Durabak project progress (PICS)

[unrealtrip]

Well, I got the first 2 coats of Durabak down on the XJ today. Will finish off with another two coats tomorrow. I wanted to continue but it was just getting too dark to realistically keep going. So far I'm pretty happy with the results.

At first I was using sandpaper, after a while I was like f-that and I got out the wire wheel for my drill.

The shiny spots are where I had to completely polish out some rust spots. Thanks to the passenger floor having been totally underwater, there was a lot more to deal with than I suspected.

All ready to be washed down.

First I used the shop vac, then hit it with some air to blow away all the fine dust.

With acetone and Icee in hand I'm ready to roll.

I didn't feel like taking these out so I took the lazy approach.

 

[unrealtrip]

Masking off the areas I want to keep clean.

Using a drill bit attachment, you can get a nice even mixture.

Waiting for the next few coats

You need to pull your masking off after the second coat. I'll have to redo it tomorrow when I continue.

Note the color difference between the last two shots. The real color is somewhere in between, it was totally dark by the time I could take those pics and the first was with flash, the second was with my work light, but it casts a weird glow.

Anyway, there you have it. I'll wrap it up tomorrow, finish routing my wires, put the seats and trim back and get some more pictures.

 

[XbajajeepX]

looks great so far.

 

[NoCoastFocus]

That looks like a whole lot of work, but it is coming along nicely. Good job.

 

[unrealtrip]

Thanks, yeah the prep work takes a lot of time. I can't wait to get my trim and console back in there. I've had it all out for the last few weeks. I just got finished wrapping the downpipe and making a heat shield for the muffler so I could get on with this project.

 

[93_xj]

Are you planning on reinstalling carpet?

I would like to hurculine my interior, but I would want to reinstall new carpet.

Anyone know where they sell cheap replacement carpets for pre 97 XJs?

 

[unrealtrip]

Are you planning on reinstalling carpet?

I would like to hurculine my interior, but I would want to reinstall new carpet.

Anyone know where they sell cheap replacement carpets for pre 97 XJs?

Well my carpet got pretty much destroyed, so if I was to do carpet, I'd be putting in something aftermarket. The cheapest I've seen was somewhere around $250-$300, I think it was like $400 or so off of quadratec.

I decided to just run the durabak and floor mats, which actually works out well too because of the snow/mud/etc that gets tracked in. There was a link floating around for a while for that cheaper place but I don't know what I did with it.

 

[rehab]

looks good, let us know how it holds up!

 

[jrowell]

You sure did a great job at staging those photos! No text needed with those!

 

[aparke4]

nice good prep work goes a long way... nice that the color matches too just put in some small drain holes and you can hose it out no prob thats what i do with mine anyways! nice work

 

[SteveT]

Don't mix up your ICEE and your acetone. Both are very useful, but not at all interchangable.

 

[WVXJ]

www.stockinteriors.com

They had a nice price last time I checked, i think they have vinyl too.
I plan on sealing mine up with something like the durabak, looks good by the way, and then putting some carpet or vinyl on top of that for sound reasons. My fuel pump whines like a banshee!

 

[ddeadserious]

looks excellent, but why did you coat over the hole plugs? When I bought my XJ, the interior was herculined over the plugs, so I has to cut out the old plugs, cut new holes, and buy new plugs. It's nice to hose the interior out.

 

[Brian Strickland]

yeah i did that to my jeep last winter, it is quite a pain in the ass project. you definately prepped alot more than i did. my forest green kinda looked like a christmas tree at fist, but then once i put everything back in it mellowed it out some. mine took like 2 weeks to fully cure, there was the odor that remained inside for awhile. i guess it took alot longer to cure because i live and work on the washington coast, lots of moisture in the air. the center console will shake on you alittle without the carpet under it now, it is definately much louder on the road, but i like it.good luck.

 

[BGXJ]

did you do the rear cargo area? if so does the older model have the sound deadening material mated to the floor? kinda like dynomat? i wanna do this to my interior and i guess that has to be removed?

 

[Gaius]

What is the purpose of doing this? Are you not going to run carpet? Does it have any deadening properties?

A few of the Wrangler guys do it but it's more because they get rid of the carpet., plus an open-top Jeep.

 

[IslanderXJ]

What is the purpose of doing this? Are you not going to run carpet? Does it have any deadening properties?

A few of the Wrangler guys do it but it's more because they get rid of the carpet., plus an open-top Jeep.

Water fording, kids with sodas, girlfriends with coffee, tracking in mud, snow and sand. Just pull the drain plugs and hose it out!



What Color/Type of Durabak is that? I've got the same color interior and it seams to match really well.

 

[unrealtrip]

looks excellent, but why did you coat over the hole plugs? When I bought my XJ, the interior was herculined over the plugs, so I has to cut out the old plugs, cut new holes, and buy new plugs. It's nice to hose the interior out.

The hole plugs that aren't seam sealed open into the "frame" rail so I didn't like them. The ones that are in those grooves are a little bigger than I wanted to open up at first, but I do want holes that are in those groove areas so I can channel water out when I rinse it down. Anyway, until I could find/make a big enough plug for those holes (they are pretty big) I decided to just coat over them. I saved some of the Durabak so I can go back and recoat, plus I wanted to keep some for repairs etc.

 

[unrealtrip]

did you do the rear cargo area? if so does the older model have the sound deadening material mated to the floor? kinda like dynomat? i wanna do this to my interior and i guess that has to be removed?

I actually only did the front passenger area, and honestly if you want a good solid coat, 1 gallon of the stuff isn't enough for the whole Jeep IMO. 1 gallon is plenty for the front, but I couldn't imagine doing the entire inside with only that much.

I don't have any sound deadening material on the floor, just the bare floor (like my YJ) it is a little louder, but it isn't that big a deal at all.

 

[unrealtrip]

What is the purpose of doing this? Are you not going to run carpet? Does it have any deadening properties?

A few of the Wrangler guys do it but it's more because they get rid of the carpet., plus an open-top Jeep.

Basically doing it for the reasons mentioned by IslanderXJ. Not too long ago I knocked an entire big gulp over on the floor 44oz of Coke sloshing around while I was trying not to crash into other cars. Between spills, mud from wheeling, snow that gets tracked in, etc. It is just easier to clean. So anyway, I decided not to run carpet, but I still wanted the factory look so I'm going to keep my floormats for now.

It does have sound deadening qualities as well, the thicker you make it, the more it cuts down on noise. Not as much as carpet obviously, but since bare metal ain't too bad, I'm sure it will be fine.