"The Blue Pearl" ... Progress pics of my XJ's paint and body. PIC HEAVY

[BeardedBassGuy]

So, as previously stated, I am a new(ish) XJ owner.

I was finally able to get my XJ out to my buddy's shop last week to start the paint and body work. The process with him is slow, as he is one man operation, has 2 toddlers, and his wife works over night as a nurse. But he does incredible work. Also, he owed me a huge favor, and this paint job and lots of body work is costing me VERY little. Anyway, on to the pics!

A couple of before pics... LOTS of scratches, dings, dents...

http://i.imgur.com/dtIcvQd.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/qTniC1z.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/hHcDqr9.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/EXZraHG.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/P2e7FnO.jpg

new wheels and tires...
http://i.imgur.com/qDBtKbn.jpg

new hood and fender...
http://i.imgur.com/Wgtsw7j.jpg

I spent July 4th tearing her apart... (sorry for the super blurry photos here)

Gotta massage that door dent...
http://i.imgur.com/1v6qny8.jpg

Front clip all the way off...
http://i.imgur.com/oTqxtMW.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/jaKo755.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/VI56sQS.jpg

My friend who is doing the work...
http://i.imgur.com/t3YRyBz.jpg

I haven't seen it since the 4th... he has been doing all the sanding himself (he sent me an pseudo angry text about how he was having to hand sand it because of all the angles :bacondance: )

He told me to come take a look today... The main body is done, the paint was still drying on it when I was there. It is almost flawless! The front clip still needs paint, but he should be finished with that tomorrow...

http://i.imgur.com/v4JS9kg.jpg

The paint we used was something he had on his shelf. It's a literal "one off" paint... its a single stage (no clear coat) fleet line (super hard industrial) that has had several types of pearl added to it. It POPS.

this pic barely catches the shimmer from the pearl. I can't wait to get it out in the sun.
http://i.imgur.com/QZHwqO2.jpg

Anyway, this was supposed to be a "quick job" so I wouldn't hog all his time, but he has gone far and above what I expected. There are a very few tiny dents that popped out after spraying.. but when I say tiny, I mean TINY. Tere is one dent in the rear bumper but I'm leaving that.

We didn't do the door jams, but they are blue, so you won't be able to tell.

Anyway, when it's finished... Front grill, fender flares, bumpers, wheels, and the bottom where the stick on molding was will all be flat black. I'm sure the fender flares and bumpers will eventually come off, and the bottom of the doors is flat black so I can touch it up from rocks and such.

It should be done and put together this week, and I will update this one it is.

Thanks for looking! :bacondance:

[4.3LXJ]

Very nice. I need him to owe me a favor too :D

[Brasscatz]

beautiful color!

[bluedragon436]

that looks good... Can't wait to see some pics of it out in the sun.... I wish I had a friend who owed me big, and had that knowledge/skill!!

[BlueXJ]

Great color of course it is blue.

[4.3LXJ]

Great color of course it is blue.

The only true color :bacondance:

[oderdene]

The only true color :bacondance:

well done, looks really shining and 4.3LXJ is right

[XJ Wheeler]

Awesome color, looks great. Will be a site to see when out on the town. Good job staying blue too. ;)

Sent via messenger pigeon - i talk, he types.

[BeardedBassGuy]

Update:

We put her back together on Friday night, and had to do some tweaking on the hood Saturday. Gave her a bath today, and the wife snapped a few pics afterwards.

I have since found out I have one headlight and one front turn signal out :mad:

Also, it seems that my axillary fan isn't coming on. I changed the relay but nothing yet. Oh, and my starter is suddenly dragging real bad. :sad0147:
Oh well, part of owning an XJ.

Anyway, the paint and body pics! Still a few small dents, and there is one spot on the hood that the paint isn't smooth (it was over 110 degrees in the shop, he was having a hard time controlling the spray). None of those are a reflection of my friends work, I told him NOT to make it perfect to save his time. It drove him crazy... lol.

http://i.imgur.com/mQIPXUT.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/qDEuZ0w.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/94gxXjL.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ELH9kWa.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/qxDrA1r.jpg

[XJ Wheeler]

That thing has some sparkle! Nice and shiny now, congrats on it being finished.

Sent via messenger pigeon - i talk, he types.

[BeardedBassGuy]

That thing has some sparkle! Nice and shiny now, congrats on it being finished.

Sent via messenger pigeon - i talk, he types.

Well most of that sparkle is water lol...

But thanks!

[XJ Wheeler]

Well most of that sparkle is water lol...

But thanks!

LOL, ya think i woulda noticed the water on the windows or something. Sorry, haha. Now that i know that i think it looks even better. When i thought that was sparkle i didn't want to say anything but... :smiley-laughing021: