New LS - What neccessities to take care of first?

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Banker

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I havent even touched a thing on my car yet.
im thinking out loud here about the what i absolutely need to do first and in what order.

Feedback please!

-remove the chip guards or whatever from the edges of the doors
-remove front plate and cap the holes
-clean exhaust tips

-TINT!!! (a necessity - thinking like 10% ?)

-LSE grill (gonna paint the black plastic on mine a darker shinier black in the mean time)
-LSE front bumper (paint the lower grill black on mine in the mean time?)
-LSE skirts and valences (or paint mine to match color)
-Eibach springs

2011-04-13 11.36.36.jpg
 
Nice looking ride! I read your post in the other thread that your was a garage kept by an older guy. I lucked out like that when I got mine. The dealership I worked for took it in on trade so I got it just over their cost. They didn't even have to detail it, it was soo clean.

Do tint first and then work on painting. As far as the LSE body kit, idk how easy the gen2 ones are to get a hold of but I know gen1 isn't too easy. I think you can get them from the dealership for a pretty penny. Eventually I will be making my own LSE style kits!

So keep us up-to-date on the mods and I'll be looking forward to what you come up with.
 
yeah thanks. tint is numero uno for sure. unfortunately theirs a real light tint on it already so i spose i'll have to pay extra to have it stripped. plus i bet a lot of places squeeze a few extra bucks outa ya for those tiny rear windows in the back...

and older guys definitely take the best care of their rides. mine came cleaner that a lot of the detailed ones i test drove at dealerships. i knew right away how clean it would be when i first saw it sitting in his immaculate garage right next to his beautiful C4 corvette and a workbench covered in detailing products.

problem is i dont think i can make room in my garage. gonna have to get one of those car tents or whatever. it will look awful in my driveway but i think it's worth it!
 
ha i just read your sig.
i have a 97 escort for the same purpose. a little ugly red bucket of a car. but good to have around.
 
You got a nice foundation to build on. Good luck on startin' the mod list - we're here to help if ya need it.
 
Painting your skirts and valance yourself is definately cheaper. If done right it looks just as good too.
 
Mine have been painted for around 3-4 years now without major issues. I noticed a small chip behind the right rear wheel tonight, but it's not bad.
 
actually i'll probly take them to someone to have them done. paint and tint are about the only thing im not comfortable messing with on my car.
 
Banker said:
yeah thanks. tint is numero uno for sure. unfortunately theirs a real light tint on it already so i spose i'll have to pay extra to have it stripped. plus i bet a lot of places squeeze a few extra bucks outa ya for those tiny rear windows in the back!
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Actually most tint shops charge by the number of doors and not the number of windows. Some shops will even strip the old tint off for free. Its not that hard to remove yourself if you want to save some money. Just use a hair dryer on max heat to loosen up the adhesive and peel it off.
 
SlickLS said:
Just use a hair dryer on max heat to loosen up the adhesive and peel it off.
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good to know

Mechanicboy said:
Let me know if you find a cheap place to get the caps. I heard you can get them at a home depot or lowes but I haven't been there yet to check.
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yeah someone posted a pic of them in another thread. i went to my local hardware store (McDaniels Do-It Center) today and found a whole selection of every size for individual sale. except the smaller they are the more they wanted for em. they wanted like $1.70 for ones that looked about the right size. the person that posted the pic i think said they found em for like 10 cents

i cant remember where i found the thread but i think they said they just put 3 coats of touch up paint and 3 coats of like duplicolor clear coat or something.

plugz4.jpg
 
i forgot to add HIDs and Angel Eyes to my list.
i need to find the best way to do this. im confused cuz there's a ton of info about it but a bunch of different methods plus the differences between 1st and 2nd gen
 
Banker said:
yeah someone posted a pic of them in another thread. i went to my local hardware store (McDaniels Do-It Center) today and found a whole selection of every size for individual sale. except the smaller they are the more they wanted for em. they wanted like $1.70 for ones that looked about the right size. the person that posted the pic i think said they found em for like 10 cents

i cant remember where i found the thread but i think they said they just put 3 coats of touch up paint and 3 coats of like duplicolor clear coat or something.
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$1.70 is better than $25 that some website wanted for some already painted. Speaking of paint, did you get the touchup paint from the same place? The touchup paint the same stuff you use on rock chips, door dings, etc with some clear coat put on right.

Sorry to sound dumb about this, but paint ain't my thing. My idea of painting is grab a rattle can and doing my best not to create any runny lines. :cool:
 
well i havent done it yet. but im gonna go to the auto parts store and get the tiny thing of touch up paint that matches my car color. they usually have a book that u can use to look up your paint code or u can find the paint code somewhere on your car (except i couldnt find it on my car)

then im just gonna buy some kind of duplicolor clear coat in a rattle can

Mechanicboy said:
doing my best not to create any runny lines. :cool:
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and thats why u do several thin coats of each. thinner is better than one overly-thick coat that runs or doesnt dry well. put on super thin coats and follow the drying instructions on the can even if that means coming back to it every half hour or hour for each additional coat.

these tiny things are about the only thing i'll risk painting myself and even at $1.70, no loss if u screw em up

(also pay attention to the temperature range on the side of the can. paint might not dry correctly if its too cold out)
 
Banker said:
well i havent done it yet. but im gonna go to the auto parts store and get the tiny thing of touch up paint that matches my car color. they usually have a book that u can use to look up your paint code or u can find the paint code somewhere on your car (except i couldnt find it on my car)

then im just gonna buy some kind of duplicolor clear coat in a rattle can



and thats why u do several thin coats of each. thinner is better than one overly-thick coat that runs or doesnt dry well. put on super thin coats and follow the drying instructions on the can even if that means coming back to it every half hour or hour for each additional coat.

these tiny things are about the only thing i'll risk painting myself and even at $1.70, no loss if u screw em up
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Sounds good, I'll have to try it someday.
 
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