Pete's GS400 Build Thread
02-25-13, 05:17 PM
#122
So, i am glad my window was down because i heard a scraping noise. My Lip was dragging on the ground!
All my JB Weld and Gorilla Epoxy musta let loose on a slight heavy drift with the homie
So, I took it off, resanded, primed, based and cleared it again and SCREWED that b!ch in this time.
That oughtta hold her.
All my JB Weld and Gorilla Epoxy musta let loose on a slight heavy drift with the homie
So, I took it off, resanded, primed, based and cleared it again and SCREWED that b!ch in this time.
That oughtta hold her.
hahaha jk.. car looks awesome though bro!! keep up the good work 
02-27-13, 10:05 AM
#124
haha its all good man. go for it. i think they are a great wheel for a good price. funny is you have the wheels that used to be on my car. IS350 wheels are in my garage now waiting on a new owner to scoop em up. if you are looking to get the Privat's let me know. I can tell you where i got mine. I got a great deal and chose a specific offset/tire setup
02-27-13, 03:19 PM
#125
you can barely tell. but now it is screwed in. two screws in front, two under the front corners bottom side and of course the 2 screws that go into the fender
Hopefully this weekend if my paint comes in i will tackle the inevitable riveted in spoiler bodywork.
Hopefully this weekend if my paint comes in i will tackle the inevitable riveted in spoiler bodywork.
03-10-13, 05:10 PM
#127
Sick of the Hood falling down on your head? Replace those worn out Hood Struts in 10 minutes flat.
Bought mine on eBay for $29 from deezeeauto and the brand is "StrongArm" and they come with the swivel ball bolts so you dont have to drill out your old ones.
Unscrew the factory ones with a 12mm
Reinstall the new ones Used a (7/32) - Done Deal! Hood Raises up by itself.
Bought mine on eBay for $29 from deezeeauto and the brand is "StrongArm" and they come with the swivel ball bolts so you dont have to drill out your old ones.
Unscrew the factory ones with a 12mm
Reinstall the new ones Used a (7/32) - Done Deal! Hood Raises up by itself.
03-11-13, 08:16 PM
#129
On my '03, I had to replace the rear bulb on the driver's side brake light. I had the dealership replace all of the bulbs at once so I won't have to see that light on the dash for at least another 10 years.
Outstanding build, btw. Love the attention to detail you have on your car. And as a guy who details for pay on the weekends, I can appreciate the effort it takes to get black paint looking good. Why, you ask? Because my wife has had not one but two black Suburbans. lol. Thank god those were both garaged -- that's all I can say about that.
03-11-13, 08:54 PM
#130
Ok, now we tackle the inevitable riveted spoiler brackets so we can mount the Junction Produce Replica spoiler.
Disclaimer::...
BEFORE the haters chime in. I don't advise anybody doing this the way i did. I paid cash for my car and i am not afraid to mess it up if i do. I did everything with what i had in my garage.
So once you take off your factory wing. This is what you are stuck with.
I tried to drill them out, then i used the Dremel. still no go. Then i tried a big grinder, but i was afraid i would hit the paint. So i went back to Drill Bits, just stepping them up a size each time. It's tough because the rivet would spin with the drill bit. At any rate, after about 40 minutes i finally popped them off on the bits. Pain in the AS5 i tell ya. But i won this round.
Here's what you got. Holes and Squares and what not. My biggest problem was that the square hole was actually bent UP. (probably from years of people lifting and pulling on the spoiler to open / close trunk.) i knew i had to get them bent in or flush to fill the holes.
I suppose i coulda called a junkyard and searched for a black onyx trunk. But i didnt, i just kept goin
Test fit
So i took a soft mallet with cloth wrapped around tips of screwdrivers to bang them in.
Then i busted out some super dense body filler and got to work
Smoothed her out dry and wetsanding from 220, 400, 600, 1000, 2000
Gettin there
Almost flush
This is rattle can blend Black Primer / Black Onyx / Clear
I shoulda spent one more day with some thinner body filler and done it all one more time for a perfect flat result
The Griot's Garage Random Orbital can really bring your paint job back to life. Looks almost perfect
Done Deal!
Disclaimer::...
BEFORE the haters chime in. I don't advise anybody doing this the way i did. I paid cash for my car and i am not afraid to mess it up if i do. I did everything with what i had in my garage.
So once you take off your factory wing. This is what you are stuck with.
I tried to drill them out, then i used the Dremel. still no go. Then i tried a big grinder, but i was afraid i would hit the paint. So i went back to Drill Bits, just stepping them up a size each time. It's tough because the rivet would spin with the drill bit. At any rate, after about 40 minutes i finally popped them off on the bits. Pain in the AS5 i tell ya. But i won this round.
Here's what you got. Holes and Squares and what not. My biggest problem was that the square hole was actually bent UP. (probably from years of people lifting and pulling on the spoiler to open / close trunk.) i knew i had to get them bent in or flush to fill the holes.
I suppose i coulda called a junkyard and searched for a black onyx trunk. But i didnt, i just kept goin
Test fit
So i took a soft mallet with cloth wrapped around tips of screwdrivers to bang them in.
Then i busted out some super dense body filler and got to work
Smoothed her out dry and wetsanding from 220, 400, 600, 1000, 2000
Gettin there
Almost flush
This is rattle can blend Black Primer / Black Onyx / Clear
I shoulda spent one more day with some thinner body filler and done it all one more time for a perfect flat result
The Griot's Garage Random Orbital can really bring your paint job back to life. Looks almost perfect
Done Deal!
03-13-13, 01:03 PM
#134
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Do you recommend the Griot's Garage orbital? I'm a beginner to detailing, and was told i have the possibility of burning through my paint/clearcoat. Do you recommend this orbital for me to learn with and use? I'm hoping it'll last me a while too, because I plan to recover another car's paint, repolish my gs, and to use it for painting projects too.
As for your painting, how well does the paint match up to OEM? I was hoping to buy some paint-matched cans and spray a lip myself, with the help of an orbital too. Please let me know, because I would love to and enjoy doing these things myself, even if a shop can do a quality job.
As for your painting, how well does the paint match up to OEM? I was hoping to buy some paint-matched cans and spray a lip myself, with the help of an orbital too. Please let me know, because I would love to and enjoy doing these things myself, even if a shop can do a quality job.
03-14-13, 12:37 PM
#135
Do you recommend the Griot's Garage orbital? I'm a beginner to detailing, and was told i have the possibility of burning through my paint/clearcoat. Do you recommend this orbital for me to learn with and use? I'm hoping it'll last me a while too, because I plan to recover another car's paint, repolish my gs, and to use it for painting projects too.
As for your painting, how well does the paint match up to OEM? I was hoping to buy some paint-matched cans and spray a lip myself, with the help of an orbital too. Please let me know, because I would love to and enjoy doing these things myself, even if a shop can do a quality job.
As for your painting, how well does the paint match up to OEM? I was hoping to buy some paint-matched cans and spray a lip myself, with the help of an orbital too. Please let me know, because I would love to and enjoy doing these things myself, even if a shop can do a quality job.
It's well worth the money. The cans of Black Onyx i get are a perfect match. I generally use black primer to ensure my black onyx is as deep as factory. The more coats you can spray of every element and the more time you have especially if you let it dry and wet sand 2000 grit/3000 grit. Then your final polish on High with the Griot will bust out the shine and have least amount of orange peel