Denali XL 6.2 salvage build, plates paint wrap SEMA

[JoeBlobs]

This is so awesome dude. Loving this!

 

[PeteCT]

Backyard paint day is a mess. Full stop. Starting at 3pm is basically sending a wedding invite to disaster.

Credit roll for my wife. She has her own mountain of work and still walked into the backyard with the calm of a field medic and asked if I needed help. Normal families do dinner. I handed her a second respirator and a mixing cup. Time was ticking. Truth is, I would not have finished tonight without her. Painting cars after work is my circus, but it still bites.

Sealer or not Sealer won. The old can was… alive enough. I did not want to punish the x atom 1.3 with it, so I ran to Harbor Freight, grabbed their cheap 1.4 gun, and called it good for primer duty.

Compressor is 25 (?) gallons, not 60. Backyard is not a booth. I hopscotched from wheel to rocker to rear bumper, chasing flash times and humidity. Twenty minutes later I walked the panels. Not perfect, not tragic. The matte black will hide sins and I will fix what matters on the fly.

Mixed jet black 4 1 1. The x atom is LVLP, so the paint laid nicer. First pass was an introduction coat so the panel would not cry. Fifteen minutes.

Second pass, one honest wet coat. Enough for tonight.

Clear stays capped. Tomorrow I will kiss it with 800 grit to knock down the weird. I will only clear after I shoot the sides.

I meant to glue and plastic weld Fastback wide body panels tonight. The roof and hood said no. Couch mode engaged.

Good news. Trailer company called. The hauler is ready. I will try to pick it up tomorrow. One small riddle. At 8.5 wide, threading it into the backyard is going to be a ballet. I will try anyway.

Plan

• Morning scuff with 800, fix small stuff
• Clear after the sides are locked
• If the sky behaves, start masking the lower two tone and shoot the sides in black
• Hope the trailer fits the gate
• test the video wall so the garage looks even more like a warehouse

Quiet thank you to the co pilot in a respirator who kept the clock alive.

p.s. Shoemaker’s kids, no shoes. I want to try wheels and two tone on Mods, but I still need blackout trim, proper bi color tools, and cross fit wheels unlocked. The platform needs love.

 

[PeteCT]

Chipotle in one hand, 800 grit in the other.

7am started with sandpaper therapy. Hit the sides, then doubled back to the hood. It is dead flat, so it has to be right. The rest is kinder. Paint laid okay for an intro coat plus one real pass. Plan is to finish the red on the sides and bumpers, then circle back and close out the black. I will stage everything tonight so I can spray at 6 or 7am before work. If the clock fights me, black moves to the next morning. Painting at night is a horror genre.

Trailer day was an episode. 18 feet long, 8.5 wide, tall like a billboard. The truck is not ready and the X5 is feisty but not born for this. I called a flatbed.

I do not recommend this method. An 18 footer barely fit. A 20 would never. At 8.5 wide, the tires rode 20 percent on the deck and 80 percent hanging off. I was sure it would step off and belly flop. It did not. Gratitude to friction.

Unload was a show. You can yank a trailer onto a bed. Getting it off is a negotiation. Half the block had to wait 15 minutes while we did geometry in public. I am sure they blessed me and the red box loudly in their heads.
It is parked on the driveway for now. Once I sort the hitch, it moves to the backyard. That will be a comedy special.

Tonight after work

• Mask the sides for red
• Pull front and rear lights
• Probably remove window trim, even if I do not want to
• Stage guns, cups, strainers, tack cloths so morning me can just spray

Back to tape and podcasts.

p.s. By the time I sat down to post this, Harbor Freight stole my after work window. Hitch, locks, cups, strainers, ten tiny things you only remember at the register. I shopped my way into darkness.

Masking tomorrow. Friday we keep painting the Yukon.
Silver lining. The trailer is here, so I can color match for real. If the Yukon red lands lighter, I will whisper in some jet black and pull it into the pocket.

 

[PeteCT]

Masked the Yukon again last night. Deja vu on purpose, three paint steps means three masking parties.

The red showed up and… wow. This is red.

I stared at the sides at 6am on the school run and thought, well, that escalated. The garden cat approved.

Clocked into the 9 to 5, clocked out, clocked the backyard. One light hello coat for adhesion. Ugly on purpose. Two real coats for coverage.

Then a light coat of regular clear to say hello, and a second as the buffer. If jet black sneaks past the tape later, I would rather shave sacrificial clear than chew into color. Future me says thanks.

