painting rocker panels

1995 xj with crappy black decal on rocker panels. It also has those rubber strips but I took them off. Anyway I've fallen in love with this textured black spray paint from Home Depot/Lowes, etc. on my mirrors, wiper arms, and bumpers. I want to paint my rocker panels but I think i need to remove the decal because I don't think the paint will stick otherwise.

Anyway, should I just scuff it up with sandpaper or a wire brush, or must I remove the decal material? If so, how should I remove it...xylene?

Do it right. Remove the stickers and scuff the paint.

ROOK1 said:

Do it right. Remove the stickers and scuff the paint.

Click to expand...

X2, don't paint over any decals or stickers.

My Cheif has black decals on the lower doors and rockers as well. I am cutting out the entire rocker to put in sliders so that area is taken care of. I actually have two strips on my lower doors. I am taking off the smaller one with a razor blade and then some spray adheasive remover. I think I am going to try paint remover on the large lower decal. Otherwise, I might try a heat gun.

Heat gun is the way to go, I've used it to delogo a couple of company vehicles that had decals all over them.

:hijack: thanks, I guess I will skip all the other crap and try the heat gun. Took me an hour just to remove the three thin strips on one side of the jeep.

wow, ok heat gun it is...i won't start this for a few weeks but I'll let you all know how it turns out.

Bushwacker cut-outs are the shiat!!! my 33" tires look small now...

I'd like to throw another option in here for you to think about. Your rocker panels take more abuse than the other parts of your xj. Consider using herculiner instead of spray paint. I removed my cheesy rubber molding off my 96 sport and scuffed the area, cleaned with acetone and taped it off to create a clean upper line. For $30 I bought a quart of the bedliner and covered not only the panel but tied it in to the fender flares as well to give a great and very durable look that also has texture. It's rock proof and a little soundproof as well. The quart allowed me to put three coats on the areas discussed and then I threw the brush away. Xylene cleans any mistakes if used quickly and be careful not to be sloppy. Twenty minutes per coat and thirty minutes between coats weather permitting. Happy to email you a pic of finished look if you want.