I Raptor (Spray) Lined an Entire JT! (Pictures & Video)

[Terminus33]

To Raptor Line a full exterior including the disassembly, prep, prime, and paint it's about $3,500 with material and labor. It's tough to say exactly because I really have only done this for close friends and I did a lot on this JT for no charge on labor like the retrofit, bumper install (I know that's super simple anyhow), etc. Check out the video if you'd like and if you have the time and you'll see I really spent some time on the tape and prep which is where most of the labor hours come from. That being said, this is why I really want to start a business and open up a shop so I can start doing projects like this more in a controlled environment and be able to give people an accurate timeframe for something like this.

Don't sell yourself short on honest work. I know it might seem like a super simple task but its because you have the skills and knowledge to make it a simple task that and the time it takes to do said task is worth compensation. Your prerogative to charge less for a friend and family benefit but I have found being fair and charging accordingly but providing a meticulous "white glove" treatment to all work done will be a greater value to those friends/family.

A little story I have always been told and remember it well, which is why I know quality costs.

A giant ship engine failed. The ship’s owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine.

Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a young. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom.

Two of the ship’s owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed!

A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars.

“What?!” the owners exclaimed. “He hardly did anything!”


So they wrote the old man a note saying, “Please send us an itemized bill.”


The man sent a bill that read:

Tapping with a hammer………………….. $ 2.00

Knowing where to tap…………………….. $ 9,998.00

*Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort makes all the difference!

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[DBravo]

The other week, I was reminded of why the Jeep community can't be topped by any other. I was working on my rig Jeep WK, and at the time, my neighbor was having construction done to his home. An employee walked over and asked me who painted my Jeep and I told him that I had done it a few years back and explained to him what type of paint it was. We spoke for a while and he mentioned that he had a brand new JT ordered that was in a shop getting a Mopar lift installed alongside new wheels and tires and by the end of the conversation, he trusted me enough to ask me if I would be willing to paint his brand new Gladiator and I was more than happy to accept! Less than a week later, it was in my driveway with 150 miles on it and ready for its overhaul!

Here she was the day I got it!

Lining the rig wasn't the only thing he wanted to be done since he had ordered a new bumper that was sitting in the bed of the truck that I told him I would be happy to install. You can also see that he has an aftermarket hood and I had requested that when he installed it to leave the plastic inserts out to save me some time. Not only that, but I was also going to do a projector retrofit to his OEM halogen headlights since I have been doing headlights for the better part of five years. ?

I'm no stranger to Raptor Lining and have been doing it to entire vehicles and truck beds for years and I even worked with U-POL for the original video that I released on my channel covering how I lined my Jeep WK. In between years at college, I worked at Line-X and it was there that I decided to Raptor my vehicle since quickly found that if you want something done right, the only way to ensure it's done so is to do it yourself! I've learned a lot by doing many projects over the years and I didn't cut any corners here treating the rig as if it were my own and began by removing everything off of the JT. Raptor Liner is a thick paint and it is paramount that everything is removed to achieve the best results and that includes weather stripping around the doors! The details are all in my video linked at the bottom.

Everything that wasn't being painted was placed back into the cabin awaiting reinstallation.

There are a lot of methods that help you keep yourself organized when disassembling vehicles and I opted to use plastic bags and label them. Something I've done over the years is to place even the clips I break into these bags so that when I order replacements, I know where the original clip broke from. This was particularly useful on the clips that hold the flares to the fenders.

You can see in that picture the compressor that I use and for reference, it's a 30-gallon Industrial Air unit. A 30-gallon is the minimum capacity for a compressor that I would recommend you use to line a vehicle, but any 6 HP compressor that generates 150 PSI line pressure should provide sufficient air supply, but is dependent on the application equipment/gun (Shultz type or gravity feed HVLP) used to apply the Raptor.

Here's the rig with everything removed!

After everything was removed, I painfully masked off every surface. Anywhere that I could, I used the rolls of plastic to cover large areas, but be sure not to tear them during the process. I like to buy rolls of FrogTape in various thicknesses to ensure I have tape for straight lines and curves. Using high-quality tape is another easy way to avoid choppy lines just like removing weather stripping.

