Freedom Panel Fade

DirtHeadDavis said:
I saw that thanks, definitely pricey though.

Forgive me though I'm not very educated on automotive finishes, should I in fact actually repaint the affected area? It's faded, not necessarily stripped of its paint. Or is that the same? Should I restore it rather than repaint it? I'm just worried about it looking uneven among the rest of the hardtop's finish since just that spot will be fresh.
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You're getting 13.5oz vs Mopar 5oz so it's actually cheaper but in my experience with Mopar paint, out of the 10 cans of spray paint I bought to touch up some body spots on the red JKU, then the hardtop and bought JLU blue to color match a project I made for the JLU, every one of the cans sputtered or sprayed so heavy it built up on the nozzle. I bet I wasted more than I used because of shitty nozzles or the can compression failed before running out of paint - and yep, ended up with shitty paint jobs I had to redo.

It's the same process for touch up as it is painting; prep is most important, a light sanding to take off any existing sheen and degrease it, I used dawn dish soap, dry really well. I used canned air (I don't have a compressor) to blow out any water from the gutters, crevices, etc... to make sure it's fully dry.

Repaint and feather to the edges for a blend or repaint the entire top if you want to put in the prep work.

Light coats, 10-minute dry between coats then clear coat for UV protection.

There are 2 color codes for the hardtop, RXF jet black and HCX black which looks like it has more shine like the body paint matched black hardtop.

Autopaint sends a test paint sample from the can you receive and has space on the test card to create your own color match test in case you need to return or exchange before spraying the entire hardtop.
 
jeeeep said:
You're getting 13.5oz vs Mopar 5oz so it's actually cheaper but in my experience with Mopar paint, out of the 10 cans of spray paint I bought to touch up some body spots on the red JKU, then the hardtop and bought JLU blue to color match a project I made for the JLU, every one of the cans sputtered or sprayed so heavy it built up on the nozzle. I bet I wasted more than I used because of shitty nozzles or the can compression failed before running out of paint - and yep, ended up with shitty paint jobs I had to redo.

It's the same process for touch up as it is painting; prep is most important, a light sanding to take off any existing sheen and degrease it, I used dawn dish soap, dry really well. I used canned air (I don't have a compressor) to blow out any water from the gutters, crevices, etc... to make sure it's fully dry.

Repaint and feather to the edges for a blend or repaint the entire top if you want to put in the prep work.

Light coats, 10-minute dry between coats then clear coat for UV protection.

There are 2 color codes for the hardtop, RXF jet black and HCX black which looks like it has more shine like the body paint matched black hardtop.

Autopaint sends a test paint sample from the can you receive and has space on the test card to create your own color match test in case you need to return or exchange before spraying the entire hardtop.
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Thanks man! Super helpful. Didn't order anything yet but sounds like I'm better off spending like $30 more for the Auto Paint Depot which is nothing, plus it looks like they offer some packages with clear coat as well.
 
Better shots:
PSX_20230519_191834.jpg

What the hell is this? Absolutely infuriating. It seems to have worsened greatly since even posting this up.
PSX_20230519_191903.jpg

Under closer examination it appears it is flaking off across the entire two panels. Oddly the back portion over the rear end is all totally fine, just the freedom panels are affected.
PSX_20230519_191927.jpg
 
jeeeep said:
looks like the clearcoat is peeling off, bad oem paint job?
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That's what I'm thinking, I showed it to my buddy who's pretty knowledgeable in automotive finishes and he said it looks like a manufacturer defect, primarily because of that odd "S" shaped line along the panel. A few months into buying my Jeep that curvy faded line appeared and I thought nothing of it for a while. What's odd to me is the actual top itself still looks perfect. They use different paint on the freedom panels or something?
 
DirtHeadDavis said:
That's what I'm thinking, I showed it to my buddy who's pretty knowledgeable in automotive finishes and he said it looks like a manufacturer defect, primarily because of that odd "S" shaped line along the panel. A few months into buying my Jeep that curvy faded line appeared and I thought nothing of it for a while. What's odd to me is the actual top itself still looks perfect. They use different paint on the freedom panels or something?
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It looks more like an underlying issue with the panels themselves, such as decomposition of the fiberglass resin. The paint on top has lost its support and is being undermined.
 
Below is the new sky view roof I bought from Amazon. Putco brand. Never heard of them before but I liked that they have a better view out than the clearlidz.
If you decide to get new freedom panels you may wanna check this out instead.

 
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