Rascoles summer repairs & upgrades.

rascole · Sep 25, 2020

Rascoles summer down time. Here is the list of repairs and upgrades so far this year. Will add pictures as I go, too many for 1 post.

1. Modified front and read Thor bumpers. Rear D ring brackets welded, front bull bar welded.
2. Installed new Kenwood DMX907S radio with front camera on push bar & installed front and rear dash cameras, Kenwood DRV-A601WDP.
3. Replaced broken windshield.
4. Raptor Lined hood & roof.
5. Replaced 5 year old Optima yellow tops.
6. Repaired ARB air compressor, bad relay.
7. Replaced all pads, rotors and calipers with Power Stop Z36 package.
8. Repaired fried coil wire on front locker.
9. Replaced lower ball joints.
10. Repaired broken nut/bolt on steering rack clamp.
11. Replaced hubs.
12. Replaced front drive shaft with new Dana Spicer CV.
13. Installed Schwarttzy rock sliders.
14. Installed LPD 4590 LONG Transmission Cooler 28,000 LB rating.
15. Installed Lase.Design LED adapters and LED lights.
16. Installed Snorkel.
17. Installed Outfitter Design Extra HD tie rods.
18. Installed Outfitter Design under hood air compressor mount, but using it for sPod mount.
19. Installed Michigan Metal Works adjustable upper A arms.
20. Modified the Daystar dash tray to hold my GPS Ram mount and added a 12v USB outlet.

rascole · Sep 25, 2020

#4. Raptor lined the roof and hood. Because the roof and hood paint was fading bad I was going to Line X but could never get them to commit to color matching. After the run around, I research Raptor Lining and decided pull the trigger. I bought a cheap Harbor Freight paint gun, drilled out to 2mm, thinned the Raptor 10%, bought tint from a local auto paint supplier with color code and away I went. So far I am really happy with the smoother texture I wanted. More of a orange peel than a bedliner feel. Color match was good and has a satin/dull finish and helps with the hood glare from the roof LEDs. Time will tell if it holds up, but $300 total invested in Raptor, a sander and other goods, I can't go wrong.

rascole · Sep 25, 2020

#7 Replaced brakes with Power Stop Z36. A caliper was leaking and rotors and pads were close to needing replaced, instead of a rebuild kit for the caliper I bought a complete kit. Parking brake pads are a PITA to do with out help, definitely need a third hand.

rascole · Sep 25, 2020

#10. Repaired broken weld nut/bolt on steering rack clamp. This had me worried that it was going to really difficult to repair, boy did I get lucky. I switched to a hex head bolt so a open head wrench can fit, the allen head is too tight of a fit.

rascole · Sep 25, 2020

#16. Installed Snorkel. Glad I did, crossed the Mojave river when it was 36" deep. Taking the door off really make it easier and I used rivnuts with a dab of JB Weld for the A pillar bracket so removing the snorkel in the future will be much easier.

rascole · Sep 25, 2020

#17. Installed Outfitter Design Extra HD tie rods. Should last a lifetime now.

rascole · Sep 25, 2020

#18. Installed Outfitter Design under hood air compressor mount, but using it for sPod mount. Had to buy a air box from a 08-10 from a junkyard to make it work but worth it. Made some standoff bolts to have a raised platform, sPod has small magnets to hold it down but makes it easy to remove if needed.

rascole · Sep 25, 2020

#19. Installed Michigan Metal Works adjustable upper A arms. Tired of replacing the Moog upper A arms every year under warranty so I spent the extra $$ and upgraded.

alrock · Sep 25, 2020

You've been busy!

rascole · Sep 25, 2020

Yeah, Got everything ready for the Moab trip but will be hitting the desert soon. Got the shirts yesterday, thanks.

Alpha X · Sep 25, 2020

rascole said:
#19. Installed Michigan Metal Works adjustable upper A arms.
View attachment 26802

I've been curious about these UCA's. Please let us know how you like them after your trip.

rascole · Sep 26, 2020

I do have a couple of small trips with them and no issues. The benefit of these is longevity over OEM. Ball joints should last several years over several months.

Jeepwalker · Sep 26, 2020

Looks good. Lot of work! Reason they didn't commit on matching your paint color is b/c that's a difficult color to match under any circumstances. Even for a bodyshop.

Yeah, let us know how those UCA hold up. The ball joint looks good, but the rest of the arm doesn't look all that sturdy. But real-world performance is what matters. It would be nice if someone would make some cast steel UCA with a 'real' (replaceable) balljoint.

fowlken8 · Sep 27, 2020

Rascole, teach me your raptor liner ways. I've sprayed it about ten times with the supplied gun and was looking for a much finer texture. I was about to buy the 80 dollar upol vari nozzle gun but was always curious about using an hvlp gun.

Which harbor freight gun did you buy? When you say drill it out to 2mm,did you unscrew the tip and just drill the hole with a 2mm bit? What psi did you spray at?

rascole · Sep 27, 2020

fowlken8 said:
Rascole, teach me your raptor liner ways. I've sprayed it about ten times with the supplied gun and was looking for a much finer texture. I was about to buy the 80 dollar upol vari nozzle gun but was always curious about using an hvlp gun.

Which harbor freight gun did you buy? When you say drill it out to 2mm,did you unscrew the tip and just drill the hole with a 2mm bit? What psi did you spray at?

