1997 Eclipse GS

[motozachl]

Do nothing and rat rod it

 

[EDM95]

Needs work but it was not as bad as mine when I first painted it. Get a stock 2gb body kit and than paint it a nice color. You could powder coat your valve color the same color that you will paint the car, or maybe get a shaved neon valve cover and coat that.

 

[mooner23]

As for painting it, what are people's thought's on Maaco? Or would I be better off just rattle-canning?

 

[motozachl]

Maaco if you want to paint it again next year

 

[mooner23]

Yeah but will rattle-can last longer?

 

[2GbTalonGuy]

I think he is suggesting a professional paint job. Do NOT rattle can it. It will not turn out very good.

 

[mooner23]

Okay. Professional jobs are so expensive though.

 

[Fossity]

Okay. Professional jobs are so expensive though.

No offense, but that $1700 "deal" isn't so good anymore is it? Haha.

Hopefully you'll be able to rescue this Eclipse and turn it back to (or at least close to) its original state. Good luck!

 

[mooner23]

Still a pretty good deal when I only had 1800 to spend on a car that I could get an eclipse like I was looking for haha. But yeah I'm hoping so too

 

[Silver99OZ]

As for painting it, what are people's thought's on Maaco? Or would I be better off just rattle-canning?

Neither of these choices are any good. I have heard that if you prep the car yourself really good the Maaco paintjobs can come out half decent. I personally wound never have a car painted at Maaco, but thats just me.

 

[Tyeler18]

Do you have a garage you could use a legit spray gun to paint in?

If so, it's really not that hard to do. The bodywork is the hardest part. If you can prep the part good the paint will look good. Don't rattle can it though.

 

[Zmoney8907]

bump on the prep work yourself get yourself a flexible block and some paper and get out all the high and lows. prep is the most time consuming part of painting a car which is also the most crucial part of painting a car.

 

[Alex7747]

Dont rattle can it. If your going to paint it, do it right the first time so your not having to do another paint job in a year.

 

[EDM95]

Do it right the first time. Maybe you can do all body work your self and than have macco paint it for you. Paint it your self maybe? You can't mess it up any more than it is, you could look at some paint and body forums learn how to do all the prep work etc and you can do it your self.

 

[Russman1986]

Dont do maaco they suck BALLS! A rustoleum paint job wouldn't be that expensive and look alright. My "rustoleum $50 roll-on paint job" - Car Care Forums: Meguiar's Online

 

[mooner23]

Thanks for the suggestions on rattle-canning it, I was only going to do it because it is the cheapest option and money isn't exactly flowing for a 17-year old still in high school working only weekends haha.

 

[mooner23]

Finally got the "new" used transmission as well as new clutch and flywheel installed so my DSM is back up and running, and boy did I miss it. Now for the next step in making this car nice, how do I take out the gauge cluster to replace my gauges? Thanks

 

[spyder54]

Oem bumpers. I love clean white 2g dsms. I would go white on the paint

i completely agree. idk if you have painted it yet but seriously like a pearl white ALWAYS looks cleans especially on our eclipses. i think next year im gonna do it to mine

 

[mooner23]

i completely agree. idk if you have painted it yet but seriously like a pearl white ALWAYS looks cleans especially on our eclipses. i think next year im gonna do it to mine

No I haven't painted it yet, but I have decided that that is the color I wanna do it. I think leaving the lime green door jams will be kinda cool too because it will give the car a different look when the doors are open, and make it more unique. I found a friend of a friend that said he'd do it for around $700 including prep, paint and labor.

 

[Misterbeechy]

rattle can it indoors comes out ok.. especially if you know how to. with alooot of clear coat looks great..

i did a whole fender and it came out pretty good... havent had a year yet tho so i cant tell you much...

 

[mooner23]

rattle can it indoors comes out ok.. especially if you know how to. with alooot of clear coat looks great..

i did a whole fender and it came out pretty good... havent had a year yet tho so i cant tell you much...

I can't do it indoors, mom won't let me use the garage hahaha.

 

[Satabird88]

I rattle canned my Daily Jeep and it turned out great. Make sure your over lap is 75% or more. The only issue I have with it is that is doesn't have the adhesion that professional paints do. I prepped it properly and it still have issues with it blowing off with a good pressure washing.

I say just get some good Black epoxy primer from a autobody supply store and spray it on there. It will seal it up good and have good corrosion resistance.

 

[96_killer]

Bammm Plastidipped I'm just waiting to do my car!!!

 

[Misterbeechy]

plastidip, peels off sorry.. just wait until someone leans and places a tear on the plastidip... you would be very upset...

yea if you cant get indoors that sux.. incase you do ... just do good sanding.. even amount of layers.. then nice clear coat.. speaking of which..

what is the best type of "clear" that we can use??

i dont know if it was because i layered clear outside but after a while it would start to get air pockets and then chip off :/

but only happened when i was outside spaying.. didint happen to any of my indoor stuff...

 

[mooner23]

Got it primered! Looks 50x better now!