The Frankenstein Build! LT/Expo/Trail rig..and BS

Yea good point Adam..

I think if i wrapped it i might actually keep it cleaner..but the paint is so bad right now i just don't care enough. But you are right, truck is constantly dirty especially now that its main job is just trails/camping and such and not a DD anymore.

Plus i dont think i would like the texture of dip vs the vinyl.

 

How well would a wrap hold up to bushes/branches/pinstriping?

 

Pretty good from what i have read..granted a big hard hit will probably tear it..but for like brush and tree branches on the sides of trails its supposed to hold up quite well.

 

A tear would be my concern. Repair would be a PITA I would think. Your buddy with the shop paints, what would he charge you?

 

My buddy who painted his own mustang? he isn't a pro to do it. Im just gonna do it myself. Takes about 20ish hours. But isn't over all super hard to do. Just time consuming.

Most places charge between 800-2000 for it.

And actually wouldn't be that hard to fix. Its just a big sticker so you could re heat and cover it up and then just order a new pice to fix it.

For you though..does paint even matter haha

 

With all the damn humidity and salt out here... yes.

 

spray paint? haha

 

Honestly, I'm not sure what would be a good route. I would like to keep the lunar mist. I was thinking I'd put a new coat on and maybe a matte or semi-gloss clear coat? That way (I assume) a spray can of color match for touching up won't be noticeable.

 

new paint always stands out. Thats why when a little piece is chipped, they paint the whole fender, or whatever area it is.

 

So what's the best way, with the least amount of work/prep?

 

do you need new paint even??

 

lol... I will...

 

Sure as hell hope not. Guess I should throw in some more tubing on the cage then.

 

Yea but by then your body will be all crunched up anyways..haha

 

I'm planning on plenty of gusseting to keep the cab's shape as much as possible (if it does happen to roll).

Like this, along the pillars, etc. -



If I didn't care at all, I wouldn't be putting sway bars on it either.

 

yea welding the body to the cage is a good idea.

I wouldn't worry to much about paint till you really screw it up.

 

Well my point initially was that I'll need to paint once the fabrication is done. Welding to the body, cutting holes, etc

 

yea that makes sense.

A good real paint job is upwards of 3-10k.

So..idk..haha doing it yourself with a gun is cheaper but a ton of many hours to get it perfect.

 

Finally... I might be able to reciprocate!

 

Painting it on your own wouldn't be too bad, and especially one like Jonathan's truck where you already have all the trim removed etc. I painted my FJ40 myself with zero experience. I took my time doing research on how to do it right and used single stage paint to keep it simple. It turned out 10x better than any Maaco job I've ever seen. I'm definitely no pro but it really wasn't bad, but takes a long time to prep right but it was worth it. Painting it myself ran me about $500-600.

I would never pay for a "pro" paint job on a trail only rig. Just spray it yourself. I've been tempted to paint my Tacoma myself but at the moment I can't afford to have the truck down that long.