We're almost there! Now we have to prepare the surface for Raptor's epoxy primer. This is typically a pretty brutal process in itself and I have done previous projects with an orbital sander but found that I'd go through so much sandpaper and the tool would let me down on any curved surface which happens to be many areas on most vehicles. I'd end up just sanding so many areas by hand and taking a ton of additional time for this step. For this project, I got my hands on an Eastwood SCT and I can't begin to explain how much I regret not getting one sooner. The SCT, or surface conditioning tool, made quick work of the entire Jeep with their drums that conform to and uniformly sand any surface. You can swap out drums quickly depending on the surface that you're working on including wire brushes for rust, buffing drums for polishing, thinner drums for tighter areas, etc. I can't recommend this tool enough if you plan on lining your bed or vehicle or if you just need to prep a surface for painting in general. I will say that if you do use it, it does go through paint leaving bare metal and I would not do this if you don't plan on using the epoxy primer prior to Raptor Liner as Raptor does not do as well adhering to bare metal.

While the primer dried, I worked on the headlights! I will create another post on this and won't go over all of the details here, but for anyone interested, I could not bake the headlights open and had to cut them contrary to some other posts that I have seen floating around. I installed a set of Morimoto Mini D2s 4.0s which are 3" projectors to better fill out the large area of the JT's headlight housings. These are bi-xenon as many projectors are meaning that they remain the low and high-beam as the OEM setup was with the halogen bulbs. I installed Profile Pivot halos and demon eyes that were all controllable with the Morimoto Bluetooth controller via a phone! And yes, that is Raptor inside of the headlights! It's important to understand that Raptor softens at 212 degrees Fahrenheit, so I installed bolt-on vents in the rear and tested the temps when I sealed them back up. Using a 35W ballast, temps stayed well below the threshold and I was comfortable that the Raptor would last.

I had unfortunately knocked over my Fujifilm X-T4 while filming the application of the last coat of Raptor and broke the only lens that I had for it since I just got it at the time. I ended up having to meet back up with the owner a few weeks after and the pictures that are shown below so it's a little covered in salt, but it still looks badass!

The process from start to finish took me two and a half weeks to complete, but that includes the projector retrofit. I used 16 liters to complete the job equaling four gallons if you're looking at the kits although I did not line the bed as the owner had Line-X installed before I got it. If you're interested in any other details and seeing the complete job done from beginning to end, I filmed the process and ended up taking the 20+ hours of footage and put it together into a 20-minute video on my channel. I would love to hear any feedback on the video and see what you guys think! Would you do this to your rig?

Killer job - definitely personalized now!

 

[My Jeep Story]

Don't sell yourself short on honest work. I know it might seem like a super simple task but its because you have the skills and knowledge to make it a simple task that and the time it takes to do said task is worth compensation. Your prerogative to charge less for a friend and family benefit but I have found being fair and charging accordingly but providing a meticulous "white glove" treatment to all work done will be a greater value to those friends/family.

A little story I have always been told and remember it well, which is why I know quality costs.

A giant ship engine failed. The ship’s owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine.

Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a young. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom.

Two of the ship’s owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed!

A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars.

“What?!” the owners exclaimed. “He hardly did anything!”


So they wrote the old man a note saying, “Please send us an itemized bill.”


The man sent a bill that read:

Tapping with a hammer………………….. $ 2.00

Knowing where to tap…………………….. $ 9,998.00

*Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort makes all the difference!

I've definitely had a hard time with this over the years as I've grown in the Jeep community. A big part of me feels the need to pay it forward since, in the early years of owning my Jeep, I had a lot of people take time out of their day to similar things for me and I've grown to appreciate the help I've gotten more and more. That passion developed so much and with everything I learned studying mechanical engineering, I know I need to open up a shop and continue to do what I love and it's this. In doing so, I'll remember what you said (even though monthly rent will remind me) and I really appreciate the advice. Thanks for taking the time to write the story, I'll certainly keep that in my back pocket.

Killer job - definitely personalized now!

You can definitely say its' unique! I'm glad the owner loves it, I always support people's drive to be different and create something they love.

 

[Gren71]

And to think i only wanted to do the fenders...ffs man...ya hit me right in my wallet


I love it

 

[My Jeep Story]

And to think i only wanted to do the fenders...ffs man...ya hit me right in my wallet


I love it

Once you get the hang of this stuff, it's hard not to coat everything Just let me know if I can offer any help if you decide to take on the project.

 

[Troybilt]

It the final outcome looks as good as it does in the pic and video I would say you are tossing away $500-$800 per job. I use to sell myself short also. Great job young man.