I want to report a perfect evening. I cannot.
Florida heat had me second guessing, so I added about 10% reducer. That was the wrong kind of brave. Two runs showed up on the driver fender and door. Nothing tragic. Razor, patience, forty minutes. Time paid. Lesson learned.

Fresh out of paint and back to masking. Deja vu with blue tape.

Morning plan at 7am

- Wetsand the clear over red with 800
- Finish bagging windows and the new red
- Spray jet black on the rest: panels, handles, grille, lower bumper plastics
- Unmask and shoot matte clear over everything

Matte clear is new for me, so this is the spicy part.

 

[swathdiver]

 

[PeteCT]

I do not know what I was thinking yesterday, imagining I would spray today. The setup for the next step ate the whole clock.
Home Depot run for half inch masking tape. Back in the driveway, I hit everything with 800 grit. That helps vinyl later and keeps the surface honest. Forty minutes of sanding and it looked ready.

Florida weather did Florida things. Hot in the sun, cool in the shade. I took the shirt off, enjoyed the breeze, grabbed a razor and shaved the runs, then scuffed them out. An hour later I regretted the shirt decision. Certain areas now glow.

Touched up a few pin holes. Quarter gallon of red was already mixed in the cup, so I brushed the spots, let them flash, and knocked them flat again.

Then masking. Light breeze, good mood. Three hours in I realized I was not finishing. I had underestimated the puzzle. I need to spray jet black, then peel the masks off the red without lifting the window tape, moldings, or trim, so I can matte clear the whole truck in one pass. That revelation showed up a third of the way in. I backtracked, unstuck a few sections, and re taped with the new plan.

Five hours later the tape roll tapped out. The boys were deep into not helpful activities. My wife took our daughter to visit friends. I did not want to drag the boys to Home Depot on their day off, so I went on a house safari for masking tape. Thirty minutes of nothing. I leaned on '07GT shell that gave up its engine last weekend and hello, there it was. Fresh roll of tape sitting on the Mustang seat like it had a purpose.

Two more hours disappeared. Evening cooled down. I started saving tape on long seams. I would rather re seam with fresh tape tomorrow than play origami with paper and a knife tonight.

Neighbor texted about deer chewing the lawn. He helps me with the front and backyard. I want to finish masking in the morning before he shows up and spray after he leaves. The schedule is a game of Tetris.

It is almost 9pm. I am cooked and the couch is persuasive, but I owe the platform an hour or two before sleep. Tomorrow I need Yukon ready for paperwork or I drift into the danger zone on timing.

Morning plan
Finish masking with a fresh roll
Spray jet black on pillars, handles, grille, lower doors, bumper insert
Peel for red reveal
Matte clear the whole truck if the air stays kind
File the DMV stack on Monday

Paint first. Plates second. Vinyl later. Mustang and the trailer are watching, quietly judging.

 

[PeteCT]

Сoffee, clouds, and questionable decisions. Woke up late. Yesterday’s masking sprint taxed the soul. Grabbed a Dunkin, snagged a 2-inch and two 1/2-inch blue tapes, and headed to the backyard.

Wife came out to keep me company and promptly saved an hour of my life. We tag-teamed the chrome: grille bits, trim, bumper inserts. If she had not jumped in, I would still be sanding and arguing with my own elbow.

I staged cups, strainers, gun… then realized I was out of cups. Quick Harbor Freight run, back to the improvised workbench.

Overcast, Florida calm. One light introduction coat. Compressor decided to develop a personality: used to fail to restart, now refuses to stop. LVLP outruns a 25-gallon unit anyway, so I babysat the switch between passes.

Fifteen minutes. Second coat on. It is already 3pm.

Lined up for a third and the sky gave me that look. I passed. Hood and roof already have two coats. I will live to spray again.

Pulled some tape and realized I had not masked the headlights separately. Thirty minutes gone. Florida microclimate did its thing: sun on my street, thunder on the next one.

Mixed a half gallon of matte clear. Weather looked dicey, so I stayed with a medium activator and skipped reducer. The brew looked suspicious. Laid one even coat. Not very matte…

waited 15 minutes, drank coffee, came back - boom, matte Yukon.

Lined up for coat two, saw the heavy clouds marching straight at me, and surrendered. One coat it is.

Plastic sheeting was a no go. Fresh matte plus plastic equals future therapy. Instead, I grabbed the leaf blower and did laps around the truck to help the flash time. Thirty minutes later, first raindrops. Then the full Florida demo reel.

