Winter roads are not as nice to vehicles as the ones in Maryland.  The state and county use a lot of salt.  The road treatment of choice is augmented with some sort of black grit that provides traction.  Consequently, I find I must work really hard to keep the vehicle looking good.  Looking back at past write-ups, I find that this particular weekend of the year usually ends up being the time I swap tops and take care of the ravages of winter.  This year was no exception.

I removed all the Sun Performance light guards and took off all the rust and flaked paint.  I scraped and prepped the Sun Performance Heavy Duty Rocker Protection.  While I had the roof rack removed from the Jeep, I scraped and prepped all the spots that needed attention.  With all the parts scraped and prepared, I applied a uniform black satin finish to everything, including the front and rear bumper and skid plates.  This makes a big difference in the appearance of the vehicle and prolongs the life of the parts in question.

I removed the hard top with my home-made hoist and installed the soft top.  In anticipation of the weekend activities, I fitted the gas can rack and gas cans.  While I was at it, I drained all the gas cans in the garage into the tank.  Most of the gas is at least six months old and would go bad if left much longer.   With the price of fuel ($4.00/gallon) it doesn't make sense to waste it.  I made plans to use up and replenish the gas in the red cans over the weekend as well.