 

[My Jeep Story]

It the final outcome looks as good as it does in the pic and video I would say you are tossing away $500-$800 per job. I use to sell myself short also. Great job young man.

I would say that it looks as good as the pictures and video, but I'd be lying- it looks better I'm just messing around and am really proud of the work. My first Raptor paint job didn't come out nearly this good and I'm confident that this work will last the life of the Jeep. Thanks for taking the time to check out the video too, I'll remember all of this feedback when I open shop.

You guys are all seriously awesome and I'm glad everyone enjoyed the post as I really enjoyed Raptor Lining the Jeep. I look forward to meeting anyone willing to see the shop when it opens and I'll always be around here if people just need help or advice before tackling the job themselves.

 

[CivilJeep]

Not a modification I would do, but completely respect the skill and craftsmanship. Well done!

 

[My Jeep Story]

Not a modification I would do, but completely respect the skill and craftsmanship. Well done!

Thank you very much! It's definitely not for everyone and it's quite the commitment, to say the least. Thanks for looking and I appreciate the honesty!

 

[Mac Attack]

Thank you very much! It's definitely not for everyone and it's quite the commitment, to say the least. Thanks for looking and I appreciate the honesty!

Great job! Yes, I would do it...but would not tackle by myself. Good luck in your career. Hey, what about a job at Picatinny?

 

[My Jeep Story]

Great job! Yes, I would do it...but would not tackle by myself. Good luck in your career. Hey, what about a job at Picatinny?

Crazy you say that, when I'm back in NJ I play men's league hockey with my dad every week and one of the players works at Picatinny too. He speaks really highly of his line of work there and I genuinely think it would be a great fit for me. As of now though, I'm currently living in Boston and am only in NJ a week out of every month.

After college, I had a job offer from Borgwarner (yes I know, we'd all be benefiting from discounted turbos) that was unfortunately revoked due to COVID circumstances. When I got the job, my girlfriend of four years supported my offer and got a job local to mine to get her patient contact hours in Boston. I took my lost job offer as a sign to take a step and try and start my own business since throughout my entire life, this is what I've seen myself doing. In the beginning, I hope to earn capital via custom work like Raptor Lining vehicles, installing aftermarket parts, retrofitting projectors in headlights, etc, and in a few years, I want to use my knowledge in engineering to start designing aftermarket parts.

That being said, I understand this is all a risk but I'm really hopeful and confident in taking it.

 

[My Jeep Story]

After college, I had a job offer from Borgwarner (yes I know, we'd all be benefiting from discounted turbos) that was unfortunately revoked due to COVID circumstances. When I got the job, my girlfriend of four years supported my offer and got a job local to mine to get her patient contact hours in Boston.

If you got a chance to take a look at the video I posted at the beginning of this thread, the girl I'm referring to is the same one in the video! She's awesome and has always supported me and I was happy to have her in the video even if only for a few seconds.

 

[Bbannongmu]

Awesome job. Sub’d on YouTube! Thanks for posting this.

 

[Mac Attack]

Crazy you say that, when I'm back in NJ I play men's league hockey with my dad every week and one of the players works at Picatinny too. He speaks really highly of his line of work there and I genuinely think it would be a great fit for me. As of now though, I'm currently living in Boston and am only in NJ a week out of every month.

After college, I had a job offer from Borgwarner (yes I know, we'd all be benefiting from discounted turbos) that was unfortunately revoked due to COVID circumstances. When I got the job, my girlfriend of four years supported my offer and got a job local to mine to get her patient contact hours in Boston. I took my lost job offer as a sign to take a step and try and start my own business since throughout my entire life, this is what I've seen myself doing. In the beginning, I hope to earn capital via custom work like Raptor Lining vehicles, installing aftermarket parts, retrofitting projectors in headlights, etc, and in a few years, I want to use my knowledge in engineering to start designing aftermarket parts.

That being said, I understand this is all a risk but I'm really hopeful and confident in taking it.

Have a brother that lives in Framingham...may be able to stop by your business, when I'm up there.

 

[Mac Attack]

If you got a chance to take a look at the video I posted at the beginning of this thread, the girl I'm referring to is the same one in the video! She's awesome and has always supported me and I was happy to have her in the video even if only for a few seconds.

Great video...subscribed...that girl is a keeper...don't throw her back...you must have her fooled pretty good. Keep us informed of your business; maybe we can work out something with lining my Jeep in the future. Take Care.

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