10 day "mini makeover" project on Yukon- New guy here

[BuckBrush]

Hello all. I had mentioned on a different thread I would make a post of the "mini makeover" on my 2014 XL Denali. Its my wife's main DD and we live on gravel so it has had a rough few years, Rockers and lower doors/wheel wells are all rock chipped and starting to get a bit of surface rust, rims are peeling, windshield is smashed, brakes are squeeling and fake chrome is peeling/pitted. It was a long Alberta winter for this poor girl.


I had 10 days off and planned to spend most of that time on this thing. Obviously having to use some of that time for other commitments.

Here are some before pictures. Hopefully this works..







I removed everything I could get to and prepped for paint/primer. I took all rock chips down to bare metal and used an etching sealant. On the chrome (and fake chrome) I used 80 grit and roughed up then sprayed with two part epoxy primer before using color matched paint or Raptor liner. I used a 2k clear after any paint.

Without getting into too much detail, here is what I have done...

-Raptor lined bottom and outer frame rails and rocker bottoms, roof rails, rear trim, both bumpers and bottom of body, lower door jams and bottom inside of doors. I also removed the alum "Denali" sill inserts and lined them too.

-Removed and repaired rear applique (stripped bolts)

-New brake pads all around

-Rear wiper delete (we never use it as it scratches the window with our dirt)

- 1.5" rear and 2" front level

- New Drag links

-Removed air dam

-Color match and 2k clear- grill, grill surround, top trim and door handles

-New windshield (I had this done at a shop)

-new 18x9 rims with 275 70r18 cooper tires

 

[BuckBrush]

I can't delete those two bottom pictures I added again. Dang.

Here is one of the only in progress pics I took...

 

[BuckBrush]

This is where I'm at now, still need to do a full clay, cut and polish as the paint is pretty rough up close.

 

[VDV18]

Looks good. Knowing where you live, have you ever considered doing the entire vehicle in the liner material? I've seen this done a few times and it really does look pretty slick.

 

[BuckBrush]

I did think of doing the whole thing but this is still our "going to town" vehicle so I didn't go too far. I feel like doing the whole vehicle looks better on lifted offroad vehicles. I do have a Cummins on 35's that I'm thinking of doing the whole body on.

One other snag in this project, one night around 11pm I pulled the Yukon out into the yard so I could spray the bumpers in the garage. Well, I lost oil pressure. Luckily it was just the sending unit and screen but it was a two hour trip the next day to town for a sending unit.

 

[OR VietVet]

Hopefully you did the screen with the oil sender. If I did not say before, welcome to the forum from Oregon.

I like the look for sure. Key thing here is, what does the wife think of the new look?

 

[BuckBrush]

Hopefully you did the screen with the oil sender. If I did not say before, welcome to the forum from Oregon.

I like the look for sure. Key thing here is, what does the wife think of the new look?

Yes I did the screen also, it was pretty much completely plugged off. Seems to have fixed the issue.

The wife loves it. The pictures I posted are a couple of days old and I have it back in the garage. I'm back working now so I have been claying, compounding, polishing and sealing a section at a time in the evenings after work so she's getting restless, wanting to drive it.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Also, if I did not say it before, welcome to the Forum from NH.

Lots of knowledgeable folks here who freely share their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. Knowledge is power.

I hope that you will become a participating member in the Forum's discussions.

Great work on your truck, so far. You did a crap load of work in 10 days.

 

[Sparksalot]

This is where I'm at now, still need to do a full clay, cut and polish as the paint is pretty rough up close.

View attachment 277223 View attachment 277222 View attachment 277221

That looks awesome. How difficult was it to spray the raptor liner?

 

[BuckBrush]

That looks awesome. How difficult was it to spray the raptor liner?

Spraying wasn't hard at all, much easier than paint. When it first dried there were faint lines in it, that kind of freaked me out because I hate that about liner paint jobs but once it dried it was perfectly uniform with no lines. I pulled masking after an hour and it pulled clean with no lifting.