polish and paint, or not

[jtree]

I just bought this fj62. I can't decide if I should polish it up or let it fade to orange. It has a small amount of rust, rear fender bubbles. 130,000k not rips or cracks inside. Will not waxing it until It's orange cause any unforeseen problems? I live I Joshua Tree, CA, one of the driest places around.
I Plan on adding a ome lift, winch, lockers, winch, bumpers, 33's soon, more of an expedition rig than I rock crawler. Eventually a diesel, oh well I just cant decide whether to let it fade or not.
Opinions? I don't know how to create a poll.

 

[Happy Trails]

Last year I had the same situation, I opted to to have mine painted. Your rig looks great! Mine didn't
look too bad, just faded. Now, it looks brand new. I'm pretty happy I did it. I'd do the OME suspension and 33's first in
that it really improves the look and ride of your 62. My 2cents.

 

[Tvaldriz]

Polish it, give it a good coat of wax an call it good.

 

[jgordon]

I'd either leave it or wax right over the paint as is - I like the patina. Paint is irreversible and expensive - why not live with it for a while as is to see if you like it? You can always try the other solutions later. I'd spend the money on the other things you mentioned first.

 

[sirenmoses]

let it fade: it'll blend into the desert background eventually.

 

[CruzerCrazy]

A couple rounds of Mothers stripper and than some protector/wax will make that thing POP! After all you could always let it go back after a few years.

 

[MT-PTK]

A couple rounds of Mothers stripper and than some protector/wax will make that thing POP! After all you could always let it go back after a few years.

I like what he said. Exert a little elbow grease and spend your dollars on the other goodies. Imho, paint should be the last thing after you do the other mods....don't want to accidentally scratch/dent it.


MT

 

[Pighead]

Herculine it...

 

[Heartworm]

We just had one of our FJ60s painted. It had the "white" fade on the hood and roof which the shop guy said was the clear coat going bad. When he was giving us the estimate, he said that the roof and hood would have to be stripped because of the clear coat situation... I do not know if that was bulls**t or not. I guess what I am trying to say is if you can cut down on clear coat deterioration by waxing, it might be a smart move. Doing what you can with the existing paint is really a cheap upgrade.

 

[jgordon]

Shiny is for bimmers and jeeps! looks great the way it is!

 

[battle cruiser]

Personally, I like a nice patina...

https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/207781-meet-rusty-battle-cruiser.html

 

[ARSmay]

Joshua Tree? Paint it white to reflect that desert heat and spend money on a good tint job. Get your cooling system in order!

 

[vipergrhd]

polish

if you have the time to do it,i would try it first on a small area to see if you like the outcome.then if you don't mind doing all that rubbing and buffing go for it.paint job can cost quite a bit,i have the same issue on my silver 60 faded on most of the top. john

 

[jtree]

Joshua Tree? Paint it white to reflect that desert heat and spend money on a good tint job. Get your cooling system in order!

It isn't really that hot in the "high desert", 3600 ft lower down in Palm Springs, I experienced 128 F, That was almost as hot as 100 Memphis or Little Rock. The ac works good and it already has tinted windows.

Battle Cruiser, I have a 79 300sd with 450,000k that looks almost as good a patina as your fj60. A sign of a good car.

So I will continue to polish it a bit and ignore the rusty spots and flaked off clear coat.

 

[chukardog]

Herculine it...

DON'T do that, please. looks fxxxing retarded.