Painting stock side skirts, rear and front valence

mlara1129

mlara1129

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So I finally got in touch with the guy that does body/paint for me. I told him I wanted those things color matched, but he advised me against it. He said it would not look good because of the texture of the plastic. Since it's not a smooth surface the paint will look messed up.

For the guys that have done it, is this true? Or are there different steps your paint shop took to make it look good?
 
Nah I did mine It looks better colormatched.
 
It won't shine, that's for sure. I'm sure Alex will chime in.
 
Well, they have to ruff up the surface to lay primer.. Then if they sand the primer, it shouldn't be that bad.. But if no sanding it done, it will look like orange peel or 'stucko' for lack of a better word..
 
Yea I bet if you lay the primer on thick enough, the paint will be smooth just as if it had no texture. I am doing this this summer probably.
 
He's correct that it wont shine or look that good if he just paints it while the skirts are rough. Thats why you have to smooth them out. It's a pain, but it will give you good results.I sanded them down to begin with, then I used about half a can of flex primer, then 2 cans of filler primer and went to town on those suckers. Even then, I think I could've smoothed it out more, I will when I repaint them and make them smooth as a babies bottom, or smoother. I took my time with the rear parts so they came out good.

Half way through all the sanding on the skirts I decided to just focus more on the edge/part that shows and not as much on the part that is under the car. I still smoothed the bottom part out, just not as much as the outer part. Make the skirts smooth and color match, or just keep them black, but if it were me, I wouldn't just paint them and leave them rough.
 
Like everyone else said, if you don't prep the side skirts then they won't look right. I'm going to have my skirts done when I finally decide to repaint the car which is overdue but for a good reason. So if you don't won't no chipping, make sure that the body shop prep them good. It may run you s little more than just painting because of the labor involved but it will be well worth the work. I think your body shop from the sounds of it don't won't to put in the work to prep them.
 
I'm with Alax and Lea. It'll take some time to sand them smooth, but IMHO it has to be done. You'll get the best finish that way. Flex primer, plastic adhesion promoter, and filler primer are your friend. I had my body shop buddy do mine for 3 years ago and it's still holding strong. I have a rock chip on one side by the rear wheelwell that needs touched up, and that's it.
 
Im going to have to agree with the guy who does your painting. If you keep your car as nice as it looks in the pics, you will not be happy with how it turns out. There is really no way to smooth out that texture to make it look good.
 
Alax7 said:
He's correct that it wont shine or look that good if he just paints it while the skirts are rough. Thats why you have to smooth them out. It's a pain, but it will give you good results.I sanded them down to begin with, then I used about half a can of flex primer, then 2 cans of filler primer and went to town on those suckers. Even then, I think I could've smoothed it out more, I will when I repaint them and make them smooth as a babies bottom, or smoother. I took my time with the rear parts so they came out good.

Half way through all the sanding on the skirts I decided to just focus more on the edge/part that shows and not as much on the part that is under the car. I still smoothed the bottom part out, just not as much as the outer part. Make the skirts smooth and color match, or just keep them black, but if it were me, I wouldn't just paint them and leave them rough.
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Alex, i might just do this myself then. How much did paint run you? And what did you use for sanding?
 
mlara1129 said:
And what did you use for sanding?
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Sandpaper.. Duhh.. :p

I would start with 280 (i think there is a 280) and put a low amount of pressure.. Then step up to 600 and put a medium amount of pressure.. Then 1000.. That will make it really smooth.. You don't want it too smooth or the paint won't stick..

Paintscratch.com for the paint
 
I don't have any close up pictures, but mine were sanded primered yada yada.. They are smooth as the plastic bumpers.

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k9t8m said:
Im going to have to agree with the guy who does your painting. If you keep your car as nice as it looks in the pics, you will not be happy with how it turns out. There is really no way to smooth out that texture to make it look good.
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thanks bro...i think youve convinced me...to hold off for a bit. Maybe ill do it this summer then, besides this sh!tty weather could mess up the paint job in a day

deff getting the mclaren color matched tho :D

FASTLLS said:
Sandpaper.. Duhh.. :p
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f*cker! i meant the grit. And you answered that so thanks :D
 
Silver_LS said:
I don't have any close up pictures, but mine were sanded primered yada yada.. They are smooth as the plastic bumpers.
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dammm that looks dammm good. Ill see what my guy says. I might as well just wait for nice weather tho, specially considering how low my car is.
 
mlara1129 said:
f*cker! i meant the grit.
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:lol: I had to.. Idk if you want to go as high as 1000 though.. You have to see what your primer says.. I would defiantly go to 600 though..

mlara1129 said:
I might as well just wait for nice weather tho, specially considering how low my car is.
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That's probably smart so you can have time to work on it..
 
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