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View Full Version : DIY Color matching Civic EK sideskirts and side guards [UPDATED]



philip_pc
22-10-2008, 03:24 PM
Disclaimer: The following is provided as a GUIDE ONLY, and neither myself nor Ozhonda take any responsibility for the outcomes of someone else doing the following. You follow these steps at your own risk!

Ive always liked the look of the type r styled cars how they dont have those black colored moulds on the side, looks hawt.....anyways had some spare time today and colored mine and thought id share it with other members of the forum just to show how easy it is, some motivation for you to get your ones painted too :thumbsup:

Aim: To Color match EK civic sideskirts
Required: Sandpaper (i used wet 600grit and 1200grit), cleaning cloth, plastic primer, matching car color paint, clear coat, working stands (optional)

Steps:

1). First step is to remove your sideskirts, on each side of the car there should be 3 screws under the skirt and another 3 just behind the front wheel holding the skirt in place. Remove all these screws and place them in a place you wont forget. So there should be 6 screws in total on each side, total of 12.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/philip_pc/honda%20civic/screws.jpg

Once all screws are off, open your door, grab the skirt firmly and push towards the front of the car and they should pop off, there will be little clips still on the car, just jiggle them around to remove them cause you'll need them to secure the skirt again later. Do this to both sides and you'll have your sideskirts removed, easy peazy.

2). Next step is to use your 600grit sandpaper to sand down the skirt, you dont have to use wetsand of 600 but i just did in this case cause so yeah. the 600 will remove most of the larger uneven spots, dirt or grime buildup or so on.

3). Once done give them a good rinse and dry with the cloth, they should dry rather quickly (a good thing :angel:)

4). Your next step is to place them on your stands and prime them with plastic primer, i used K&H plastiprime that i got from autoban, actually i got all my spray cans from autoban.

5). Spray, wait to dry, sand with 1200(no water) just to remove any running or uneven sprays you may have accidentally made, dust off with another cloth (make sure you dust as much off as possible). Spray again and sand again untill you are satisfied with the result :angel:, from my memory i think i applied around 6-7 coats of primer with sanding in between every one, last step should be sanding, paint will go onto sanded primer surface (well this is what i did).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/philip_pc/honda%20civic/primed.jpg

6). After all that is done, then spray your sideskirts with the matched color you purchased, shouldnt need to sand here unless you accidently have some running paint or something again, apply as many coats as you like till satisfaction :angel: i applied i think about 4-5 coats.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/philip_pc/honda%20civic/color.jpg

7). All these layers should dry rather quickly (within 2minutes or so) as long as you dong spray too much on in one go. Next step is to spray the clear coat, now you want lotsa this hahaha to protect your paintwork, i sprayed about 3-4 pretty thick coats (thicker then the primer and paint at least).

8). Once all is complete, assemble your sideskirts back on the same way you took them off (affix those little clips you removed earlier on to the inside of the sideskirt and then just align them to the holes and push to pop them in) and viola you have your color matched sideskirts....SEXY AS

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/philip_pc/honda%20civic/driverside.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/philip_pc/honda%20civic/passengerside.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/philip_pc/honda%20civic/frontshot.jpg

Other comments: Im planning on doing the upper moulds too later on but i think i'll do bit by bit and leave them for another day, going to do the mirrors too but not sure how to remove them on an EK, guess i'll just be using a while heap of tape and newspaper, if anyone knows how to remove the side mirrors on an EK id greatly appreciate it :angel:

Anyways thats enough of me, happy spraying fellow ozhonda people :thumbsup:

Side moulds have now been color matched too, pictures can be found on page 2 or on this link.
http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=100705&page=2

chunsa
22-10-2008, 03:53 PM
Looks like an awesome job. Gotta give this a try on the Prelude side skirts too.

Perhaps you have to remove your door panel before accessing your side mirrors (that's how you do it on the Prelude). It could be the same in your case too.

How many cans did you get and how much all up?

RtN
22-10-2008, 03:59 PM
Nice!! imo should have done the moulds, mirrors, and handles also while you're at it lol.

Raztaz
22-10-2008, 05:07 PM
nice!! thats a good end result im gonna do this after my exams. To get to ur mirrors just get a flat head screwdriver and pry off the black plastic triangle bit on the door (on the INSIDE of ur car) ( the other side of where the mirror is attached lol) and then unscrew the mirror off

RtN
22-10-2008, 05:13 PM
I guess the hard part would be to paint the inside of the mirrors lol.

beeza
22-10-2008, 05:16 PM
Great work!