I cannot fight weather, and the clear felt dry to the touch (thank you, medium activator). Hoping it holds. If not, I still have three quarters of a gallon to fix the crime scene. Small win: I did not do two coats. That would have been a guaranteed fail.

Paperwork reality: I wanted to file Monday. Rain nudged me toward Tuesday. SEMA is 25 days out, so timing is tight. Registration is 1–2 weeks, plus a day to submit and then the inspection wait.

Tomorrow’s gambit
- If the morning air is kind: spray a second coat of matte, de-mask, snap a few photos, sprint to DMV before 10
- If it is swampy: leave the single coat, de-mask just enough for paperwork, file anyway, and fix the beauty pass after

p.s. Could not sit still. Snuck outside before it went fully dark to check the matte. Rain danger is not the water, it is the micro grit those drops slam into the clear at terminal velocity.

Grabbed the blower and went to work. Sides are clean. Windows and upper edges clean. Hood has a whisper of texture you would miss unless you squint.

So the plan holds: one more matte coat at dawn, then de mask and DMV.

 

[PeteCT]

Morning started at 6. The rain did leave a mark. Not puddles, texture. Droplets softened the clear and turned the hood into a cheetah. Sanding was risky because the clear was still inside the 24 hour window, so I scuff padded it and laid a second matte coat. Fixed. Sun baked it hard. A five minute shower in the evening did nothing. Florida sun is a free bake cycle.

Then DMV at 8am.

Not the usual DMV zoo. Two windows, lobby inside an office building that has been empty since the covid years. Walking past a dark cafe, a quiet food court, dead escalators, even a silent gym felt like a scene from Last of Us. Whoever bought that commercial space is probably chewing fingernails. Different fight today. Yukon paperwork.

Up two flights, through the glowing but empty cafeteria, into a 10 by 10 room. Fifteen people. One guy clearing customs. Another with a 1969 Skyline GT-R. That one has lived in my head for years, I just do not have the budget. Someday I will build one from nothing. It is small. It is possible.

Playbook: bury the inspector in paper. I dropped a half ream of printouts and parts orders. That reminded me I still have two dealer-ordered bits I never picked up. Oops.

Inspectors are not naive. They skim the stack and ask the only questions that matter. Airbags deployed No. What happened? Knee hit on the front. Upper arm cracked. Hinge brackets bent. I bought a fender and fixed the rest. Wrenches, heat, patience.

Good, they said. Sign here, here, here. Want temp tags? Yes. Insurance proof? On the phone Florida allows it. Paid fees. On tax I said I already paid in the hail state. Showed the bill of sale. They nodded and shaved a few dollars. Temp tag issued. Inspection scheduled.

That paragraph took four hours. Intake. Review. Questions. Wait. More questions. You know the drill.

Net result
Matte coat rescued after rain freckles
Temp tag in hand
Inspection on the calendar

Fastback panels tonight. Glue, weld, fit. The clock is still rude. SEMA is 27 days out.

 

[TollKeeper]

Glad to see I am not the only one going for the CoPart punishment... Although I am not going to the extreme you are. I wont buy anything newer than 2006-2009 (depending on make/model).

In the last couple years I have rebuilt the following..
2005 Mercury Montego Premier
2005 Saturn Relay 3
2005 Buick Rendezvous CXL AWD
2004 Kia Amanti (Just finished, already sold)
2002 Acura MDX Technology
2001 Toyota Sienna XLE (Just finished, already sold)
2001 Pontiac Aztek GT AWD

Working on buying a 2003 GMC Envoy XL right now.
There has been a lot of cars run thru auction that I want to buy, just no room.

Thinking about trying to find a 2006 Esky Platinum, to replace my Rivian.

My problem is these older rides that I prefer to work on and repair are getting harder to find in the yards.

 

[PeteCT]

Curious why you cap at 2006 to 2009.

If it’s mostly financial, I can share the playbook I developed to buy almost any car on Copart for $0. It won’t work for GM trucks like Yukon or Tahoe. Almost everything else, any brand, any year, works. Porsches, BMWs, Audis, even Rolls.
Never paid a dime for any of my cars, except Tahoe and Yukon.

Glad to see I am not the only one going for the CoPart punishment... Although I am not going to the extreme you are. I wont buy anything newer than 2006-2009 (depending on make/model).

In the last couple years I have rebuilt the following..
2005 Mercury Montego Premier
2005 Saturn Relay 3
2005 Buick Rendezvous CXL AWD
2004 Kia Amanti (Just finished, already sold)
2002 Acura MDX Technology
2001 Toyota Sienna XLE (Just finished, already sold)
2001 Pontiac Aztek GT AWD

Working on buying a 2003 GMC Envoy XL right now.
There has been a lot of cars run thru auction that I want to buy, just no room.

