Monstaliner or spray paint?

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DanMedeiros

DanMedeiros

10 Year
Joined
Jun 4, 2015
Threads
42
Messages
643
Location
Reno ,NV
The paint on my LX450 is starting to look pretty bad. I also want to pull off all the dumb body cladding and fill the holes. I went to a local paint shop and got a quote for 6 to 8K. I totally get why paint is expensive and feel that this is a fair price for the shops labor. If this was a hot rod or classic car this would make sense...However I can't justify spending this amount because I am immediately going to drive this truck through a bunch of manzanita bushes cruising fire roads at work.

My goal here is to preserve my 80 for the long run and get rid of the body cladding that its always catching on things. I am seriously considering going the monstaliner route as it seems pretty doable as a DIY project. However I was also given advice that this will ruin my car's resale value and that I should just try and spray paint it. Looking for the collective MUD wisdom here!
 
By the time you resell your old 80 and especially after using it off road as you plan, I don't think resale value is worth the worry.
I have a Monstaliner kit waiting to be applied for a year now and I need to get on it. I have also gone round and round about doing a simple camo rattle can job that can be touched up or removed easily but Monstaliner is a tough, proven product with many happy customers right here on Mud.
 
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DanMedeiros said:
However I was also given advice that this will ruin my car's resale value and that I should just try and spray paint it.
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I hope when you say spray paint you mean professional paint job with a spray gun and not rattle can right?

Sure, a good quality paint job will always be better for resale vs rolled on DIY oatmeal paint. But based on what you say you don't care about resale value and you're going to abuse the paint anyways. My vote is Monstaliner. No regrets, love that stuff. But I also did't buy this truck as a long term investment. It's a toy to have fun with on the weekends.
 
jcardona1 said:
I hope when you say spray paint you mean professional paint job with a spray gun and not rattle can right?

Sure, a good quality paint job will always be better for resale vs rolled on DIY oatmeal paint. But based on what you say you don't care about resale value and you're going to abuse the paint anyways. My vote is Monstaliner. No regrets, love that stuff. But I also did't buy this truck as a long term investment. It's a toy to have fun with on the weekends.
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THat's why I was originally drawn to monstaliner. I live in CA so am also a bit worried about fading
 
Always figure your "resale value" is zero. Then you won't be disappointed.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone! I'd rather spend 6K on a super charger..

So in regards to monstaliner how has it held up over time? Also how hard is it to do. I'm a bit of an ADD case. I have a hard time with tasks that require meticulousness.
 
jcardona1 said:
I hope when you say spray paint you mean professional paint job with a spray gun and not rattle can right?

Sure, a good quality paint job will always be better for resale vs rolled on DIY oatmeal paint. But based on what you say you don't care about resale value and you're going to abuse the paint anyways. My vote is Monstaliner. No regrets, love that stuff. But I also did't buy this truck as a long term investment. It's a toy to have fun with on the weekends.
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Your truck was what gave me the idea to monstaline it! Love that color!
 
Just finished my monstaliner and that product is great! I love the texture but, there were areas that I messed up because prep work was not executed well.

If removing the door handles, be patient, it's a tedious job. At least for me.

It's a fun weekend project but it's something I wouldn't venture doing again. Why? The smell was addicting even on an open space, well, open garage.

But I think the whole essence of "monstaliner concept" was rolling it to get the texture you wanted. That's just me though.

As for the resale value, a well built rig will only be appreciated by someone that knows and understands our addiction.

For the other "normal" people, it's just another SUV for them that has a "weird" paint job. They'll probably say... Why would someone bed line their whole SUV? They wouldn't understand.

Good luck...
 
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Line it and never look back. I did mine 8 years ago and have washed it about that many times. Cost me $500.
 
I would go the Monstaliner way!!!! Had a 1988 LC with a similar product and loved it.
 
Regarding your ADD, it will likely only take you about 60-90 minutes per coat to apply, once all the prep work is done. Can you focus that long? Hey, hello, are you still reading this?;)

Anyway, Monstaliner has my vote! I Monstalined my old 4-Runner. It was probably one of the first few vehicles done that way in my little rural community, and everyone who saw it thought it was so cool. I almost think it improved the resale value!!! FWIW i am also wanting to remove the tupperware, weld the holes and Monstaline my 80. Time is my enemy right now... Ironically, I have found the time to help two mates Monstaline their trucks in the last year.

One caution: we did have issues with the blue roller sleeves disintegrating on the last Monstaliner project. Left nasty little chunks that we had to try and remove, and we couldn't keep up with them in the end. Drove us nuts. Ended up scraping them off before applying the 2nd coat, and bought new rollers to use

Look forward to seeing the pictures when your done!
 
It really is the tits. I love that it doesn't get damaged like regular paint. It sorta just bends with the metal during impact.

Bent rocker panel when my slider was pushed into it:

15077474140_9c6d2922b1_k.jpg


Holds up well against boulders too

27455396593_a2106d34e0_k.jpg
 
jcardona1 said:
Once I'm done with all the cutting and trimming I'll need to touch-up the paint again. Was thinking of doing a two-tone with Pyroclastic.

qsiFml6.jpg
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Thanks for the pics. Trying to decide if I should order one color or make it two tone
 
I covered an old and bondo'd 76 CJ5 inside and out with monstaliner. Spent a year or so trying to scratch or dent it. a 4 inch tree branch at about 15mph was what it took to make a mark :)

I had plenty of people tell me "you ruined it" and "nobody's gonna want that" and various other crap. This - on a CJ5 which are VERY easy to find and basically cheap.

Joke was on them though, I ended up selling it for more than I had in it - part of which was due to the clean appearance of the body. Then I bought a 40 and haven't looked back at Jeeps since. Personally I wouldn't monstaliner a whole truck unless it looked bad. My son's 60 may be a candidate - the paint is severely sun baked.

Your comment about the sun is a valid one. I had some fading after one summer. Also, the monstaliner would have a whitish tint to it after washing. I found that using armor all or some other vinyl polish/protector got rid of the whitish tint and made it look better.
 
jamesurq said:
I covered an old and bondo'd 76 CJ5 inside and out with monstaliner. Spent a year or so trying to scratch or dent it. a 4 inch tree branch at about 15mph was what it took to make a mark :)

I had plenty of people tell me "you ruined it" and "nobody's gonna want that" and various other crap. This - on a CJ5 which are VERY easy to find and basically cheap.

Joke was on them though, I ended up selling it for more than I had in it - part of which was due to the clean appearance of the body. Then I bought a 40 and haven't looked back at Jeeps since. Personally I wouldn't monstaliner a whole truck unless it looked bad. My son's 60 may be a candidate - the paint is severely sun baked.

Your comment about the sun is a valid one. I had some fading after one summer. Also, the monstaliner would have a whitish tint to it after washing. I found that using armor all or some other vinyl polish/protector got rid of the whitish tint and made it look better.
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Yes, fading is my biggest concern. I don't have a garage that will fit the 80 and live in CA. It's gonna get backed in the sun. I guess it doesn't really mater if it fades a bit. As long as it protects my body panels from branches, bushes, and rocks
 
Nay said:
Line it and never look back. I did mine 8 years ago and have washed it about that many times. Cost me $500.
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Did you use Linex?
 
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