My J-4500

[Crankyolman]

YOU STRIPPED YOUR TAILGATE?!? It looked sooo good before!!! Does that mean you have to re-do your "Gladiator" script?

Yes and yes


That was actually the plan all along. If you remember I originally wanted to paint the tailgate with lacquer so I didn't have to strip it to repaint but couldn't find any so had to use enamel. The enamel was very soft and instantly clogged any paper as soon as I started sanding so I took acetone to it and it wiped right off and left the primer behind ready to be sanded.


As far as the lettering and Gladiator script the color wouldn't have matched exactly so I had to redo them because of that and I bought what I hope is better fine line tape to get the Jeep lettering done and I still have the templates for the script so that shouldn't be too difficult.

[Crankyolman]

Well crap!



I started painting all the stuff this morning and ran out of paint after only 2 coats on the hood. I had thought I had enough to finish but obviously I was wrong. I did order some more last week but it won't be here for a couple more days so I guess I will let this cure, then re-sand and lay on a couple more layers.


In the mean time I am going to start putting the truck together.

[Crankyolman]

We lost our cat yesterday evening Yesterday morning he seemed pretty good, he ate, drank and used the litter box as usual but when he asked for brushing from my wife he began breathing hard. We contacted the people who make house calls to euthanize pets but the soonest they could be here was Tuesday (today) at 11AM. We kept an eye on him throughout the day and eventually his breathing became bad again and we had to make the call that he wasn't going to make it until Tuesday so we called the vet to let them know we were bringing him down. It was a struggle loading him in his carrier, he fought and even bit me but we got him in, loaded him in the car and headed for the vet. He passed away before we got there. I'm really going to miss him.

[rang-a-stang]

Sorry to hear about that.
Sounds like a good night to crack out some of your best Cider and toast the little dude one last time.

[Crankyolman]

Sorry to hear about that.
Sounds like a good night to crack out some of your best Cider and toast the little dude one last time.

Thank you Rang, yes it would be a good night for that.

[Crankyolman]

Well, this morning the UPS man showed up early with my paint so I was able to do a quick scuff sand and finish everything up , now it's just a matter of reassembly... Hopefully I can find all the pieces

[jpcoutts]

Great work on the truck! Sorry to hear about the cat, we have one that is getting on in years and I'm not looking forward to it when her time comes.

[Crankyolman]

Great work on the truck! Sorry to hear about the cat, we have one that is getting on in years and I'm not looking forward to it when her time comes.

Thank you the more I put the truck together the more I like it.


It really sucks losing a cat that was relatively young and such a part of our lives. It's the worst part of pet ownership.

[Crankyolman]

I made quite a bit of progress on the truck today.Rear view mirrors are on, door handles are on, hood is on, header is on and right front fender is on and if my phone ever sends me the pictures I will post them. In the pictures it looks a little more purple than in real life but it looks really good. The color tends to be different from different angles or light conditions.

[SOLSAKS]

cranky,

did not know you are doing all of this paint work !!!

looks great !

a lot of work !

I was sorry to read about your cat

I know just how it feels

had to put my 24/7 companion dog down on 1-1-20.

truck is looking great.

dave in NC

[Crankyolman]

cranky,

did not know you are doing all of this paint work !!!

looks great !

a lot of work !

Thank you. Yes expenses got so high I couldn't afford to pay someone else to paint it and couldn't leave it undone so had to. Mrs Cranky isn't happy about the amount of time it's taking but she loves the way it looks so she is more or less OK with it. She is even talking about starting to work on the Mercedes when the truck is done but I really need to get some stuff done on the house first.

I was sorry to read about your cat

I know just how it feels

had to put my 24/7 companion dog down on 1-1-20.

truck is looking great.

dave in NC

Thank you about that too, he was a great cat and such a huge part of our lives and we really miss him.

[Crankyolman]

My phone finally decided to send the pictures from yesterday so here is one



The camera really picked up the purple at that angle and light, it's weird how it changes shades so much depending on angle and lighting.


Today I got the left fender set in place but not bolted down. I also got the custom cab badges on and the chrome trim that goes behind the doors but that's about all the progress I made. Tomorrow doesn't look too promising either because I have to take my son's fiance to some medical thing for several hours in the middle of the day but It's nice to finally be getting some visual progress going.

[rang-a-stang]

...She is even talking about starting to work on the Mercedes when the truck is done but I really need to get some stuff done on the house first....

The gears in my head just let out of awful screeching grinding noise. In my house the arguments start with Mrs. Rang-a-stang getting mad because I really need to get some stuff done on the house first but I am thinking about the next car project. Mind blown!

[Crankyolman]

Well the front half of the truck is all assembled...that is except for the chrome strip on the passengers door because I need to do some paint touch up before I do that but both fenders are on, header on, all 4 headlights on and working, grill on, mirrors, windshield wipers...etc. Now I just need to clean up, turn it around and put the bed on.


Here is a pic I took yesterday, I pit a couple more pieces on since than.

[Full Size Jeeper]

Looking really good.