2003 Jeep TJ - They can't all be Ferrari's

[Bill Davidson]

My buddy volunteered to be a guinea pig and let me polish his Jeep for $100 today. He is my first customer. It was a lot of work but it was a great experience. It should have cost him more than a $100, but hey, I'm learning, he's a friend and I'm try to build a portfolio. At least it paid for 1/2 of my G110V2. It took me 7 hours. I'm sure a pro could knock it off in a couple hours.

Anyhow, even though it doesn't look that bad, upon close inspection, this thing is beat up and it was a challenge. There were sections that were repainted (no clear coat), flaking paint, over-spray, rock chips, random scratches of various depths (from tree branches, tools and apparently aluminum filings from a project he was working on), swirls and bumps everywhere. The bumps were caused from rocks flying up and hitting the body from underneath while 4X4ing. I had to be very careful of these bumps because if I polished them too hard I'd break through the clearcoat/paint and leave a small white spots (like a rock chips).

I really had to use my discretion while working on this project. I chose to reduce some deep scratches, while others I chose to eliminate. Even though there is not a lot of surface area to a Jeep there are a lot of small individual sections and angles. It would have been nice to have had a smaller backing plate and pads, but I had to make do with 7" equipment.

I used Ultimate Compound, and NXT Tech Wax 2.0. I didn't want to go crazy on this project because of the vehicles application. It's a daily driver, in a rough climate. It gets used and abused. It's going to get scratched up again.

Next, we will have to work on the bumpers, wheels, chrome etc.

Like I said they can't all be Ferrari's. It's a mess, so it's perfect for me to learn on.

Bill

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: 2003 Jeep TJ - They can't all be Ferrari's

Congratulations on your first paying customer.
Huge improvement on the Jeep. It looks very good. Way to go.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: 2003 Jeep TJ - They can't all be Ferrari's

Very nice work, and it's tough to make the judgment call on how aggressive to get on paint that has seen more than it's share of action. Mike Phillips used to talk about the different car clubs that would come to our Saturday Classes, and how most of them wanted to learn how to make their paint defect free and really shiny. Except the Jeep guys. They knew they'd be taking their rides off road, through scrub brush, over rocks, etc and new scratches were inevitable. They wanted to know how to have shiny scratches.

[Bill Davidson]

Re: 2003 Jeep TJ - They can't all be Ferrari's

Thanks for the comments it was a great learning experience.

I'm surprised nobody commented on what a "slob" my buddy is. It's funny we're polar opposites, but we get along great because of it. I make fun of how messy he is... he makes fun of how OCD I am. As long as it's all done with respect for one another, it's all good.

I actually told him I was going to post the messy shots, just for a laugh.

[Autobrite]

Re: 2003 Jeep TJ - They can't all be Ferrari's

MAN!!! Your buddy is a slob!! LOL great work Bill.

[Tuck91]

Re: 2003 Jeep TJ - They can't all be Ferrari's

Nice work Bill.