I is painting!... and a question

Well, I broke down and picked up some supplies a little while ago to repaint my brake calipers (from red to black) and my front bumper lip (redoing the stripes and a bunch of cracked areas) and some of my interior. It's going well so far, I'm almost done with the left brakes and about 1/3rd through the lip. I'm not really getting detailed because I'll probably have the entire thing repainted at some point... again. This was a CRAPPY job.

Anyway, about the interior.

How in the HECK to do you get the gauge hood off?

I've tried and tried, but even though I undo both Philips screws under the bottom, it won't come apart and I'm afraid I'll break it. Any help?? This is getting annoying :(

Don't worry... no matter how gentle you are, it will break. ;)

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Originally Posted by Titus

Don't worry... no matter how gentle you are, it will break. ;)

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Heh, I just got it figured out... and I didn't break it. Yay me! It's gonna break going back in though, I can feel it ::Banana::


Side note: What can I do about getting the paint off the hood? Some of it feels normal but there's some rubbery-sticky parts on it.

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Originally Posted by MadMonkey

Heh, I just got it figured out... and I didn't break it. Yay me! It's gonna break going back in though, I can feel it ::Banana::


Side note: What can I do about getting the paint off the hood? Some of it feels normal but there's some rubbery-sticky parts on it.

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How the ::Censor:: did you not break the damn thing??? I thought I got mine off just fine until I tried to put it back on... and then I noticed it wouldn't stick back in... and then I noticed that large chunks were still stuck in the dash!

Booooo...

Congrats, MadMonkey... :D

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Originally Posted by MadMonkey

Side note: What can I do about getting the paint off the hood? Some of it feels normal but there's some rubbery-sticky parts on it.

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I hope you had a decent coat of wax then hit it up with a clay bar.

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Originally Posted by Nexus Flux

I hope you had a decent coat of wax then hit it up with a clay bar.

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Er... the gauge hood, not that thingy covering the engine bay ;)

EDIT: Another question. Is there a writeup on removing and replacing all the interior carpet? I don't want to dive into something without knowing what I'm getting into. I'm not going to remove the dash to replace it... I know it's possible! :D

Next Question: Where do I put the lubricant for the speedometer cable? I removed the gauge cluster and I believe I know the answer (in the hole, duh) but I want to make sure. Any suggestion on the type of lube to use?

Thanks guys. She's coming together ;)

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Originally Posted by MadMonkey

Er... the gauge hood, not that thingy covering the engine bay ;)

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Oh, you could try some Novus plastic polish.

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Originally Posted by MadMonkey

Next Question: Where do I put the lubricant for the speedometer cable? I removed the gauge cluster and I believe I know the answer (in the hole, duh) but I want to make sure. Any suggestion on the type of lube to use?

Thanks guys. She's coming together ;)

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Remove the cable and coat it with grafite. It should be dry, but not rusty. If you see lost of rust, get a new sheath, cause it's toast.(personal experience talking)

Denatured alcohol will remove the overspray, if that is what you are describing as "from the painting". If you have painted it, and now want to remove the paint (from the plastic), better off just painting stock color (or color of choice). I have tried lacquer thinners in the past, they work, but too well....turns surface of plastic into a guey mess. Some PVC's can handle it, but I wouldn't trust ruining a good cluster hood. Also, did your hood have three clips, the "book" mentioned these, but did not show how to release them or WHEN to undo them. Good luck getting it together.

Second suggestion to your edit: All the carpet can be replaced without removing the dash...it is more difficult, but can be done. Hope you have some small monkeys available. Ha! The only downside is the carpet plugs (those little rubber things that stick in through holes to hold it in place) Those usually end up getting destroyed by removal. Some hardware stores carry them and are way cheaper than the dealer.

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Originally Posted by Radio-Active

Remove the cable and coat it with grafite. It should be dry, but not rusty. If you see lost of rust, get a new sheath, cause it's toast.(personal experience talking)

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Thank you... now to find some graphite.. I suppose I could grind up a golf club shaft... ::Hmm::

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Originally Posted by trexmiata

If you have painted it, and now want to remove the paint (from the plastic), better off just painting stock color (or color of choice).

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Actually I haven't painted it; I'm preparing to paint it. It had some scratches and chips off the stock paint.

The top of the hood is okay, but down around the edges the paint is sticky and rubbery (when I rub it, some of the paint will stay on my finger). I was wondering if there some way to get rid of it so I didn't have to paint over that mess.

