Clearcoat

I'm in the process of painting my Jeep OD green. Would it be worth it to get it professionally clearcoated? I really don't like the way rattlecan clearcoat looks, and I like the flat look to the OD, but it'd be nice if it were more scratch resistant. Any ideas? Personal advice/experiences?

A guy on one of my local boards laughed at me when I asked him how much it would be to clearcoat it(he works for a car paint shop) and said not to even bother if I rattlecanned it. I just don't really want to have to repaint the whole thing in 2 years.

thanks,
Mike

it should not be hard to find a shop to clear it, even in a flat clear. but you need to discuss with them about compatibility of materials{may be why that guy laughed at you}.

If you want it shiny and to look a little better than spray can you could prep everything yourself and ask a shop to shoot it with a single stage. No clear, but nice and shiny. Cheeper than base/clear. Maaco might even do it for a couple hundred bucks...

The point of OD green is to have a non reflective paint surface. It is easy to touch up, just knock off the dirt and squirt on some more.

If you want something similar, IIRC JEEP offered a recent model of the Wranger that looked like an army jeep. It had a regular paint job and the color was similar to olive drab.

Clearcoat or color paint, you are going to pay the same price to have it painted. Most shops won't touch a job like that because they had no control over the prep job and the interaction of the 2 types of paint is unknown. You might end up with more wrinkles on your XJ than my dear old Aunt Edna has.

here's an idea. for a great non reflective surface and very durable, hit the exterior with some bed liner!