Just make sure you get EXACT colour.The color code will be on the driver's or passengers door frame.If you take this code to a good spray paint shop,they can make up a pressure pack (spray can for you).

philip_pc
22-10-2008, 07:49 PM
I guess the hard part would be to paint the inside of the mirrors lol.

yeah ah i dont think im gonna do the inside of the mirrors, just gonna paint the outer section of the mirror, if you take notice there should be a crevice that seperates te mirror housing into two peices, gonna just paint the back section and leave the front section towards the actual mirror black, like most cars are now, give it some silver but also leave some black for some contrast, not sure if i described it well here though lolz, if not i'll try get a picture up.
oh yeah i only had time to do the skirts today, the side moulds and door handles and stuff i will do also but thats gonna have to be for another day, i'll try get another DIY up for that as well, as for the mirror, sounds easy enough to take off, i'll give that a go.:angel:

philip_pc
22-10-2008, 07:51 PM
Looks like an awesome job. Gotta give this a try on the Prelude side skirts too.

Perhaps you have to remove your door panel before accessing your side mirrors (that's how you do it on the Prelude). It could be the same in your case too.

How many cans did you get and how much all up?

got 3 cans all up, one primer, one color and one clear coat, all together cost me under 50 bux and i used only a little bit of it, still got quiet alot left in the can, gues it would be enough to do the handles, mirrors and even the sides.
it looks soo much better without the black moulds. oh the 50 included the sandpaper as well

BNK
22-10-2008, 09:23 PM
Very nice dude:D

Ek4Vtir
22-10-2008, 09:27 PM
that's great work man. I'm looking to paint mouldings on my car colour coded aswel.. With the clear coat does it make the texture of the paintjob the same as the car? Gloss smooth n shiny ay? Does autobarn sell matching colour coded paint? Or were u just lucky they had urs?

Raztaz
22-10-2008, 09:36 PM
that's great work man. I'm looking to paint mouldings on my car colour coded aswel.. With the clear coat does it make the texture of the paintjob the same as the car? Gloss smooth n shiny ay? Does autobarn sell matching colour coded paint? Or were u just lucky they had urs?

Autobarn matches paint, go in there with ur code and they do it on the spot, you can watch em as well lol. Takes about 10-15min

philip_pc
22-10-2008, 11:28 PM
that's great work man. I'm looking to paint mouldings on my car colour coded aswel.. With the clear coat does it make the texture of the paintjob the same as the car? Gloss smooth n shiny ay? Does autobarn sell matching colour coded paint? Or were u just lucky they had urs?


yeah autobarn can mix your paint for you no problems. mine was a mixed one too. as for the texture it doesnt give exact feeling as the actual car body or even the bumpers, im just under the impression that car body work is done by the pros with the proper tools thats why they can get such a smooth and glossy feeling. As i used spray cans here the feel of it is not as smooth as the car body but still very smooth, just make sure you keep sanding with high grade grit paper to remove lumps and bumps. glossyness? im satisfied with it, when you stand from a distance you cant even tell that its a DIY job, you'd think it came out of the factory like that (what my sister said)

Ek4Vtir
23-10-2008, 05:06 PM
interesting thanks for the reply guys =]

hmm have you tried waxing it down Phillip? I'm pretty sure it will become glossy and shiney ;) If u do let me know how it turns out ay

A'PEXi
23-10-2008, 08:50 PM
give the new clear a bit of polish :D

RtN
24-10-2008, 12:35 AM
give the new clear a bit of polish :D

yeh thats right.. BUT NOT WAX until like 90 days later.. needa let your paint breathe =]

Read #10

http://www.meguiars.com/faq/index.cfm?faqCat=paint%20care&faqQuestionID=54&section=_54


and heres some extra info:

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10723

philip_pc
24-10-2008, 10:36 AM
interesting thanks for the reply guys =]

hmm have you tried waxing it down Phillip? I'm pretty sure it will become glossy and shiney ;) If u do let me know how it turns out ay


never thought about that hahahah guess its cause im use to not waxing the sideskirts before cause they were just black plastic, but i'll definately try doing them later on down the track and let you know of the result, i'll prob try some plastic polish on it a bit later on too

philip_pc
25-10-2008, 07:41 PM
color matched the side ones today too, looking better now =)
i got a bit lazy to take them all of so i did them the lazy way and just taped it all around with electrical tape, nice and soft, good on the paint.
4 layers of primer with sanding in between, 3 layers of colour and 4 layers of clear coat, looks outstanding =).
i think i might actually leave the door handles and mirrors, gives the door a bit of contrast that having everything silver.

just some pictures to illustrate the end, techniques used in this part was pretty much the same as the sideskirt one

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/philip_pc/25-10-2008MoreColorMatching4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/philip_pc/25-10-2008MoreColorMatching7.jpg

taks
25-10-2008, 08:25 PM
looks awesome!

