So, after fixing all of the mechanical issues with my car, I have started on the cosmetic modifications. I am currently doing body work in preparation for a full body vinyl wrap, and shall all pictures as I go. Current cosmetic modifications include: respraying rims with Peelcoat (plastidip) painting brake calipers (they were looking tired and grubby) any feed back and opinions are welcome.
Some pics of the car prior to the new work would be great.....looking forward to seeing how the wrap looks
yeah, sorry, trying to remember / find the sticky on how to add photos, and transfer them all from facebook/phone
1. Resize images in MS office picture manager or similar, 640x480 is a good one 2. Upload to photobucket 3. Copy the "direct" image link, paste it into your post and wrap it in [ img ] [ / img ] tags (remove the spaces)
before work only have a few photos. Didnt see much light of day before work. [/IMG] as you can see if you look closely, all the clear coat on the top surfaces has failed and/or is peeling.
Oh cool, didn't realize you were in wa (like me!)......hopefully I can see it for real at some stage as well Should be a night cruise coming up in Jan as well
some photos of the wheels and brakes most of these are in progress shots, havent taken any finished photos as they are covered in dust from all the sanding at the moment. before: wheels after 2 coats: brakes prior to filing back the nissan typography: filed back, not cleaned of filing dust: This was a mock up pre filing, had to wait for the caliper paint to harden:
body work only have a few shots here: rest is in progress. I must say, the spoiler is actually the worst. I know many people choose different spoilers or replace them,but mine was in a functional and repairable state. also, once I sanded it back and filled the (very dry) surface, its come up a treat in person
More bodywork I know, certain people may like the textured section underneath the fold. I for one don't , and decided to remove it. hence the paint stripper. this was followed with a flappy disc, and will be primed. I must say though, the clean metal look is pretty cool along the sills At this point, I decided it was too dusty in my work space, and took the car out, cleaned up and washed all the dust off. some ideas of how the car looks in the afternoon sun, should go crazy once the wraps on and the window tint is applied (also doing myself) nose piece was pretty nastily scratched, so it was filled, then had spray bog over the whole lot, gave it a much needed refresh. some photos of the previous test piece I did. this was to test the vinyl's adhesion on the failing paint. still holding up, no lifted edges or any signs of adhesive failure after 6 months (always outside) and that concludes todays work
Product is called peelcoat, brought it from repco for $10 a can. Used two cans to do all the wheel faces (my inner wheel was already black so I didn't bother with those) I'd estimate 4 cans for the recommended thickness depending on wheel design
the part you've been waiting for. Ill give you all the pictures first, then the rundown on the work: so. the colour itself is more of a darker silver , as opposed to a metal grey like I originally thought. however, it is slightly transparent, so the actual colour would change depending on what it was applied to. I personally like the colour, and the metal flake in the sun is pretty awesome. Now, as for the process, I didnt get any shots of this, but it is fairly straight forward. The first step is to wash the car. step 2:remove as many body panels as you are comfortable with.The more accessible the panel, the easier it is to wrap. step 3: wipe the whole car, including all lips, sills, interfacing areas, drainage, basically everything down with an isopropyl alcohol solution. I used a solution of about 20% This helps break down any residual polish/wax and get any extra dirt off that you missed (there will be some, mainly on interfacing areas) step 4 (optional, but recommended): Apply vinyl adhesion promoter/primer to all and any lips where the vinyl will be tucked. door lips, hatch lips, guard edges, all of it. 5 of the small tubes worked out perfectly for me (0.66ml each from memory) step 5: Find a mate. can't stress how much this helps. The larger panels are really quite difficult without an extra pair of hands to tension the material. I found on the larger panels (like the bonnet), 3 people were needed. step 6: measure panel to be wrapped. I actually found that certain off cuts could be used to wrap other panels. eg: the hatch contains enough off cuts to wrap the nose piece and one of the door sills (more on that later) step 7: measure again! I miss measured one and consequently had to find an offcut to do the bottom of the door again. step 8: peel back small amounts of the backing. depending on the panel size, this varies. I peeled enough back to lock the vinyl into the position I wanted it to be, then got my friend to squeegee the vinyl onto the panel as I tensioned the vinyl, which makes this a breeze. Work from the middle of the panel, working up and down according. Eg: the doors are only curved in one direction, so you would work across the door (horizontally) in the centre of the curve, then work upwards and downwards of that line. Step 9: step back and look the panel over. moving and checking the panel can prevent any of the air bubbles missed from becoming problems. correct as necessary step 10: seal edges against primed area. pretty simple, trim and work from the edge out towards the lips, to avoid trapping air bubbles step 11: double check your seals once you have finished the car (I havent yet) the car should be left in the sun for a day or so to completely settle, then washed, then polished with an suitable polish to remove any marks from laying the vinyl. any questions or comments, please feel free to comment
Yeah, I'm not looking forward to them, but a multi piece layout has been thought up, utilising the pinstripe sections as seam areas (will relay pinstripes over the top)
small update, and Happy New Year everyone got the other fender, A-pillar, the door sill on the drivers side and the hatch piece done yesterday. only have a few photos, but they show how its coming along. Won't be wrapping again until friday. spoiler lines will be hidden as the stock spoiler is going back on once wrapped.
Aha , yes they do. I'm planning on taking them out to wrap them. Not sure what's involved , but I'll find a way to get them out.
Very impressed with your efforts in making it look so smooth without crimped corners, etc. As Jinxed pointed out, door handles will look great once they're done - removing then disassembling from the door?
Thanks Mr g, the secret is using a heat gun to manipulate the material around the edge. As a side note, I got the passenger handle out and wrapped that today, but I needed to take the lock barrel out as I dont have a key which opens the door locks, only remote central locking and ignition , so it doesnt look right at the moment. Should get it back in a day or two, and will post finished photos of the handles and the car with wrapped handles. Planning on attempting the bonnet again tomorrow, maybe the rear fenders/tail
Todays work, plus a surprise So, today was a big day. The entire body of the car is finished;everything is done minus the bumpers and spoilers. I have both mirrors to do, both handles have been done and refitted. firstly, some pictures for you, because I know pictures speak better than I can talk about them: This FTO has occupied a significant amount of time the last 6 months, been helping a friend getting it back on the road and running properly. so, it was nice to see them side by side. :zlove: Now, two parts to a surprise. Firstly, I wet sanded and polished all of my plastic lights today (tail lights, side indicators, front park/indicators and reversing panel) This is the only photo I have, but it clearly shows the difference it made. And lastly, a quick walk around of the car (sorry for quality, wasn't intended to be uploaded but hey) View My Video
