a black waffel pad after you do the white (this removes the scratches from the white, do not mix buffing pads)
4. 3M makes a hand glaze and use it after #3 with a hand held microfiber towel. (this removes the scratches from the black)

For a Jeep steps 1 and 2 are plenty but if you want the best... buy this stuff at an auto body supply house, I can also get you exact part numbers if you like.

When we shoot for show quality, this is what we use to bring em alive.

YJ-8
 
I have not had the free time to put in to cleaning it up other than regularly washing it. I am planning on doing it after Moab at this point.
I would def take the part numbers of the buffer and polishers you use.
I have picked up a few things to do it, just no time yet.


 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top