Yes I used to be a person that would make fun of anybody even considering it. I called it a "high school paint job" because at some point every high school kid thinks it's a good idea. And it is for 2 years until the UV fades it, dirt gets in bedded, and the rubber in the actually paint flakes off. Then it can't be removed. I think I even participated in this thread at some point shunning those who ever think about it: Removing Bedliner off the Exterior of a FJ40
HOWEVER now I'm considering what I once said I would never do. There are some pretty good DIY things out there. Monstaliner in particular I have used on a truck bed and I'm very impressed. No rubber in it, as UV resistant as any car paint out there (5 year warranty), and it's cheap.
Why am I considering it? Everything has a budget. I picked up a bj42 in canda for cheap. It runs/drives great, the rust is minimal, and the frame is in good shape. Even though the body is pretty rust free at one point it was blasted and primed. Even though it doesn't have rust left there's lots of pitting The tub was fixed half assed home fix job with weld and grind marks over most of it. There's several very small dents that will require some body filler regardless of what I use but a "real" paint job will require much more finish work............ Long story short I want to paint it now and I see many thousand of hours of body work to get it in perfect shape for a real paint job. Most likely requiring every square inch covered with some bondo (I don't think polyester primer will fill the pitting) or just replacing most of the sheet metal. Monstaliner would be the cheap short cut because it's textured it will hide the flaws very well. It's very very cheap and repairs very easily. The down sides is it's tougher to wash and it's hard to remove if I don't like it. Although hitting it with a pressure washer can make short work of it. If I have to replace the sheet metal I'm pretty much in the same spot I started and out a few hundred bucks and few hours labor.
The one possible alternative is doing a "real" paint job and going with some kind of hammered finish. I know rustoleum and krylon make it in rattle cans and I could probably find it somewhere in car paint. It might be a good compromise between the two options. What do the experts thing? Anybody do what I'm thinking about already and now regret it?
HOWEVER now I'm considering what I once said I would never do. There are some pretty good DIY things out there. Monstaliner in particular I have used on a truck bed and I'm very impressed. No rubber in it, as UV resistant as any car paint out there (5 year warranty), and it's cheap.
Why am I considering it? Everything has a budget. I picked up a bj42 in canda for cheap. It runs/drives great, the rust is minimal, and the frame is in good shape. Even though the body is pretty rust free at one point it was blasted and primed. Even though it doesn't have rust left there's lots of pitting The tub was fixed half assed home fix job with weld and grind marks over most of it. There's several very small dents that will require some body filler regardless of what I use but a "real" paint job will require much more finish work............ Long story short I want to paint it now and I see many thousand of hours of body work to get it in perfect shape for a real paint job. Most likely requiring every square inch covered with some bondo (I don't think polyester primer will fill the pitting) or just replacing most of the sheet metal. Monstaliner would be the cheap short cut because it's textured it will hide the flaws very well. It's very very cheap and repairs very easily. The down sides is it's tougher to wash and it's hard to remove if I don't like it. Although hitting it with a pressure washer can make short work of it. If I have to replace the sheet metal I'm pretty much in the same spot I started and out a few hundred bucks and few hours labor.
The one possible alternative is doing a "real" paint job and going with some kind of hammered finish. I know rustoleum and krylon make it in rattle cans and I could probably find it somewhere in car paint. It might be a good compromise between the two options. What do the experts thing? Anybody do what I'm thinking about already and now regret it?