How to Spray Paint your jeep and make an assault vehicle

Ok since my jeep is a major beater and I take it offroading, what better way to paint a fading beaten up jeep than with spraypaint? I chose to paint it up like an Army assault vehicle and add some zombie stickers. So to start you need a vehicle you plan to paint. (I advise it to be something that you dont really care about getting beaten up) For me that would be my 1990 Jeep Cherokee that I drive offroad a lot. Heres a picture of what it should look like once it is done.

Step 1 Find a vehicle

Step one find a vehicle. You can use an existing vehicle or go buy one like me from craigslist for dirt cheap. :D Aw look at the lil jeep the day I bought it.

Comments

[sjoshi2]

Your jeep is looking pretty after spray paint!!

Used Rv Buying Tips

[HollywoodSnooks]

I have an old in pretty good shape 1982 Chevy S10 durango. Its color now is brown and i want to change the color. How many coats would you recommend?

[Chocolate Moose]

Awesome Instructable.
I have a couple questions.
I'm thinking about doing this to my Jeep.
I just wanted to know what you could do as far as a protective coating.
I saw somewhere that someone put a layer of clear coat on and sanded it down a little in order to give it a flat/ satin finish but still be protected.
Also, what would you suggest as far as painting the plastic bumpers.

[sam24th]

If you want a good protective coating your gonna want to spray an automotive clear on top of it using a spray gun. Could be done for another $100 if you already have an air compressor. If you want a flat/satin finish you can add some flattening agent into the clear coat to give it a bit of a dull look. I really just wanted to paint my ol beatup jeep so its easy to touch up after a day of wheeling. I really havent had to though as the paint has stuck really well. Its all about the prep work you put into the paint. Ive done jsut about any ghetto rigged paintjob you can think of.

As for the plastic bumpers I would just lightly sand using very fine sandpaper or maybe even a scotchbrite pad and then spray it with some spraypaint.

[Rathrider]

they sell flat clear coat spray paint, i have been thinking about doing this too and thats what i planned on using as a protective layer

[hairyyy0]

Did you paint a white spot then tape the numbers on and paint over with the green and remove the tape to show the numbers? or did you paint on the white letters after the green paint had dried?

[sam24th]

I used stencils you get at like lowes or home depot and painted the numbers and letters on after the paint dried.

[abadfart]

let the paint dry and then go to big box store of choice and get magnetic paper and cut out the numbers

[hackmattr]

When we had to move, my dad and I were restoring a 1964 Mustang. We had it sanded down and ready for paint, but had to put a protective coat on because of moving. We used white spray paint. The only problem I see is that it needs to be wet sanded in order to blend because it is hard to spray paint a large surface with spray paint without some light and heavy areas.

[sam24th]

If you use some of the cheaper spraypaints it tends to have off color spots from what I have experienced. Rustoleum and Krylon have far been the best spray paints Ive used. The colors tend to fill in the areas quite evenly on the better paints.

[hackmattr]

I used Rustoleum

[Confounded Machine]

Wow, its crazy how close our jeeps are to one another! Mines a 1990 and I painted it last summer. I used krylon flat OD green and it ended up coming out really well. Heres a pic of it in the garage during painting. Nice looking XJ man :).

[sam24th]

Looking awesome. Im actually considering repainting my jeep in a desert tan color. Maybe after a proper lift kit and a rollcage I will.

[heibert]

in Russia we need to re-register car in road police department if we changing color. it's not free and costs lot of time and documents :-/

[uberchoob]

We're supposed to do something similar here in the states, but it's a simple matter of changing the color field when we renew our vehicle registration (every 3 to 7 years depending on your state).

[BtheBike]

awesome paint . a snorkel would look great

[ctg4x4]

nice, i panted my comanche like that!

[nemhed]

Looks Great! I used the same paint on my commuter/suburban assault/TEOTWAWKI bike! It's my new "go to" color.

[Blenderizer]

Whoaaa there, thats awesome!