Thinking about trying to find a 2006 Esky Platinum, to replace my Rivian.

My problem is these older rides that I prefer to work on and repair are getting harder to find in the yards.

 

[SpareParts]

Curious why you cap at 2006 to 2009.

If it’s mostly financial, I can share the playbook I developed to buy almost any car on Copart for $0. It won’t work for GM trucks like Yukon or Tahoe. Almost everything else, any brand, any year, works. Porsches, BMWs, Audis, even Rolls.
Never paid a dime for any of my cars, except Tahoe and Yukon.

What are you waiting for. Share it!

 

[PeteCT]

Alright.

Context. I build Mods, a web-based 3D tuning configurator. Too many nights sketching, printing, sanding, test fitting. Understanding what I’m looking at helped me develop a method to buy cars on Copart for $0. Not a course. Just how I keep builds moving.

Principle. Do not chase grandma’s unicorn. We want a solid base that scares flippers. Ugly outside, simple inside. Monetize the bolt-ons. Keep the base.

What to target.
Bid in states that allow public buyers. Georgia for me. Less broker fluff, fewer mystery fees.
Damage type. Skip easy flips. Hunt stuff that looks dramatic but fixes clean in a driveway.
Brand and plan. Only bid where you already have a styling plan, parts sources, and an exit for extras.

Case study: my 911. Goal. Launch my exterior and interior redesign on a 911. Clean drivers are 25k to 45k. I needed a cheaper base. Preferably zero.

Hunt. Three weeks of nothing. Week four, a 911 pops up with a glancing nose hit. Photos said radiator, soft front aluminum, bumper cover, light. Geometry looked sane.

Built-in parts economy. We harvest the tasty mods, keep the base.
BBS LM wheels ~ $6k new. I swapped to temp TE37s from my GT on spacer adapters while I design the custom ultra wide body wheels.
Brembo aluminum brakes ~ $2k used. Brake math twist: my partner factory 6-piston with 380 rotors lands around $1.8k. Sell Brembos for $2k, upgrade paid, small plus left.
Rare bolt-in cage $4k+

Numbers
Hammer price $3.7k
Delivery $300
Temp repairs: plastic weld bumper ~$30, pull soft nose with the same $230 frame puller I used on the Yukon, swap radiator ~$120, headlight ~$150

Sales
Wheels sold for $3.5k
Cage sold for $2.1k
Brembos typically move in 2 to 3 weeks
At step one the project is already positive and the base is paid.
I also sell stock interior and exterior I am replacing for my kit. That adds another 5k to 7k.

Checklist
Pick the right state
Pick a car with liquid mods
Pick the right damage
Do the math before you bid
Sell extras fast
Install your kit and upgrades
Drive, tow, show, create

Apply to other brands

Look at the first screenshot. That 330i $600 Copart car up top is wearing about $34k in mods. If you hunt from that angle.. you got it.


p.s. There are other angles to score stuff. Fastback was not Copart. Different method, cheaper than a Dunkin latte. Did the math last night: all in I am at four, maybe five bucks. Works for some classics.

What are you waiting for. Share it!

 

[swathdiver]

My uncle made a career doing that and remember going to the auction to buy cars and fix them up with him. He made good money at it.

 

[PeteCT]

My uncle made a career doing that and remember going to the auction to buy cars and fix them up with him. He made good money at it.

100%. Parting out any car can deliver great value. The difference with this method is you target heavily modded cars with hot expensive parts that move fast, so you are not waiting. Pull the supercharger or sell the wheels, and the rest of the car is essentially free.

 

[TollKeeper]

Curious why you cap at 2006 to 2009.

If it’s mostly financial, I can share the playbook I developed to buy almost any car on Copart for $0. It won’t work for GM trucks like Yukon or Tahoe. Almost everything else, any brand, any year, works. Porsches, BMWs, Audis, even Rolls.
Never paid a dime for any of my cars, except Tahoe and Yukon.

GM past 2006-2009 quit making decent trucks (IMHO). AFM/DOD destroyed a lot of what was quality trucks. Then the over use of electronics. Interior quality, for me, also took a major nose dive.

I also dont buy anything German.

 

[PeteCT]

Yukon update while the Mustang glue cures. SEMA clock says 19 to 20 days. I need at least three just for vinyl wrap, so Fastback has to stand on its own feet by the 27th. The villain of the week is the super glue activator spray. One careless breath and your skull files a formal protest. Mask on, outdoors only, sunrise to sunset. Neighbors think I am fumigating the backyard.

