Respraying your springs, CHEAP YO! 56k warning.

[pieee]

Disclaimer: The following are provided as a GUIDE ONLY, and neither myself. nor the original writer, nor Ozhonda take any responsibility for the outcomes of someone else doing the following. You follow these steps at your own risk!

Hey guys.

I just resprayed my springs the other week and I was taking a few photos to show a mate the process and thought that I would just post it up here as a DIY for anyone who wants to change the color of their springs to give their car a bit of look.

Just so yous know this is a cheap way of doing it but the finished product looks really good when seen in person.

WHAT YOU NEED:

2 x BRAKE CALIPER SPRAY PAINT (Color of your choice)
3 x SHEETS OF SAND PAPER(800 GRIT)
1 x BUCKET OF WATER
1 x OLD CLEAN TOWEL (That you can ruin)
1 x LARGE BOX (To keep your springs out of dusty areas when drying)

HOKAY. So here we go.

STEP 1
First thing is first. Get your springs clean! Rub these babies down till you get a nice clean surface to work with. I know you might be thinking "Why the hell should we clean them before sanding them? Whats the point they are going to get dirty when sanding anyway.." Well son you dont want to be sitting there wasting your precious time sanding away at grime instead of the paint.

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/9474/img00093201002281752.jpg

STEP 2
So you have your clean springs here ready for them to be sanded down enough for the paint to be caught on and not just crack and ripple to its demise.
So we begin with the sanding. I found that it was good to rip the sand paper into 25cm x 12cm squares and then folding them as you see in the pics, then wrapping them around the springs curves and just sanding by pulling on either end holding the springs in the air. Make sure that your sand paper is wet and dry sand paper, this gives you the best results with fine paint stuff like cars, keep the sand paper wet the whole time you are working with it, sand for a while and dip it in the water to clean it and keep it moist.

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/8783/img00095201003011536.jpg
http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/7663/img00101201003011538.jpg
http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/2264/img00102201003011539.jpg
http://img689.imageshack.us/i/img00096201003011536.jpg/


STEP 3
Clean the spring you have just sanded down by dipping them in water and using your towel to dry it off.

http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/8158/img00100201003011537.jpg

STEP 4
Now to begin with the spraying. Simple really, keep the coats light and do quite a few of them. I had only done 3 coats in the images I have posted but I finished off with 5 coats to get it nice and thick. It looks better and glossier.

So here is the painting process. Once you have a spring painted put it in your box to keep it out and away of dust particles falling on them. Also if you like and you have a box large enough you can paint it while its in there.

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/6489/img00106201003011624.jpg
http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/5303/img00097201003011536.jpg
http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/9121/img00099201003011537.jpg
http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/5290/img00107201003011626.jpg

Anyway that's about all there is to the process. Remember this is just a cheap way to do it, enjoy and post pics up if anyone actually gets around to doing it :D And also sorry about the big pics xD

Two of my springs unpainted and two painted.
http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/3794/img00111201003011648.jpg

[GIPONU]

use red/green scotchbright instead. and if u can, get ur hands on some sanding paste..

easier than gettin that 800grit round those bends

[niiCk]

shit man..you needa resize badly!

[im.Kusuma]

LOL should i do my shocks? green like tein? :D

[GIPONU]

if you do, mask up the chrome, the holes and any moving parts.lol

[WATAJK]

Just a suggestion... Prime up next time ahead to fill the massive sections of paint that have been sanded off instead of spraying right away..
IMO.

[androo]

Looks awesome! Update us on how they hold up - I'm curious to see how they do since the springs aren't static items (like most things we paint) but constantly moving. I hope it holds up well though!

Good luck!

[pieee]

Everyone above has valid points. I didnt go through the whole priming and flattening stages because this was meant to be a cheap and quick touch up just for flash. The paint on top that was taken off was caused by the springs tension on the shocks so even if you did brother to flatten and spray it, it would eventually rub down to that level again. I had these springs in my car for a few weeks then took them out cause they were too low, but there were no marks or signs of breaking paint, they held out really well. :)

[Premature Vtec]

umm, sorry 2 be a menace but whats the point of this anyways you cant see the springs anyways ?

[im.Kusuma]

if you do, mask up the chrome, the holes and any moving parts.lol
yeah of course... i'll do it if i got a set of shocks for $20 lol then i draw "tein" on it lulz :p

[PlatinumVisuals]

I would recommend using a lower grit sandpaper, like 600 or even 400 and using a high-build primer if you want to make it look 'perfect' ;)

If you just want paint on it, then you won't really need to sand it, even a quick rub down with 1000 is enough to make paint stick, but it won't last long.

[androo]

You can kinda see the springs? IMO the best mods are the subtle ones! Glad it held up for the few weeks you had it on!

I guess it doesn't have to be PERFECT if it's so hidden anyways. small imperfections won't really show. As long as there's no chips/flaking I guess!

I agree with everyone with the extra prep - but as piee said, he wasn't really looking for a really good finish. It's off the car now anyways so it doesn't matter anymore!

[[Ash CIVIC]]

looks clean !
how do you do it if the shox and springs are together lol