Removing Side Vents
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TECH Regular
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 483
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From: Laurel, Maryland
Removing Side Vents The paint on my side vents are starting to crack (previous owner painted them because they were faded, I think). I thought taking them out would make them look ok, kinda like taking out my hood vents. Here is the result (sorry for the crappy pics, and yes I know my car is dirty):
My questions are...does this look good? If so, should I take my dremel and shave off the lips so it's more smooth flowing? I know if I do this, the fiberglass will show. I plan to take touch up paint to the newly exposed areas.
Let me know
My questions are...does this look good? If so, should I take my dremel and shave off the lips so it's more smooth flowing? I know if I do this, the fiberglass will show. I plan to take touch up paint to the newly exposed areas.
Let me know
wouldnt look bad if there was something behind it, even if it was just a black filler panel that was smooth.
theres not really anything you can do functionally, but im not against ditching the factory honeycomb theme where applicable.
theres not really anything you can do functionally, but im not against ditching the factory honeycomb theme where applicable.
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the hood grills can look good removed. as long as you shave the lip so there is a completely smoothed opening, and there is nothing showing behind it.
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 327
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From: Smithville, TN
I'm with everyone else. Keep them on...but how do you get them off. I was gonna paint mine bc they started fading and i almost broke them trying to get them off. Guess i'm just not seeing where the clip is or something
yeah to get air to the back youd need to rig a tube system under the rocker panels.
would be cool, but a whole lot of work for very little actual functionality (if you had tubes going to the front brakes from the front bumper you still wouldnt get any gains unless you actually road raced. rear brakes do less)
would be cool, but a whole lot of work for very little actual functionality (if you had tubes going to the front brakes from the front bumper you still wouldnt get any gains unless you actually road raced. rear brakes do less)
There's no need to paint these...just take a heat gun to them lightly to restore the faded plastic...but if you MUST paint them, paint them black...I hate when these are painted flashy colors...
Open your door one "notch" and stick you hand between the door and the fender. There is a clip on the top and bottom for each vent. Just undo one of them and push it out. You can use a screwdriver to push the tab down if your arm is too big.
If the previous owner didn't sand the vents before painting them you can soak them overnight in Super Clean Degreaser (purple jug) to strip the paint from the plastic, then use peanut butter or something to revive the plastic or just repaint it. I use 3D Products Instant Shine, but there are a variety of methods to restoring black plastic, like using a heat gun, or black dye. If you do use Super Clean Degreaser, put the pieces in a plastic container and let it soak at minimum 3 hours or overnight in the garage or outside. Use an old toothbrush if you have to to brush the old paint off. People who build/paint plastic models/figures have been using this stuff for years as a paint stripper for small plastic pieces.
Last edited by ZexGX; Mar 25, 2010 at 04:55 PM.