Suaveflooder's Whiteout FRS Journal

[AVodka14]

What he said ^. As you well know the paint quality sucks. I have read a lot of people having extreme difficulty with paint matching for White Out/Satin White Pearl. I bet it looks better the second time around. Painting the wing would have been a smarter option, haha. Since you have put so much time into I don't see why not keep it. I know you mentioned an old Prelude. That could easily turn into a money pit or you get the yearning to mod it. The FRS is still under warranty and practically a brand new car. I would be more inclined to agree with you if you had panel damage. That is more likely to rust quicker after an accident. At least from the one accident I had on my tC. The rear passenger panel was hit. Rusted WAY quicker than the driver's side. I am glad she is gone. Held onto it for 5 or so years with rust. Now that is an absolute eye sore. A plastic bumper will be no problem as long as the paint matches better.

[suaveflooder]

Originally Posted by acg2010

It's got more blue hue to it than the rest. It needs a touch more yellow to the paint, to make it look less "white."

I can understand being disappointed, but unless you were ready for another car anyways, seems a little over the top to take that kind of monetary hit over a paint job. The paint on these cars is so bad, few months any difference will be less obvious.

I thought so as well with my stillen wing. Never got better. Pictures actually tone it down a bit, and it's been a full week for me to sit and think of it and back away from the situation. Monetary will only be the cost of one tail light as of now, everything else is being covered by insurance so far. Money out of pocket should be reimbursed.

I drove around with my last cobra for 2 years with a "pink" bumper. The difference is the "eye sore." If you were to look at the cobra, you would never know. It was that subtle, but if I pointed it out, you would see it.. My M3's front end had been repainted before I bought it. Same idea…I had to be in the right light at the right time to see…and it was also a pearl. Same with the factory missmatched bumpers…it's not an eye sore. You don't mention it to anyone, they would never know. For some reason (I'm assuming that because we use water based paints here now), whiteout is a BITCH to match. I told my wife MONTHS ago (before the accident) I was concerned if I ever got hit that the part painted would turn out like the wing, and if it did, I would probably get it fixed as close as possible, but sell the car.

I can absolutly see how this seems like an over reaction, but it's something I've thought about for months. Please understand I'm PRAYING the color matches because I would really like to keep the car. I have nothing but good things to say about this little gal. The wing is on it's 3rd attempt at being matched, though, so I'm not holding my breath.

Cross your fingers, good sir. I would love to be around for a long time.

edit: and I wouldn't try and sell it locally right away. I would do my best to live with the color even being off

[acg2010]

Originally Posted by suaveflooder

...

I hear ya. I meant the monetary loss from taking a hit on selling the car.

It just occurred to me, have you thought about getting the car wrapped? For a few grand, which is less than the hit you'd take on selling the car, you could change the color entirely. Maybe go with some sweet off the wall color. There are a lot of good vinyl guys in SoCal. I know at least in Orange County, from living there I recall there were some pretty reputable places doing it.

[suaveflooder]

Originally Posted by acg2010

I hear ya. I meant the monetary loss from taking a hit on selling the car.

It just occurred to me, have you thought about getting the car wrapped? For a few grand, which is less than the hit you'd take on selling the car, you could change the color entirely. Maybe go with some sweet off the wall color. There are a lot of good vinyl guys in SoCal. I know at least in Orange County, from living there I recall there were some pretty reputable places doing it.

As far as the loss on the car value. I lost 5k almost when I drove it off the lot. Almost makes sense to lose it before I lose more money

Haven't really given a wrap much thought. I did plan on repainting the car just a standard 37J with no pearl, though around 100k miles. I figured it would match the door panels and not be as hard to match.

[Dezoris]

Here something to look forward to. dont get hung up on the nonsense.

[suaveflooder]

Originally Posted by Dezoris

Here something to look forward to. dont get hung up on the nonsense.

HAHAHAHA! BAD ASS! Thank you!

[suaveflooder]

SHE'S BACK!!!!!





and back in the garage where she belongs

[suaveflooder]

So, let me start this post by saying I'm picky……I mean REALLY picky. This has always been an advantage to those who buy my cars, but a pain in the butt for those who have the lucky opportunity to work on them. It's something I work on every day. Sometimes, you just need to leave well enough alone and enjoy what you have. @DriftEm has made fun of me for a couple months about how picky I am on stuff.

The car went back to paint yesterday….for the third time. It didn't look bad, but it stood out. The bumper was an eye sore. My suspisions were confirmed on Sunday at autox. I didn't even have to point out the bumper for @whataboutbob to look at it and say, "oh yeah, you can see it from here!"

