JP 12 in Fairbanks Alaska

[sfuflash23]

Ratrace, seeing your eager interest in the top I went ahead and tried it on one of the upper doors since I dont have the space to do the top right now (once I get the inside of the jeep together and can put it outside I will do the top.

This is the upper door I have to work with. Its black and pretty weathered.

I used blue painters tape to cover up the plastic

I did about 4 coats going gradually thicker each time. The first coat I think I had about 40-50% coverage and then the second coat was about 80% then 3 and 4 were 100%. The critical part is that you dont go overly thick because if you do you are going to build up paint and the texture is gonna get filled in.

The camel color is a bit brighter than the regular spice, but from the colors available, I think that it is the closest match. You can always check out the SEM color chart and see if there are any other colors that you feel match better.

The quality is actually really good. The paint doesnt flake off when I scrath at it with my finger. It stays on. I dont think it would hold up to a tree brand scratching over the top of it, but for regular use I think it will work perfectly. The paint doesnt crack either when the material is folded or twisted. It is a super flexible paint.

One thing that you cant see on this is that the back of the door is still black. Once I get more time I will take care of those areas. One area I think you will just have to live with if you choose to do this is the flap that goes around the plastic window. There is no real good way to paint behind there. No one will see it from the outside, but you will definitly be able to see it when you are inside. It just depends on what your willing to live with. Personally, with all the money I'm spending on the project right now, I can live with a rattle can job on the top until I have money to buy a new one.

I felt that the upper turned out so well that I went right into doing the roll bar pads

if anyone has further questions on how this is done please let me know.

This weekend is the bedliner weekend so I will be sure to put some updated picture of the jeep on once I finish that up.

Stay tuned!

[yj87jp]

Absolutely amazing, painting a soft top sounds crazy but you just proved it works, let us know how we'll it actually holds up

[ratrace427]

That looks great and I might do my roll bar padding now that you had the idea. I dont think i would worry about it scratching off, SEM is very thin and likes to soak in. Plus its not really paint its dye. I was just wondering on how well it will hold up to the sun. I was thinking you might get bad fading with dark streaks showing through in time. Only one way to find out!

[sfuflash23]

Ok everyone, my build has started up again since I've had time. Ive progressed a good bit, but havent taken any new pictures (sorry, Ill start to take some), But Ive got a question about the LJ1 paint and how it turned out for everyone. Ive got all my painting done except for the red so Im super excited. Mine looks nice and went on real smooth (I used a single stage urethane), but heres the thing, its not low gloss, its got a pretty good shine to it, and you can really see the metallic in it. It almost looks like a light gold. Has anyone had similar results, or have people put a low gloss clear over theirs? Plus I just looked at some reference pics and the paint on the jeep doesnt even really look like it has any metallic....Not to sure and Im gonna be pretty bumbed if I spend $600 on paint and the paint shop screwed up!! Any thoughts? or can anyone take pics?

[COBrian]

If the paint shop screwed up they owe you fixing it. I bet they used the champagne instead of the LJ1. mine is champagne and its got shiny metal flake, but pretty much same base tone. Pics would help us have a more informed decision....

[ratrace427]

My jeep has the factory LJ1 from 92 and it is a metallic paint for sure. That is why it will look gold with a flash at night or gray during overcast without using a flash. Using a single stage paint will look really shiny when first painted but after a year she will turn flat trust me. My Omni i painted several years ago looked like it had clear coat on it at first but that following year it was flat. So now the tricky part is choosing how to do the red. You can put a semi flat clear over only the red but the rest of the jeep will be shinny for many months. You could semi gloss clear the whole jeep. You could use single stage red and let the two colors age at the same rate.

[heartyfield]

Hey sfuflash, how is the SEM paint holding up? Have you been satisfied with it so far? I'm thinking about going that route rather than buying new roll bar pads. Also, if you had to guess, how many cans would it take to do a set of the pads?

[sfuflash23]

Hey sfuflash, how is the SEM paint holding up? Have you been satisfied with it so far? I'm thinking about going that route rather than buying new roll bar pads. Also, if you had to guess, how many cans would it take to do a set of the pads?

Sorry I am like 2 years late on this response HEARTYFIELD...The SEM paint held up fantastic! I didnt do it over the soft top, I just bought a new one. I did, however, put it on the roll bars as well as on the flaps on the door. It held up amazingly well and far exceeded my expectations. It hold up to scratching pretty good too and it really absorbs into the material to where you cant even tell it had been painted.

Unfortunately I sold the old gal in Alaska because I couldn't bear to have the shipping company destroy all my hard work trying to get it back to the lower 48....so I gave her up to another JP enthusiast...BUT...I found a '95 tan sahara that is in immaculate condition that I am buying this weekend and will become my second JP Jeep build.

[sfuflash23]

Ladies and Gents,

So, I know I havent updated in like 2 years almost, but I was on a deployment to Afghanistan, came back and took a new position that pretty much destroyed my motivation, and now just finished a move to Alabama...so to say the least I have been busy. I did finish my Jeep build in Alaska and there are some attachments to show how she turned out. Unfortunately I sold the old girl to another JP builder up in Alaska because I couldn't bear to see her get destroyed by the notoriously horrible car moving service in the Army trying to get her back to the lower 48...but with every sad ending there is a new beginning. I have recently found probably the best starter for a project. She is a 1995 Tan Sarah with immaculate interior, manual transmission, original rims, air conditioning, original side steps and fender flares (which were the damndest thing to find on my first build) and original green seats that are in great shape...plus she only has 92k miles which means that inline V6 isnt even broke in yet (in my mind)..only thing is she has full doors, but compared to the headaches I encountered with my last build, the doors is a piece of cake to fix in my mind. She also includes both a hard and soft top so I get the best of both worlds if I go back to a cold climate again (hopefully back home to Pennsylvania). Ill leave you with some pics of my build from Alaska as well as a few teasers of my future Wrangler. Be sure to follow my new build here starting in the next couple weeks. Not sure what number im gonna go with yet though...any suggestions (include the "why)

[ratrace427]

our jeeps are getting older and i have people asking me "what year is that?". Its only happened a few times but as the years go by its going to start happening more. When i drive my 68 people ask that question all the time. If i was to deviate from screen accuracy then using the year "95" for the number would be something to think about. I dont think i have seen that done yet either.