jeffreymui
26-10-2008, 12:31 AM
do the mud flap as well.....nice!!!!

philip_pc
26-10-2008, 08:38 AM
mud flaps are rubber, im not too sure how well paint goes on rubber.
i was thinking of actually taking them off cause it looks kinda good but in another way i kinda wanna have them there to stop all the crap going onto the sideskirts when it rains

simonnowis
26-10-2008, 09:29 AM
wow nice job, as soon as my holiday starts i was planning to paint the moulds and skirts to. thanks for the guide!
Rep +

kelviN
26-10-2008, 01:08 PM
haha good work phil ! never thought ud be bothered doing this. Time to do ctr style headlights =P hehe

steve88
27-10-2008, 07:41 AM
take your car even to a panelbeater and they will paint match your car as well. thats how i got mine done, also probably a good idea to put some clear coat on too- between the base coat and clear coat you should probably do it within 15minutes (While paint is tacky) or if you let it dry make sure you clean the base coat with some prepsol then spray it on again
i also wet sanded and polished my side skirts/trims but im just anal :P lmao

BNK
27-10-2008, 08:44 AM
steve88, how much did it set you back to color code the skirts with panel beater?

steve88
31-10-2008, 04:05 PM
mine did it for free lol. but you'll probably get charged around $50, try prepping it urself

Ek4Vtir
03-11-2008, 05:27 PM
I just colour coded my moudlings using this "DIY" awesum stuff man =D Worked wonders!!

** Just a tip guys: Remember to let the "colour coded paint" dry before spraying "clear coat" because the chemicals in the two paints mix can make a weird gray colour... that what happened to me but I just sanded it down again and retry ;)

philip_pc
03-11-2008, 08:33 PM
sweet job ek4vtir =)
any pics of the job?
yeah sanding is important, i just did my mirrors too, will perhaps get some pics up later on during the week, dont have camera with me now.

tiksie
04-11-2008, 12:01 AM
Did you cut and polish after finishing it ?

philip_pc
04-11-2008, 09:26 AM
no not yet, gonna give the paint some time to cure first.

steve88
13-11-2008, 02:32 PM
I just colour coded my moudlings using this "DIY" awesum stuff man =D Worked wonders!!

** Just a tip guys: Remember to let the "colour coded paint" dry before spraying "clear coat" because the chemicals in the two paints mix can make a weird gray colour... that what happened to me but I just sanded it down again and retry ;)

this is not true with 2pac. with 2pac spray one over the other just enough to let the surface of basecoat dry

RtN
13-11-2008, 04:39 PM
umm 2 pac you wont really be DIYing nemore. You usually need a booth, repirator and all that as it has toxic chemicals etc. lol

tiksie
15-11-2008, 02:42 AM
umm 2 pac you wont really be DIYing nemore. You usually need a booth, repirator and all that as it has toxic chemicals etc. lol

Sif need a booth lawlz.

Garage + wet floor = win.

Everything has toxic chemicals.

RtN
15-11-2008, 12:46 PM
haha but 2pac is particularly toxic with its fumes etc. but yeh anyway lol

dc4t
03-12-2008, 05:41 PM
haha, did this to my gf's ek today, side skirts n bumper strips all around, gotta love DIY. ill post pics soon.. one thing i noted, there's only 2 screws at the front of the skirt.. also how'd u do the mirrors? diy for that?

philip_pc
03-12-2008, 08:04 PM
best way to do mirrors would be to actually remove them (easier this way)
just take the door trim off and use a flathead screwdriver, the black triangle should pop out with a bit of pressure.
should then find 3 screws inside there holding the mirror to the car, unscrew them and you have a car without mirrors. tape and spray away =)

MWAKU
17-01-2009, 09:00 PM
I remember using this clear coat on my amber corners, it was.. um, K&H Clear Coat Acrylic or something. Anyways, after i sprayed it, it went a really matte look

now im spraying my lip kit, and wells, i don't want it to have a matte finish on them. though the kit is fibreglass, and the amber corners where plastic/glass or whatever it was, so they are different materials.

should i just buy polish (anyone recommend anything) from autobarn just incase. because my car is pretty new, and the paint is in.. well ok condition(alot of swirls and hits though :( . ) But yeah, from far, car is so shiny, even if when you come up close and its all brown dots over it from rain.. so yeah

am i using the wrong clear coat or what

tiksie
19-01-2009, 12:37 AM
Why the hell did you clear coat your ambers ?

I think you should give your parts to a mate who knows what they are doing to show you how things are done!

MWAKU
19-01-2009, 10:12 AM
i was reading the DIY and it said to clear coat it :S

yeah, im getting my mate to show me how to make it shiny, since he resprayed his whole car.