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Originally Posted by trexmiata

Second suggestion to your edit: All the carpet can be replaced without removing the dash...it is more difficult, but can be done. Hope you have some small monkeys available. Ha! The only downside is the carpet plugs (those little rubber things that stick in through holes to hold it in place) Those usually end up getting destroyed by removal. Some hardware stores carry them and are way cheaper than the dealer.

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I found some plugs at Autozone that look like they'll work; I'm going to take one of mine in just to be sure though.

As of now, the brake calipers have been repainted and look much, much better (the car colors match great now).

The front lip looks WAY better than it did, previously it had a ton of chips, dings, cracks, smudges, etc. I gave it a quick sand and masked it (the stripes extend onto it), then blasted it with cheap $2.50-can spray paint. It looks nice, and you can even see your reflection in it! I didn't go into a lot of detail because I'll probably get it repainted when I save up a bit of money.

I'm thinking a bass-boat dark metallic blue with 2 white stripes.... :clap:

Lock Smith dry lube is grafite. Should be able to get it at autozone or Home Depot in a little container for a buck or two.

You could also take a pencil and shave the lead out of it.

AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH.

Well gee, maybe I could do all this carpet stuff that I'm planning if SOMEBODY hadn't piled the #$% garage full of lawn tools, construction equipment, and other assorted CRAP. I can't even find my carpet and it was in a BIG box, WTF??? ::Rant::

My brother: "Ooh I'll tell ya what, we'll each take half the garage, I'll take the front and you can have the back"

Me: "Okay" *suspicious*

A month later, my RC planes were being squeezed out by "necessities" and I'd be finding $1k worth of planes being stacked on each other and piled in corners.

I'm ticked.


Somebody cheer me up ::Censor::::Censor::::Censor::

I have 4 kids, and that happens to me all time.... not w/ the planes though. I feel I'm being squeezed out by necessity.... Does that helP? :)

Sounds like some Denatured Alcohol might get rid of the gooey stuff and allow you to prep for painting. Denatured A is good for any painting prep as it creates a static repellent to block dust for a bit....

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Originally Posted by trexmiata

Sounds like some Denatured Alcohol might get rid of the gooey stuff and allow you to prep for painting. Denatured A is good for any painting prep as it creates a static repellent to block dust for a bit....

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I'll try that.

Side note... I asked my brother about the carpet, and it sounds like there's a chance he threw it away.


Let's hope, for his sake, that he didn't do anything so incredibly foolish.

::Blowup::

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Originally Posted by MadMonkey

Actually I haven't painted it; I'm preparing to paint it. It had some scratches and chips off the stock paint.

The top of the hood is okay, but down around the edges the paint is sticky and rubbery (when I rub it, some of the paint will stay on my finger). I was wondering if there some way to get rid of it so I didn't have to paint over that mess.

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I know about the goey paint paste you speak of. When I painted mine I used some single edge razor blades and an exacto knife to scrape as much of the paint as I could then I lightly sanded it, cleaned with alcohol and went to town painting it.

Good luck!

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Originally Posted by Ted the Red

I know about the goey paint paste you speak of. When I painted mine I used some single edge razor blades and an exacto knife to scrape as much of the paint as I could then I lightly sanded it, cleaned with alcohol and went to town painting it.

Good luck!

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Hey, that sounds like it could work. I'm still trying to find the carpet at the moment, but I'll try that. Thanks a lot for the help, guys, I'll let ya know if I need anything else :D

Update: Speedometer squeak is FIXED!!! The graphite worked perfectly. And my carpet was located in the backyard toolshed.

Unfortunately, the gauge hood did break on the way back in. But... er... I found out it was actually broken before I even tried to take it off ;) No wonder it was so easy!! Now it looks like I'll need a new one.

Today: Carpet, lighted gauge faces, if there's enough time, headrest speakers. I'll be busy, hold my calls :D

Thanks again for the help, guys. Further bulletins as events warrant!!!

QUESTION!

I need a power source for the lighted gauge faces. I'm working on them right now (veeery gingerly); what can I tie in to that will turn them on when the lights are turned on? I don't have a stinkin voltmeter :(

Just hook them into the cigarette lighter and they will come on whenever the ignition is turned on. Otherwise, you could use the wire off of the stereo for the dimmer circuit.

http://www.miata.net/garage/conn3.gif

Didn't think about that. Thanks! :D

Gauges are done! They look very nice, but I still have to change the rest of the lights on the dash to blue now to match. I also have to find a place to mount the dimmer switch.

I didn't do the carpet yet due to the pouring rain (I worked on the gauges inside). Hopefully I can start soon though.