To stay sane I bounce back to Yukon between glue sessions.
Hood saga. Round one got rained on. Round two I sprayed early and the medium reducer flashed in mid air. Hello tiger stripes. Not a crisis, just annoying. I will wrap the hood in matte black before travel. I also started vinyl on window trims, handles and the other chrome. Full blackout. Picked up black door trim and will sort the rear bumper after SEMA. Easy to overdo it there.

Headlights. I skipped the triple LED carnival patterns. Denali light shape is already good. The problem is all the chrome. Everything reflects everything and the face turns into ALL CAPS. I grabbed a simpler aftermarket set. Tech is basic, which you expect at 60 on Alibaba -> 200 on Amazon, but the form language is cleaner. I will drop in proper LED bulbs with ballasts. I do not need lasers. I do need to see while towing across a few states.

Splitter. OEM reads dated. Quick fix now is a splitter that follows the bumper outline, one simple lower line, about 1.5 inches taller to put visual weight down low. And yes, you still keep a visible break between bumper and splitter. The eye hunts for that seam. When it is missing, the whole face feels off.

After SEMA I will buy two grilles, cut them horizontally and add a few cells to stretch the face 2 to 5 units vertically. Same trick with two bumpers. Lower the center line and black insert a few inches. Then the splitter can be smaller because the whole face will sit lower visually. Meaner without breaking the ratio language.

Evening epilogue. I was wrapping a door handle by phone light, set the blade down, reached blind, and donated a sample. The truck got a blood splatter livery. Kids saw the toilet paper bandage and declared a Walgreens run. On the way back I looked at Yukon under the parking lot lights. Not bad. With the right wheels, it will read right day and night.

Quick hits
Hood gets matte black wrap before travel
Full chrome delete is underway
New headlights in place -> real LED bulbs and ballasts
Splitter right after SEMA, grille, wheels, large brakes, and bumper geometry + wide body play around Christmas

Back to glue, sand, repeat.

 

[PG01]

Yukon update while the Mustang glue cures. SEMA clock says 19 to 20 days. I need at least three just for vinyl wrap, so Fastback has to stand on its own feet by the 27th. The villain of the week is the super glue activator spray. One careless breath and your skull files a formal protest. Mask on, outdoors only, sunrise to sunset. Neighbors think I am fumigating the backyard.

View attachment 469763

To stay sane I bounce back to Yukon between glue sessions.
Hood saga. Round one got rained on. Round two I sprayed early and the medium reducer flashed in mid air. Hello tiger stripes. Not a crisis, just annoying. I will wrap the hood in matte black before travel. I also started vinyl on window trims, handles and the other chrome. Full blackout. Picked up black door trim and will sort the rear bumper after SEMA. Easy to overdo it there.

View attachment 469760

Headlights. I skipped the triple LED carnival patterns. Denali light shape is already good. The problem is all the chrome. Everything reflects everything and the face turns into ALL CAPS. I grabbed a simpler aftermarket set. Tech is basic, which you expect at 60 on Alibaba -> 200 on Amazon, but the form language is cleaner. I will drop in proper LED bulbs with ballasts. I do not need lasers. I do need to see while towing across a few states.

View attachment 469755

Splitter. OEM reads dated. Quick fix now is a splitter that follows the bumper outline, one simple lower line, about 1.5 inches taller to put visual weight down low. And yes, you still keep a visible break between bumper and splitter. The eye hunts for that seam. When it is missing, the whole face feels off.

View attachment 469773

After SEMA I will buy two grilles, cut them horizontally and add a few cells to stretch the face 2 to 5 units vertically. Same trick with two bumpers. Lower the center line and black insert a few inches. Then the splitter can be smaller because the whole face will sit lower visually. Meaner without breaking the ratio language.

View attachment 469778

Evening epilogue. I was wrapping a door handle by phone light, set the blade down, reached blind, and donated a sample. The truck got a blood splatter livery. Kids saw the toilet paper bandage and declared a Walgreens run. On the way back I looked at Yukon under the parking lot lights. Not bad. With the right wheels, it will read right day and night.

View attachment 469761

Quick hits
Hood gets matte black wrap before travel
Full chrome delete is underway
New headlights in place -> real LED bulbs and ballasts
Splitter right after SEMA, grille, wheels, large brakes, and bumper geometry + wide body play around Christmas

Back to glue, sand, repeat.

That looks pdg. Nice work