My car is "smooth" now.
04-19-2011, 09:24 AM
#81
Just to give you some inspiration, Duplicolor can be used on lots of other things as well.
Here are my valve covers on my Camaro, which I painted with Red Duplicolor engine paint:
My Berger modded rear panel on my Camaro. I used flat black with no clear:
And my old 1997 Trans Am with the CETA mod, which I used Duplicolor flat black with some clear coat:
Here are my valve covers on my Camaro, which I painted with Red Duplicolor engine paint:
My Berger modded rear panel on my Camaro. I used flat black with no clear:
And my old 1997 Trans Am with the CETA mod, which I used Duplicolor flat black with some clear coat:
04-19-2011, 12:52 PM
#83
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No, it's not that hard. It just takes some patience. All you really have to do is loosen up the nuts and bolts that hold your panels in place and then maneuver them into position. I found that loosening the nuts just enough so the panel moves when a little pressure is applied, but not loose enough to move on their own, works the best. That way you can position the panels like you want and then tighten them down without having to worry about them moving on you. Check the paint and body section and the appearance section, do a quick search. It could also be helpful to check out the posts on front end swaps because lots of people go into detail on how to align body panels in those threads as well.
Yep, Duplicolor works wonders. I experimented with my Corvette wagon wheels a while back. Painted the spokes Charcoal and then repainted them back to silver. It's not hard, just takes some patience (like most anything when working on cars, haha! ) and your wheels can come out looking great.
What I started with:
After paint:
I put them back to the stock color because I'm investing some nicer wheels, but I just wanted to see what they would look like. Not saying you should paint your spokes a contrasting color, just showing you that it can be done in a garage with some rattle can paint!
Yep, Duplicolor works wonders. I experimented with my Corvette wagon wheels a while back. Painted the spokes Charcoal and then repainted them back to silver. It's not hard, just takes some patience (like most anything when working on cars, haha! ) and your wheels can come out looking great.
What I started with:
After paint:
I put them back to the stock color because I'm investing some nicer wheels, but I just wanted to see what they would look like. Not saying you should paint your spokes a contrasting color, just showing you that it can be done in a garage with some rattle can paint!
04-19-2011, 12:57 PM
#84
Well, you can't paint chrome as chrome is a plating process. You COULD do a dual tone setup where you paint the spokes black and the lip a bright silver. It'd take a lot of work and a steady hand with some 1/8 inch tape to get the lines on the spokes just right. It can be pretty tricky.
04-19-2011, 01:11 PM
#85
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Well, you can't paint chrome as chrome is a plating process. You COULD do a dual tone setup where you paint the spokes black and the lip a bright silver. It'd take a lot of work and a steady hand with some 1/8 inch tape to get the lines on the spokes just right. It can be pretty tricky.
Chrome is a plating process eh. Can I "dip" my rims into chrome then? And then paint them black?
If not, then back to the first question in this post.
04-19-2011, 01:28 PM
#87
As for chroming, you would have to have your wheels dipped at a specialty shop. There are a few near the Houston area, just look up Chroming Services. It might be cheaper to just find someone selling a set of stock chrome 5 spokes off their 95-02 Firebird. I'd still say give Duplicolor a chance and do it yourself. Look up some threads here on tech on people who have done it, it's fairly easy.
04-19-2011, 02:41 PM
#88
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I'm honestly not sure what a paint shop would charge. It really isn't hard though to do yourself. If I were you I'd just concentrate on getting comfortable laying down paint in one color. Go for a nice silver and let it ride for a bit.
As for chroming, you would have to have your wheels dipped at a specialty shop. There are a few near the Houston area, just look up Chroming Services. It might be cheaper to just find someone selling a set of stock chrome 5 spokes off their 95-02 Firebird. I'd still say give Duplicolor a chance and do it yourself. Look up some threads here on tech on people who have done it, it's fairly easy.
As for chroming, you would have to have your wheels dipped at a specialty shop. There are a few near the Houston area, just look up Chroming Services. It might be cheaper to just find someone selling a set of stock chrome 5 spokes off their 95-02 Firebird. I'd still say give Duplicolor a chance and do it yourself. Look up some threads here on tech on people who have done it, it's fairly easy.
Also, what else do you recommend to increase the "likability" of my car - appearance wise?
04-19-2011, 03:53 PM
#89
I'm guessing ya'll are going to A&M? I graduated from ya'lls younger brother University, Tarleton State. My dad and all my uncles are Aggie alumni though.
If your car were mine and I was wanting to make it look good for the time being I would;
1.) Realign the front end a bit to make it look good again.
2.) Repaint the wheels in a nice shade of silver.
3.) Find someone who is parting out a silver Firebird with a good back bumper and buy it. Once I had it, I would do the Firebird / Formula version of the CETA mod in a matte black.
4.) I'd get clear lenses for the front turn signals and rear side markers.
That's just me though, others tastes may vary. I can't really tell the quality of the paint on the rest of the car, but it does look like your rear bumper is fubar, that's why I mentioned just swapping it out. You can usually buy a used one off of someone parting out their car for a lot cheaper than repainting yours.
On a side note, if you're serious about selling the car soon and just want to make it look nice while you look for a T/A then just realign the front and redo the wheels. No reason to invest a lot of money into something you plan on selling quickly.
1.) Realign the front end a bit to make it look good again.
2.) Repaint the wheels in a nice shade of silver.
3.) Find someone who is parting out a silver Firebird with a good back bumper and buy it. Once I had it, I would do the Firebird / Formula version of the CETA mod in a matte black.
4.) I'd get clear lenses for the front turn signals and rear side markers.
That's just me though, others tastes may vary. I can't really tell the quality of the paint on the rest of the car, but it does look like your rear bumper is fubar, that's why I mentioned just swapping it out. You can usually buy a used one off of someone parting out their car for a lot cheaper than repainting yours.
On a side note, if you're serious about selling the car soon and just want to make it look nice while you look for a T/A then just realign the front and redo the wheels. No reason to invest a lot of money into something you plan on selling quickly.