My 91 wrangler was painted a year ago by the previous owner, but this looks pretty sweet....

[sam24th]

I also had a 1993 Wrangler I painted using the same theme but a slightly different color. It turned out quite well. I still regret selling it.

[maxhuey]

Some tips I have learned over the years...If you use wal-mart spray bomb at 99 cent each, you will save another 30 buck! they cover just as well as Krylon, no italian olive though, just black, white, red, green and blue...

I bought a Spray-It diaphram air pump with hose and spray gun from Craigslist for $15, I use no name brand "exterior" house paint, watered down to spraying consistency to paint a 69 ford custom (large surface areas are difficult to paint with spray bomb), after 10 years, the paint still looks good. I think its because this no name brand paint has a 15 years warranty...

I have also painted a small car with paint roller, just buy a small bottle of "Flow" to mix into the glossy paint and this will cause the paint to flow into a smooth shinny surface. The flow liquid actually delay the drying time of the paint.

[sam24th]

I have actually also painted a car with a paint roller. (the black firebird/camaro in this picture) It turned out awesome until I left it outside for a year and neglected it in which case random stuff like flower petals and pollen stuck to it like a magnet and ruined the paint.

[Everlong]

Really nice job man, looks awesome!
Now, where to find me a Jeep...

[jackfaciale]

you sand it all by hand ?? i

[sam24th]

Yup everything is sanded by hand. I also sprayed the cans by hand also. I guess I should suggest get a spray can gun thingy that they sell for 3 bucks to spray cans easier. Unless you like cramped/numbed thumbs of course.

[jackfaciale]

chapeau bas.... i started my motorbike tank i stoppped after three hours :p

[Joemeza]

Do you live in Utah? i swear i saw a jeep just like that driving around today

[sam24th]

Nope, Im actually from NC. and go to school there.

[HandyMan1959]

Years ago I bought a former city pick-up truck for $75 and used 6 cans of KMart blue spray paint to paint it. Kept It for a year and a half untill the transmission went out and sold it for $50. It worked but didn't look as nice as your jeep.

[kmatsushita]

nicely done

[FiveEven]

Great instructable! I am planning on buying and customizing a meter maid like vehicle or a utility vehicle of some sort. The paint job looks great and professional. I'll be using this in the future! Thanks.

[silveravnt]

The truck looks great. I'm thinking about doing this to my old VW.

When you wash before painting be sure to get ALL the wax off.

[jackfaciale]

you didn put any varnish to protect it ?

[Pink&BlueDesigns]

I have a 95 Jeek Cherokee Sport that has the original paint still. It's super scratched. I recently installed my own camo headliner. I think this is amazing! I would love to give this a shot. Not to be a copy cat, but that color and your zombie stickers are just my style! Of course I will have to add my own personal touches, but this is now on my project list! Kudos for the awesome instructabe!

[aussi001]

nice job dude! Looks real pro, and love the added numvers, etc.
Well done!

[htmlinc]

Very Cool! Do a search in google images for "F-Bomb", another cool olive ride. I am (_) this close to doing this but I have a nice paint job. Thanks for sharing!

[martzsam]

Next step...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DARPA_Grand_Challenge

[radagast]

the 'umbrella' licence plate is a good touch haha, looks awesome

[l8nite]

you took a plain jane/run of the mill. jeep and made it your own ^5. It looks bad to the bone ! I recently bought my 85 ranger 4x4 off craigslist for $600.00, I sold the extra set of tires and rims for $175, after buying a new hood, paint (for the hood) and a seatcover, Im in the truck for $500.00 ! I had originall intended to do something like you did but they had already given the truck a quickly paint job and it actually looks to nice to mess with = ( Check out the funky tailgate ! I added a piece of wire shelving to keep stuff from flying out ..

[ac1D]

Add two or three coat of CLEAR on it, about five cans will do. You will have a paint just like any professional paint. It just wont last long.