1982 FJ40 Restoration

[subzali]

Beautiful. We sure have talent in this club

 

[Rezarf]

Wow.

 

[smslavin]

Thanks guys I'm happy you guys think it's as sweet as I do that actually makes me feel pretty proud

You should be. That's amazing. Super cool Marco. I'm awestruck.

 

[rover67]

 

[rover67]

 

[wesintl]

awesome!

 

[fjc man]

Marco’s babies

Marco, your 40 and your family are so awesome! Does Mila have a special seating arrangement?

 

[simps80]

greatest win ever

 

[rover67]

Marco, your 40 and your family are so awesome! Does Mila have a special seating arrangement?

Thanks we're so happy

She doesn't yet.. we just strapped her in the jump seat to get her delivered a few houses down in our neighborhood so she could be watched for a while during Al's inaugural ride/drive.

I have a good permanent and safe rear facing mid truck solution I am working on that isn't finished yet..

 

[rover67]

awesome!

greatest win ever

 

[DaveInDenver]

Seriously nice. That's retirement investment right there.

 

[Rezarf]

It's hard for me to believe that's the same truck that took up space in your garage in Boulder. Marco, you should contact a few magazines and enter a few car shows before getting it dirty. Bravo.

 

[OilHammer]

NICE! Congrats all the way around!
You could sell some Eddie Bauer with a few of those pics

 

[PhatFJ]

Marco, WOW, dude I am sooo proud of you. Watching you take this apart and put it back together with meticulous precision, care and attention to detail has truly been an experiance and a seeming labor of love on your part. Congratulations my friend! I hope you and your family enjoy this beauty for many years!!!

 

[Blindranger]

What an epic transformation; seriously amazing restoration work!

 

[Hulk]

Great photos. That undercarriage photo blows me away.

 

[rover67]

Oscar the Grouch.

https://risingsun4x4club.org/xf/threads/finally-got-one-82-fj40.10885/#post-119332

Has only had one tank of gas through it since I finished him..

 

[SteveH]

Awesome resto job. Get it well-insured.

 

[subzali]

I deliberated and read for hours on the subject.... Gel Coat, marine paint, automotive paint..

I had a good epoxy layer down everywhere (no raw fiberglass) that I was able to sand down to. I picked out all the old seam sealer from the gutters and sprayed a 2k primer/surfacer on the bare metal. I replaced the seam seal all around and primed the whole top with the 2k Primer/Surfacer which is supposedly good on top of epoxy (and seam seal of course). More sanding and then Color and a high quality PPG Deltron DC3000 Clear coat.

I was leaning toward gel coat, but it drys out and chalks and needs to be buffed or re-sanded and/or applied. It takes maintenance to stay looking nice. I don't need the durability of the gel (it's not getting walked on or have stuff thrown on it) So I began to research the various boat coatings that were more like a paint. There are lots of paint like products out there that apparently work really well and have good UV resistance, but I couldn't find one that I could get the right color mixed in (not many allow mixing colorant at all actually).

Soooo...... Base coat clear coat it was. I went with a nice clear to hopefully mitigate and UV issues and get a good lasting finish. The primer is supposed to be good for use over epoxy and seemed to go down well and stick very well.

Anti-climactic I know..

Bump for @LARGEONE ...

 

[LARGEONE]

Bump for @LARGEONE ...

Thank you, Matt!