Hey there, I'm pretty new here, bought my VX about a month & half ago, after selling my '09 FJ... baby on the way, needed to buy wifey something more "family", so i figured since i was going the used route for myself, i'd check to see if my all time favorite was available, and here i am!
It's a '99 Astral, 104k. Was bone stock, badly neglected and smoker for sure before me...gross!
anyway, first thing i did was totally clean out the interior of stains n bogey odor. next was a complete tune up, including:
timing
water pump
plugs & wires
bulb replacements lol
new stereo n 4 new speakers
oil change, duh
brakes all around
i'm givin her the love and attention she never had!
anyway, so i also recently put new wheels and tires on her:
16" REBEL RACING Outlaw II, no offset, wrapped in BFG Mud Terrain KM2
looks like a moon rover cause i have not added a lift, just cranked the torsion bars n did some simple trimming with a wiz wheel n a few shots with a mallet, all good...
OK, so FINALLY!!!! the cladding!
i only told u all that cause i figure maybe u want a lil description of my truck n how serious i am about it being cared for, especially since it will be toating a newborn in 1 month!
After getting it to run perfect, n adding the wheels n stereo, something was still not right.... the damn cladding just looked all faded n old.
so i did some research on this forum n found someone who mentioned GATORBACK restoring spray. It is a finish, not like an armorall, temp fix.
So i went to their sight, http://gatorbackcoatings.com/ and ordered some cans of the stuff.
First of all, don't do what i did and order the recommened amount for a Chevy Avalanche lol, which is 8 cans...... i sprayed the entire VX and mirrors, 2 solid coats with 4 cans.
It comes in 3 different colors, from light grey-black. i went with black because i figured it would go good with the wheels i put on, i ws right, it's freakin awesome!
i also figured that the grey colors available would just look like faded black cladding, which is what i had to start with...
So now i needed some time to get this job done. I am a tattoo artist, i work all day everyday, with almost no free time to "play" with toys, especially with this baby coming FAST!
But luckily, waiting for a day just like yesterday, with my first client being a shop regular, and wussing out after only an hour of tattooing, and me keeping the cans of gatorback in my truck, the oportunity presented itself, so i jumped on it!
I had 3 hours between now n my next appointment, so me and my client/friend went out back and got to work, right in the parking lot.
I was gonna go all out and completely remove the cladding, but after reading some threads and realizing i had no place to put it, i opted for a complete, thorough masking job. GREAT choice, btw. removing the cladding is completely unnecessary, even for a professional job, keep reading and i will explain:
I have always been into art, and have had alot of experience with paints, spray paints, masking, all that artsy crap, all u ex-quarterbacks are cringing right now, i know.... well it really came in handy, because this was one of the easiest paint jobs i have ever done!
1.Remove all torx heads (T30)
2. Remove all front bumper lenses and rear corner lenses. headlight and tail light removal is completely not necessary.
3. Gas cover removal, p.s my buddy did this part, but left without putting it back on so i don't now where those 2 parts go, someone help?
4.Start Masking!
5. I used blue painter's tape with a roll of brown masking paper, which can both be found at any hardware or art store.
6. With the torx heads removed, yer buddy can pull the cladding away from the body just enough to slide the tape behind it, making for complete protection and complete exposed cladding.
7. Now the main reason my buddy stuck around to help me was cause he said that anything that comes out of a can is a complete failure.... well he was wrong and actually admitted it at the end. He was shocked!
8. So then u just spray the cladding! I started at the front passenger side panel and worked each panel with a complete solid coat and then moved on the the next panel working towards the back and around the back, making sure to try n keep the overspray off of the other panels.
9. after 1 coat you could already see how good it was looking, but 2 coats was definitely the way to go. The second coat was applied about 10 minutes later, the stuff dries really fast.
10. So that's pretty much it. Remove the tape and masking after it dries about 20 minutes, put all the parts back on and stand back in awe.
You're done.
The whole procedure, start to finish, took 2 1/2 hours, the masking is the most time consuming, but it's the part that really matters!
Gatorback is DEFINITELY the way to go, easy, affordable and effective!
Damn! my appointment is here and i don't know how to post pics for u guys! somebody help me with that so i can show u how good it came out! My Bad!
It's like gettin a girl all naked and then she says she has to be home by 12.....blue to the bizzalls
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What does DOPE mean these days?
Originally Posted by vt_maverick
reaser around, and probably exactly what is in the gatorback brand prepper, for a lot less money.......