I got tired of repairing the fender flares and replacing the running boards, so I removed them years ago. I patched the holes, but I shouldn’t be allowed to work with paint. I have no aptitude. I needed something that would hold up to desert brush and sand blasting. Paint and wraps just aren’t tough enough for the trail. I researched bed-liner-as-paint options, and Raptor was well reviewed.
We removed mirrors, wipers, lights and grill. I left the bumpers on to make sanding easier. Then I removed them and suspended them for painting. Taking the mirrors apart was a pain and, because there are no outlets to protect the leads, I ended up shorting my battery. My bad. I had removed the window sill pieces (not sure what they’re called) and a number of the mounting clips had to be replaced, but it made masking a lot easier under around the windows.
A lot of time was spent on masking before sanding. I have to give credit to my wife who was meticulous. We were sanding and patching little dents for a few days. There was a lot of history to hide.
I didn’t want to remove the hood, but I did want to block the air intakes below the wind shield, so I just lifted the hood and removed the six screws to lift the plate enough to slide a couple of paper bags in there. Worked perfectly.
I chose to treat the door handles with Raptor, as the clear coat on most was worn away from use. I've noticed others have chosen not to. Dealer's choice...
No picture of it here, but behind the lift-gate I taped a sheet of plastic in place to cover the opening so I could lift it and paint the tailgate. I masked the tailgate just below the point where the rubber strip makes contact to preserve the seal. It looks a little odd and you may chose to paint the entire tailgate yourself.
I also took this opportunity to treat the front and rear frame sections with POR-15. I sanded the wiper arms and painted them with POR-15 as well.
The first coat was sprayed at half-strength for a wet relatively lumpy coat.
Each coat was sprayed with a progressively lighter setting until I almost couldn’t tell paint was coming out of the gun.
The final product feels like sandpaper. As you can see, the surface is mat and seems to absorb light.
In total, I put about four to five coats on the entire truck with only 8 bottles. I bought 12 bottles, so it's nice to have spares in case I roll the truck (again).
When I can stand to look at sand paper again, I plan to treat my high-lift jack with this stuff.
I hope this helps someone considering this solution. Below are my notes created while planning this project, amended after the fact.
Method:
From U-POL Sales Support…
“For that vehicle you will need 3 four bottle kits. The kits you want to get are the tint-able kits part number UP0821. The tint pouches are one pouch for each bottle.”
"For a smooth texture, use an HVLP Sprayer”. I bought the HomeRight C800971 ($100)
“Add 15% reducer to RAPTOR when mixing, and set the PSI to 29. Use a 1.6-2.0mm gun tip. At a distance of at least 6" from the surface, spray one even wet coat. When you apply the second coat, reduce the pressure and material flow to achieve a fine mist."
“The reducer needed is UP2452. It’s a multi-function reducer. Straining the Raptor won’t work because it’s still too thick for a strainer. “
Purchases:
• 12x 25.36 oz. RAPTOR (0821v) (Three four packs from Amazon)
• 12x 8.25 oz hardener (included) (99 oz Total)
• 12x 3 oz tint (36 oz Total) – Found online from the UK (~$19/ pouch)
• 12x 5.4 oz Urethane Reducer (UP2452) – I had to order this from the UK in a 5 liter can. (~$50)
• Total 40.41 oz per batch (485 oz total volume for project) – I mixed two batches at a time.
• Adhesion Promoter (UP5024) – I ended up using less than 2 cans of this.
• HVLP HomeRight C800971 – I also bought the extra paint container for quick swapping before the Raptor hardened
• Shaking bottle - Ocean Spray 1/2 gallon plastic container worked well for two batches at a time
• Large plastic measuring cups
• 3 rolls masking tape
• Lots of sandpaper 180-240 grit
• Two 3M respirators
• Safety glasses
In Total, ~ $900 in materials.
If you are interested in downloading all of the project pictures, you can do so here...
Happy Trails!
We removed mirrors, wipers, lights and grill. I left the bumpers on to make sanding easier. Then I removed them and suspended them for painting. Taking the mirrors apart was a pain and, because there are no outlets to protect the leads, I ended up shorting my battery. My bad. I had removed the window sill pieces (not sure what they’re called) and a number of the mounting clips had to be replaced, but it made masking a lot easier under around the windows.
A lot of time was spent on masking before sanding. I have to give credit to my wife who was meticulous. We were sanding and patching little dents for a few days. There was a lot of history to hide.
I didn’t want to remove the hood, but I did want to block the air intakes below the wind shield, so I just lifted the hood and removed the six screws to lift the plate enough to slide a couple of paper bags in there. Worked perfectly.
I chose to treat the door handles with Raptor, as the clear coat on most was worn away from use. I've noticed others have chosen not to. Dealer's choice...
No picture of it here, but behind the lift-gate I taped a sheet of plastic in place to cover the opening so I could lift it and paint the tailgate. I masked the tailgate just below the point where the rubber strip makes contact to preserve the seal. It looks a little odd and you may chose to paint the entire tailgate yourself.
I also took this opportunity to treat the front and rear frame sections with POR-15. I sanded the wiper arms and painted them with POR-15 as well.
The first coat was sprayed at half-strength for a wet relatively lumpy coat.
Each coat was sprayed with a progressively lighter setting until I almost couldn’t tell paint was coming out of the gun.
The final product feels like sandpaper. As you can see, the surface is mat and seems to absorb light.
In total, I put about four to five coats on the entire truck with only 8 bottles. I bought 12 bottles, so it's nice to have spares in case I roll the truck (again).
When I can stand to look at sand paper again, I plan to treat my high-lift jack with this stuff.
I hope this helps someone considering this solution. Below are my notes created while planning this project, amended after the fact.
Method:
From U-POL Sales Support…
“For that vehicle you will need 3 four bottle kits. The kits you want to get are the tint-able kits part number UP0821. The tint pouches are one pouch for each bottle.”
"For a smooth texture, use an HVLP Sprayer”. I bought the HomeRight C800971 ($100)
“Add 15% reducer to RAPTOR when mixing, and set the PSI to 29. Use a 1.6-2.0mm gun tip. At a distance of at least 6" from the surface, spray one even wet coat. When you apply the second coat, reduce the pressure and material flow to achieve a fine mist."
“The reducer needed is UP2452. It’s a multi-function reducer. Straining the Raptor won’t work because it’s still too thick for a strainer. “
Purchases:
• 12x 25.36 oz. RAPTOR (0821v) (Three four packs from Amazon)
• 12x 8.25 oz hardener (included) (99 oz Total)
• 12x 3 oz tint (36 oz Total) – Found online from the UK (~$19/ pouch)
• 12x 5.4 oz Urethane Reducer (UP2452) – I had to order this from the UK in a 5 liter can. (~$50)
• Total 40.41 oz per batch (485 oz total volume for project) – I mixed two batches at a time.
• Adhesion Promoter (UP5024) – I ended up using less than 2 cans of this.
• HVLP HomeRight C800971 – I also bought the extra paint container for quick swapping before the Raptor hardened
• Shaking bottle - Ocean Spray 1/2 gallon plastic container worked well for two batches at a time
• Large plastic measuring cups
• 3 rolls masking tape
• Lots of sandpaper 180-240 grit
• Two 3M respirators
• Safety glasses
In Total, ~ $900 in materials.
If you are interested in downloading all of the project pictures, you can do so here...
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Happy Trails!
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