Added new 4x4 to the family. Not a Nissan, but I had to share. Lots of pics!

[bmlawless]

The wife and I have wanted one of these for a while. Despite what people say, some of us Realtors are doing OK so we decided to buy one as a really early Christmas present. It's a 1997 with 71,000 miles and a 4-cyl 4-spd. the only problem with it is that the oil pressure gauge reads zero occasionally. We had our mechanic do a manual pressure test to make sure that is was just a gauge issue. We paid $4,500 for it. Sorry for so many pics, but I spent all day detailing it yesterday so I included a lot of before and after pics.

First photo of Jeep with the dogs. The frame was covered with mud so I knocked a bunch of it loose with a pry bar in my driveway and then drive it up a rough road to this overlook.

Here's a nice photo of it all cleaned up.

Another shot of it looking spiffy.

This is a before shot of the dash. The interior of this Jeep was disgusting!

This is an after shot. I still need to remove the vent and speaker grill to wash them. The vent is broken anyway so it needs to be replaced.

This is the floor under the carpet. The entire floor looked like this, but there was no rust anywhere.

I was going to wash it out, but it looked good after brushing it with a stiff plastic brush, vacuuming it, and wiping it with a damp cloth.

Before shot of the controls.

After shot.

The center console was nasty.

It took a ton of cleaner, water, and wiping to get the cup holders cleaned out.

This is the carpets before they were cleaned. The shotgun shell cracked my up. You never know what you will get when you buy a Jeep from a Marine!

After a half gallon of Simple Green, scrubbing with a stiff plastic brush, and a fair amount of time with a high-pressure washer, these are the carpets now!

This is the engine. Mostly dry mud, but not much grease or oil.

An after shot of the engine. I soaked it with Simple Green and treated it with Armor All tire foam. I wasn't patient enough with the Simple Green and there is still some mud. I will probably hit it again in the future.

This is the fenders and bumper corners. They are all faded from neglect.

I treated the fenders using a great trick I learned. Using a heat gun, the fenders, will turn back to their original condition. I then gave them a coating of 303 Aerospace Protectant to keep them pretty.

Another shot of the fenders. The side step was unaffected by the heat treatment. I blasted it with 303, but I know from experience that it will fade again in a couple of weeks.

The windows were scratched and stained from cigarette smoke. I cleaned them using Flightjacket plexiglass cleaner used for airplanes because it doesn't leave a film or scratch.

Another picture of the windows.

[fueler]

wow you cleaned it up nicely, good work

[Qxxx4]

hey man great detail job! my parents land rover has that issue with the fenders....so you just use it on them? how far away? will it damage paint?

[bmlawless]

hey man great detail job! my parents land rover has that issue with the fenders....so you just use it on them? how far away? will it damage paint?

Using the heat gun is pretty simple. I just bought a $10 one from Harbor Freight. According to the box, the high setting will reach 1125 degrees Fahrenheit. I tried the low setting (575F) and it was almost impossible to get the plastic to change. I just held it about 1/2"-1" away from the plastic and as soon as it starts to turn black, you start moving it. It is pretty amazing, it's almost like painting them. I initially used one of the propane torches that you can buy at Home depot and it worked even faster, but I was worried about things getting too hot.

As far as the paint, I didn't have a problem anywhere and I am usually the type to screw that sort of thing up. When I got close to the body, I tried to hold the gun vertical so it wasn't shooting directly at the paint. Once you see how quickly the plastic changes color, you'll realize that you probably won't harm the paint since you won't be close to it for more than a second or two.

When I looked at the flares today in direct sunlight, there were a lot of what I would describe as blotches where you could see that I wasn't consistent with the heat. Some places looked really good while others looked sort bad. Everything is black, but some places have more shine than others. I started on it in the late afternoon into early evening on a cool day (55F). If I did it again, I would do it in good light on a warm day. That would allow me to see the fenders better and I also think that they would heat more uniformly if they were already warm from sitting in the sun. I would also spend a lot more time going back over areas I had hit.

I noticed something interesting yesterday. I attempted to go over an area that I had hit with the torch and the surface would not change. I have a feeling that once the plastic completely cools and "cures", you can't smooth it out. I will try and go over mine again, but I want to wait for the 303 to wear off a little bit.

Hear are a couple of you tube videos demonstrating the technique.

Here's one on a Jeep. I went faster than this guy which is probably my problem. I also went side to side rather than lengthwise. I wish I had done it this way.http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw0cWfTZ_dA&NR=1

This one is going to come out really blotchy is they don't go over it again.http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=...lated

[Qxxx4]

interesting idea. but no way in hell are we putting a 500+F heat gun to a 2003 land rover. lmfao! ah well thanks tho

[ReKleineR]

Very nice! I was gonna get a wrangler X before I bought my pathy, but I didn't end up gettin it cause I have fat friends... Just kidding but seriously I needed more room for golf clubs and a bunch of girls I find on corners. Thats a joke too. But you cleaned that thing up nice

[KoukiS14]

CONGRATS!!!!!!! I love Wranglers. I've always wanted one.

[Qxxx4]

are u kidding me girls love wranglers....they play on the roll cage like money bars.....i think your picking up fat chicks my friend. lol

the r50's do have great room but for a dedicated off roader the jeep is by far amazing. its short and easy to manouver and can take a beating. my dad had one back in '88 and it was his favourite car by far, evn though he owned it for only about six months.....i was a baby and mom wanted something safer so they got a 2door 1990 grand prix gt...LOL

all the best for your new addition to the family, btw thats a very cool colour!! ive never seen it before