Harbor Freight $15 purple gun. The tip is a 1.4 and unscrews so it is easy to drill out. to 2mm. I split 1 bottle into 8 different test recipes. I found that 10% tint, 10% reducer at 50 PSI at the gun about 12 inches from the surface gave the texture I wanted. I sprayed a total of 4 coats and it is about as sooth a finish I could get. There is still a texture but as you can see from the pics it is not rough at all. I used about 2.5 bottles to spray the hood, vents & roof.

cgalpha08 · Sep 27, 2020

Does the raptor liner come with a type of UV protectant. I've line-xed stuff before and I much prefer a finer texture than what the line-x guys can get.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

rascole · Sep 27, 2020

cgalpha08 said:
Does the raptor liner come with a type of UV protectant. I've line-xed stuff before and I much prefer a finer texture than what the line-x guys can get.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

No, from what I understand, it has UV protectant as part of the product.

fowlken8 · Sep 28, 2020

It does have uv protection.

Are you experienced in spraying car paint? I am very streaky with actual paint and clear coat. I'm great at raptor with the standard gun. Was there a big learning curve with the hvlp gun?

rascole · Sep 28, 2020

fowlken8 said:
It does have uv protection.

Are you experienced in spraying car paint? I am very streaky with actual paint and clear coat. I'm great at raptor with the standard gun. Was there a big learning curve with the hvlp gun?

1. UPOL says it is UV resistant. I haven't seen any older than a year and they look good. There are a few members here that can better answer that though.
2.I have never used a HVLP gun before or any other automotive equipment. Rattle can is the best I have done.
3. If you are great with the regular gun you'll be a pro with a HVLP. The reducer makes it fool proof.

fowlken8 · Oct 5, 2020

You think this will do the job? Already 2mm and a bigger hopper to hold the raptor.

https://www.harborfreight.com/air-t...lvlp-general-purpose-air-spray-gun-61455.html

Korby7 · Oct 5, 2020

rascole said:
Rascoles summer down time. Here is the list of repairs and upgrades so far this year. Will add pictures as I go, too many for 1 post.

1. Modified front and read Thor bumpers. Rear D ring brackets welded, front bull bar welded.
2. Installed new Kenwood DMX907S radio with front camera on push bar & installed front and rear dash cameras, Kenwood DRV-A601WDP.
3. Replaced broken windshield.
4. Raptor Lined hood & roof.
5. Replaced 5 year old Optima yellow tops.
6. Repaired ARB air compressor, bad relay.
7. Replaced all pads, rotors and calipers with Power Stop Z36 package.
8. Repaired fried coil wire on front locker.
9. Replaced lower ball joints.
10. Repaired broken nut/bolt on steering rack clamp.
11. Replaced hubs.
12. Replaced front drive shaft with new Dana Spicer CV.
13. Installed Schwarttzy rock sliders.
14. Installed LPD 4590 LONG Transmission Cooler 28,000 LB rating.
15. Installed Lase.Design LED adapters and LED lights.
16. Installed Snorkel.
17. Installed Outfitter Design Extra HD tie rods.
18. Installed Outfitter Design under hood air compressor mount, but using it for sPod mount.
19. Installed Michigan Metal Works adjustable upper A arms.
20. Modified the Daystar dash tray to hold my GPS Ram mount and added a 12v USB outlet.

Where’d you mount the S-pod switches? I’m looking to get an older one with the 6 rocker switches.

rascole · Oct 5, 2020

fowlken8 said:
You think this will do the job? Already 2mm and a bigger hopper to hold the raptor.

https://www.harborfreight.com/air-t...lvlp-general-purpose-air-spray-gun-61455.html

I am sure it will, I used the gravity feed gun because there are a lot of videos of others using it. I wanted to use what was proven to work but I don't see a reason why it will not work. $20 and spray a test and you'll have your answer.

rascole · Oct 5, 2020

Korby7 said:
Where’d you mount the S-pod switches? I’m looking to get an older one with the 6 rocker switches.

I use the suction cup to the windshield next to the A pillar.

fowlken8 · Oct 6, 2020

I'm ordering my raptor today. Questions about thinning, how did you do it exactly?

You used a urethane reducer I'm guessing? Or will standard lacquer thinner work?

For the 10 percent reduction did you do this by weight; weigh the bottle then add 10 percent thinner and then the tint? Or just base it off of the ounces listed on the bottle?

If I'm spraying black, will thinning it lighten up the color at all?

rascole · Oct 6, 2020

fowlken8 said:
I'm ordering my raptor today. Questions about thinning, how did you do it exactly?

You used a urethane reducer I'm guessing? Or will standard lacquer thinner work?

For the 10 percent reduction did you do this by weight; weigh the bottle then add 10 percent thinner and then the tint? Or just base it off of the ounces listed on the bottle?

If I'm spraying black, will thinning it lighten up the color at all?

I used Restoration Shop/Custom Shop - UR70[FONT=Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif] at a 10% reduction by volume, Raptor + hardener = 32 ounces. Tint and thinner were equal amounts of 10%. I took each bottle of Raptor and split it into 2 separate mixing cups because I wasn't covering enough area to use a complete bottle for each coat and the spray gun has only a 20 ounce cup.
UPOL dos not recommend regular thinner.
It will not lighten up the black, I have seen several jobs similar to mine that actually looked glossier that the regular gun and thickness, I can only assume it is because the smoother texture.
Raptor is cheap enough for you to spray some tests to see what best suits your needs. But like anything to do with painting 99% of the job is prep work. Sand and clean and repeat 10 times.[/FONT]

Rascoles summer repairs & upgrades.

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