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Ludachris's Paint Job

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Need any help on any upcoming projects? I've always wanted to learn body work and I'll gladly help /w labor if you don't mind teaching me a few things here and there.

Sure. I'll send you a pm when the next job comes in. :thumb:

Do you have any tips for taking off and reattaching the side skirts? I have heard they are a major pain and I plan on taking mine off to respray in the next year or two.

Yeah, Just make sure all the screws are out, I believe 2 screws are holding the fender cap, 7 screws holding the side skirt on the bottom along with 7 tabs in the inside.

After the screws/bolts are out and the fender cap is off, What you wanna do is take a heat gun (If you don't have access to one a hair dryer will work just fine.) Heat the edges of the skirt making the double sided tape from factory to become soft and start slowly lifting the skirt up then using a credit card or trim removal tool. Slide it in between the body and skirt and pull lightly going around the skirt.

By this point the skirt should be loose and only hanging by the tabs. Again take the heat gun and locate each tab by looking thru the spaces you now have from separating the skirt from the body. Warm up the middle section where the tabs sits on the inside of the skirt and Slowly pull (not yanking) making sure the tabs are popped out one by one from the body.

I learned and notice that whenever I heated or warmed up the middle section of the tabs they were less prone to breaking on me.

As far as Re-installing Make sure all the old double sided tape is off and sand the edges before putting on a new double sided tape on, I would also recommend using new tabs just in case the tab decides to break when you try popping them back in.

Here's a pic of a trim removal kit I got from harbor freight tools for $4.99
 

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Sorry for the extra labor on those parts Mark. I was told they were in good condition when I bought them. I know I mentioned I'd put the side skirts on the car, but if you think you can put them on and make them look good when it's all finished up, let me know. Charge me for the extra work. I'm afraid I'll never get around to installing them when I get the car back. :)
 
Sorry for the extra labor on those parts Mark. I was told they were in good condition when I bought them. I know I mentioned I'd put the side skirts on the car, but if you think you can put them on and make them look good when it's all finished up, let me know. Charge me for the extra work. I'm afraid I'll never get around to installing them when I get the car back. :)

Ah No worries man, I'll take care of it for you. :thumb:
 
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28Yaa_e8oe8]Ludachris's paint job: 1st coat of clear - YouTube[/ame]

I'll take a better video tomorrow when there's light outside.
 
Starting to get excited!!! Can't wait to see it. What weekend do you think I should start planning to head down and return my loaner car Mark? Maybe weekend of the 12/13th? Or the weekend after that? Absolutely no rush, just need to start planning it so I can make sure I give my buddy enough notice to pick me up and drop me off.
 
Looking good! I'm sure after the next rounds of clear and sanding/buffing it will look very good! Nice work!
 
Looking good! I'm sure after the next rounds of clear and sanding/buffing it will look very good! Nice work!

Thanks Man ! :thumb: Sanding and buffing isn't easy work haha Its coming along really good tho I can say. Its the best paint job Ive done ever ROFL

Update.

Sup guys! So Friday I worked on the bottom of the front bumper basically it was cracked in 2 places as you can see. I used an epoxy and 2 2''x 3'' steel mesh sheets and bondo/filler to repair it then I prime and painted it.

Some before and after pics:
 

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You need to chill Mark. I see you in that booth working on that car night and day. :thumb: That hard works paying off though
It's looking legit.;)
 
Well after Weeks and couple long nights of hard work and the fact that I had to repaint a few of pieces due to my loving grama that just had to walk in the tent the morning after I just painted the car :banghead: pretty much messed up the hood and whole right side of the car as she was stepping out :ohdamn: I can finally say She's Done and looking sexy.

Just finished her up yesterday :D A Before/After video of the car will come in a couple of days I just haven't had anytime to put a video together. Its been pretty hectic for me these past couple weeks, Sorry guys.

Well Enjoy. Let me know what you guys think.
 

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I've very happy with Mark's work. He put more work into it than we agreed upon, like adding the side skirts and mounting the spoiler. I can see a little bit of sanding marks in a few spots when looking closely - mostly in the front where grandma probably touched the car and forced him to respray at the last minute - but I'm sure with a good wax and polish they'll be very tough to see. The bodywork is absolutely great. The few blemishes the car had before are completely gone. Excellent job. Man, those skirts look so good on this car, I really don't know why they didn't use them on the 97-98, what a difference they make in the appearance. I love it. Overall, I'm very happy with how it came out and am looking forward to sending the Eclipse down there to finally get painted this spring.

The one bad thing about getting a car painted is that all of the little things that used to blend in with an old worn paint job now stand out a lot more - like the old peeling window trim and the faded wipers, and weathered tail lights... damn, I need to clean all that stuff up now so that it all looks as good as the paint.

Thanks Mark. Any locals who are considering Mark's services and want to check out the car, let me know. I'll try to post some good close-ups soon. I'm sure you'll find that his services are well worth the prices he's charging.
 
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