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Post by Volktales on Dec 6, 2016 19:43:48 GMT -8
So I haven't got all that much accomplished on my VW projects lately. One of the reasons is this... Yes it is my old daily driver Honda. My kid has claimed it as his first car as he turns 16 in April 2017. After 381,000 km, things are showing their age a bit. Dad agreed to help out with that bit and is doing a complete repaint. This also involved some rust repair on the rear quarter panels, a well known problem with these Civics of this era. Things are progressing... Dad, contemplating what he has gotten himself into... Two spots of welding were required on this side. Car had a hard life with previous owners including multiple accident damage. Well what do you expect for $400? This is about as close as you will get to getting a smile out of a teenager... At least he learned a few things... Mind you, Grandpappy looked like he wasn't having a lot of fun either... That is because it wasn't a Chevy in the garage... This is a coat of sealing primer, applied after the bodywork, sanding, guide coat was completed... This was later to cause some issues... Now for some shine... The car is repainted to the original shade of red. The problem mentioned earlier, was that the primer was almost the same shade, and it was difficult to determine paint coverage. As a result some spots were too thin, and had to be recoated. Dad is currently doing the colour sanding and buffing, and reassembly is underway as well... Next up is hopefully getting my hands on some cheap rims to personalize Victor's first car. Hope he appreciates he is getting a fast Civic Si, instead of a lowly Beetle like my first car... "Ain't painting great???"
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Post by Brenticon on Dec 6, 2016 19:56:16 GMT -8
Whoa ... lucky kid!
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Post by tony on Dec 6, 2016 20:39:09 GMT -8
shouldn't a person personalize their own car? Isn't that what it's all about?
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Post by Volktales on Dec 6, 2016 22:02:52 GMT -8
The kid actually requested a the hood be painted black, but Grandpa didn't go for that for some reason... I already have in my possession a big thumpin sound system that came out of my sister's old Jetta. Victor has already staked his claim for that... He is basically getting his first car for free, but has to fork out for his own insurance. Guess it is time for that first job, eh???
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Post by mitchy965 on Dec 6, 2016 22:16:47 GMT -8
tell the old man,black hoods matter.
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Post by Wongai on Dec 7, 2016 9:48:53 GMT -8
Mitchy said what we all wanted to but were just to afraid to speak out. Brave.
I used to rock a red Civic SI. Still one of my favorite cars ever.
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Post by mitchy965 on Dec 7, 2016 10:49:38 GMT -8
tongue was firmly placed to cheek
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Post by CrazyBrit on Dec 7, 2016 11:07:21 GMT -8
You could always do a vinyl wrap on the hood. That way you keep the paint and Victor gets what he wants!
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Post by Volktales on Dec 7, 2016 12:17:54 GMT -8
It will happen one way or another...
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Post by tony on Dec 7, 2016 12:44:11 GMT -8
Picture this if you will , first day driving car , diligent kid checks oil , doesn't secure hood properly , takes car for drive "at speed limit" , hood wraps itself over windshield and roof and voila ....... replacement black hood!!!
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Post by Volktales on Dec 7, 2016 18:49:15 GMT -8
I have to admit, this was likely my most fun car to drive as well. Civic Si's just beg to be driven hard. Mine has a light rigged up by the previous owner that shows when VTEC engages. Fun!
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Post by Brenticon on Dec 7, 2016 19:11:04 GMT -8
I'll second that ... thanks for telling me to "light up" the vtec
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Post by Volktales on Dec 20, 2016 22:09:40 GMT -8
So this is still ongoing...
Several attempts were made at spotting in paint to the thin areas, but this was a complete waste of time. As you might expect, if you try to blend spot repairs, and the paint is thin, you will simply sand through the colour coat adjacent to the repaired area. The only way forward is to repaint the entire panels. Given pretty much every one had thin spots, it meant repainting basically the whole car. Dad was not enthusiastic about this, but it was the only way forward. So I spent the whole day sanding down the car...
Here Dad is ready for action. Car was painted with high volume, low pressure gun. Paint is single stage without clear coat and is Valspar brand. I understand this is a cheap budget brand, and it shows. Not much pigment in the paint, although we were told by professionals this is common with red... The roof and trunk did not need to be repainted fortunately, and the hood is still awaiting its coat of black...
Dad altered the mix ratio for this time around. I think it was 4 parts paint, 1 part hardener, 1 part reducer. Might be wrong about this... The job was much better this time with smoother finish and no thin spots. Dust was still a problem, but then this is not a spray booth. Note the floor was wetted down before painting commenced. The finish will still be colour sanded and polished once dry...
Meanwhile I wanted to find some better rims for the car, so I bought this from a customer...
A 2002 Acura EL. I liked the rims but the owner wanted to get rid of the whole car...
As it came with two sets of wheels and tires, I couldn't say no. Turns out EL's were only sold in Canada so are somewhat of a rarity.
And check out that leather interior! Car is fully equipped with all kinds of goodies like heated seats and mirrors. So what you say? Well my newest car ever was a 1995 so this will be a step up. It is not worth it to fix it up and resell because few would be interested at 402,000 km. But little things like that don't bother me, and hopefully the blown headgasket won't end up costing too much to fix. Victor wants to claim this as his "winter" car, because the red Civic will be much too nice to drive in the bad weather now! I can't argue that logic given my own background...Since the Acura cost a whopping $100 so far, I guess I can put a bit more time and $ into it... Delaying my VW fun however...
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Post by Wongai on Dec 21, 2016 10:38:02 GMT -8
Not only delaying your VW fun but cutting into your tightly controlled car budget...or does Victor have his sown car budget now? Your dad is a handy guy to have around. I wonder if you would be car crazy if you didn't grow up in his shop. Awesome that you three have been able to do this project together. You are all fortunate to have each other!
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Post by PICTUP on Dec 22, 2016 19:30:17 GMT -8
Next thing we know you and Victor are gonna be hanging out with the "tuner" crowd at the car shows So is the Acura gonna go "in-your-face" lime green? Maybe the silver will be easier to paint over.
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