OEM Lip Kit Painted

OEM Lip Kit Painted

Here is the update where my Lip Kit has finally been painted my Clover Green Pearl. As with all painting, hold the spray can about 6-12 inches from the parts and do not lay too thick coats. The thinner coats are better as it avoids drips, but put enough to cover all areas adequately and evenly.

Here is a picture of the rear valence with 2 coats of green applied:


A closer shot of rear valence painted:


When applying the clear coat, ensure to give about 20 minutes of drying time on the base coat. The time to wait also depends on the paint, and on my spray can it recommended 20 minutes. Follow directions on your can.

Here are the rear valences drying with clear coat on it:


Closer shot of rear valences clear coated:


The OEM Front Lip with clear drying on it and the side skirts with only basecoat applied:


Front lip clear coated:


Another shot of the front lip:


Picture of the sides with clear coat on it:


Here I was anxious to see how well the paint matched, so I put it on the car quickly to see. Color match looks good:


Another view of the lip on my car:


Side shot with some light hitting it:


And yet another pic of the front lip:


Here is a picture of all the parts painted a fresh coat of green:


Picture of me holding the side skirt in place to see the color match:


Rear valences held in place to see the color match:


Once this was done, I had let my Lip Kit pieces dry for about a week and a half. Some recommend more, while others say less. This is to let the paint cure and harden. At this stage, once it hardens I took out the rubbing compound and swirl remover to make it shine. Stay tuned to see how I did this in posts to come.

Regards,
Michael Kralj
Buy a Car in Ontario and then buy some car detailing products.

Primer the Kit

Car Primer on the Kit

I got around to actually spraying Primer onto the OEM Lip kit. Here are the steps and some pictures from this stage of the automotive painting process.

First step, is to clean the pieces to be painted. I used dish soap on my rear valences as pictured:


My primer of choice for this project, Duplicolor sandable black primer:


Then spray the primer about 6 - 12 inches from the pieces being painted. Here are the rear valences after being sprayed with primer (coat number 2) :


A closer pic of the primed rear valences:


Here is a picture of the Front Lip Primered:


Different view of lip primed:


The Front Lip and Rear Valences primed together:


Here is a picture of the Side Skirts not primed yet:


And now the Side Skirts are primed:


Close up shots of the side skirts primed:


After this was completed, I waited one week for it to dry. You can simply go to painting, however i've read primer takes a bit of time to dry so it wont flex in the future. So I chose to wait one week (also due to not having time that day).

Then the next weekend I Wet Sanded the primed pieces with 600 grit wet / dry sandpaper very lightly. You will notice the primer has a rough gritty feel to it that you don't want your paint to be like. Sanding with 600 grit gets rid of this gritty feel and makes it smooth to the touch, but not too smooth for the base coat paint to stick to it.

Keep tuned to see the Lip Kit pieces painted.

Regards,
Michael Kralj
Learn about Buying a Car in Ontario and then make it shine by Detailing Your Car.

Wet Sanding

How To Wet Sand

I found a good link discussing how to wet sand. As the link will show you, wet sanding is basically sanding but using water, so not to trap the particles in the sandpaper. This way it does the sanding as intended.

http://www.hotworldcustoms.com/wet.htm

There you go.

Regards,
Michael Kralj
Learn about Buying a Car in Ontario

Wet Sanding Preparation

Wet Sanding Preparation

So here I started the project of Wet sanding after work and between the days of rain. Here you will see the pieces prior to wet sanding, and afterwards to see how far you may want to go with the Wet Sanding process. Here the front lip and rear valences have been completed.

OEM Acura Front Lip in Burning Red Pearl before sanding:


My weapons of attack: Wet Sand with 320 grit and 400 grit wet / dry sandpaper


Here is an up close shot of the Front Lip paint Untouched:


Here is the Front Lip all sanded with white residue from the wet sanding (it is white because of wet sanding the clear coat, making it turn white.


Here you see a picture of the rear valences untouched:


And here I have completed sanding one Rear Valences and the other one is not:


Closer shot of one piece sanded and the other one not:


Here are both valences sanded:


The side skirts will be sanded as well, and then I will move on to priming the Kit with the Duplicolor Black Primer.

Also, look for an article here describing the process of Wet Sanding to come.

Regards,
Michael Kralj
Learn about Car Detailing in my other blog.

Body Lip Kit Paint and Install

Body Lip Kit Paint and Install

I had been looking for a Lip Kit for my 1999 Integra, when I decided the nicest one around was from the OEM Manufacturer Acura. The parts were discontinued, so there wasn't a large supply left. I only could find the parts in red, but my car was green. I decided to paint the parts myself using a rattle can to accomplish it.

Here are the steps I had taken in getting the lip kit painted and installed:

- Wet sand 320/400 grit sandpaper
- Prime with Duplicolor Sandable Black Primer (3 coats)
- Wet sand Primer (600 grit)
- Color (g95P - clover green pearl) (3 coats)
- Clear coat (3 coats)
- Allow to cure
- Apply rubbing compound and swirl remover
- Wax after 30-60 days

I will give step by step details of how it was completed with pictures in the days to come.

Regards,
Michael Kralj
Also, check out my blog about Car Detailing.

Automotive Body Paint Work Essentials

Automotive Body Paint Work Essentials

If you plan to do any repairs on your car and have decided to complete the body paint work yourself, you will need a basic set of items. These are required:

- Sandpaper to sand the damaged area down (from 200 grit to 1500 grit)
- Body filler to level out dents or imperfections in the body
- Primer for a base for the paint to stick on
- Base Coat of paint: the colour your are painting
- Clear Coat: To give the shiny coat to the paint
- Polishing Compound to give the finish a perfect shine

If you are using a spray can, the paint will be in there and no more materials are needed. If you plan to use a gun for painting (the better method), then you will need:
- HVLP gun
- Compressor for the gun

Regards,
Michael Kralj

Car Body Work

Welcome to the Car Body work blog.

Soon to come you will see personal experiences of mine with automotive body work, in addition to finding great articles discussing body work.

You will learn about the followings projects I have completed on my own car:

- do it yourself paint job
- plugging up spoiler holes with jb weld
- spoiler installation
- rim refinishing
- custom tail light work
- and more!

Keep informed and visit frequently.

Regards,
Michael Kralj