This afternoon was pretty hard to say the least. It truely was the final try to keep the car before it was traded in next week. My wife got home just after noon and we drove over to pick her up. When I drove up, I let out a deep sigh! THANK GOD! It's hardly perfect, but it doesn't stand out at all. In fact, I would venture to say it matches better than the factory bumper.

This was the first view of the car


For comparison, here is the last pics I took of the bumper match before monday



And this is the one I just took of the same side



So, the painter blended. I've got a killer eye for paint match (for those who would like me to tag along to a "new buy" on a used car), and even with my eye, it took me a couple minutes of looking to see what they had done. Bumper was matched to the fenders (which I will be honest, I was not thrilled on), but when seeing the final product, I see how it was probably the best option for the poor painter who has had this car in his posession on and off for almost 3 weeks now. The paint match will ALWAYS be noticable to me, but to the "average joe" there will never be a thought in his or her mind that this car is perfect! All said and done, I'm pretty damn happy with the job.

To celebrate on getting my little lady back, I went and picked up some amber fogs. Been playing with the idea for awhile, and figured it was about time.



And right before my short drive tonight. It is nice to have the car back! Finally, some full shots of the car. Sorry, they are IPhone pics. I'll get better ones eventually. Just busy right now.





[IMG]http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h86/suaveflooder/D429***6-FDF9-4AC5-9544-C8CA00C03E21_zpsujoweusf.jpg[/IMG]



Oh yeah…..I added some Toms ()=)

[dkx64]

congrats dude. looks great!

any tips on baking and painting the headlights? ill be tackling that as soon as my trs hid kit arrives:P

[suaveflooder]

Originally Posted by dkx64

congrats dude. looks great!

any tips on baking and painting the headlights? ill be tackling that as soon as my trs hid kit arrives:P

Have a big flat head screw driver, and an extra set of hands. I did mine alone, but have done a couple others since. WAY easier with some help to keep the black sealant away from the chrome. If it happens to get on it, just use a little WD40 to pull it off It's actually pretty easy. More intimidating than hard


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[Turkish]

Car looks good! Once you drive it around and a reality gives it some "character" (read: rock chips) you won't even notice the imperfections anymore. I really like the look of the amber fogs, there is a white brz near me that has them and it looks really sharp. I am considering going amber for my fogs and side markers myself, I am currently white on both and I am wondering if that is a little much.

[King Tut]

Nice to see OP is still alive and well shaven.

[suaveflooder]

Originally Posted by Turkish

Car looks good! Once you drive it around and a reality gives it some "character" (read: rock chips) you won't even notice the imperfections anymore. I really like the look of the amber fogs, there is a white brz near me that has them and it looks really sharp. I am considering going amber for my fogs and side markers myself, I am currently white on both and I am wondering if that is a little much.

Agreed! Took it for a little drive this morning. The car looks great! Pretty happy. Different lighting shows different flaws and this was the only lighting I hadn't seen the car in so I was a little worried. I looked perfect!

As far as the amber fogs are concerned, I've run them on all my cars, it just took me a little longer to get to this one. Glad I did. Looks clean, especially on a whiteout.

Originally Posted by King Tut

Nice to see OP is still alive and well shaven.

lol. Getting better too! I don't really even cut myself anymore which is a HUGE plus! It's almost second nature and has gotten considerably easier.

[suaveflooder]

So, I guess this really is turning into a kind of journal. lol. I've had a spot ever since the paint job that has been bugging me. EVERYONE is telling me to get over it and just move on, but I can't. It's to the point that I walk up and avoid the quarter panel of my car. I decided to take some action today and see what was up.

Long story short, it was a full day of driving, talking to paint correction experts, body shops and insurance agents. It all went into a big circle bringing me back to the origional body shop that did the repair.

When I first saw the car after the 3rd repaint, I saw what looked like a crappy blend….on one side. I saw it immediatly. Here are some pics of said blend

blend outlined (yes, I saw this in the sun. Sometimes, my eye for perfection is more of a curse as very few people have actually seen this but me. Even the body shop guy helping me out has commented mulitiple times on my "good eye")



and without the line (look for gloss) It is not as bad in person. It is glossy and not so flat, but I cought it first day when I was wiping down the car and noticed that there were white paint "spits" on the flat part above the wheel well


Found out that they scratched my quarterpanel the last time they pulled the rear bumper. Funny part is that is sounds like the guy who has been helping me out just found this out too. Painter let him know today. I'm frustrated and just want my car back!!!

Anyway, it's back into the shop on Wednesday for a color sand. If that doesn't work, the whole quarter panel is bieng cleared. I'm ready for this to just be done.