Thought i would post a few pics of my mk3 as Ive spent a bit of time doing a few bits and pieces to it since I bought it in July (considering a month of between now and then was out of action due to a stag do, birthday, wedding and honeymoon!). Bodywork was tatty, but most importantly, the engine was sound and it had a hardtop too (which is the main reason I sold my last one after getting the roof slashed last year).
Here she was the day I got it...
Lowering springs to at least drop her a little bit (I cant afford coilies at the moment).
These have helped (the springs) for the time being
Considering i thought the paint work was xxxxx, it came up pretty damn good after some TLC and a clay bar!!
After this, the wheels were really letting it down, so I painted them and painted the calipers.
The bonnet was screwed after being keyed whilst in the previous owner's possession... I threw a can of paint over it to mitigate this a bit for the time being, but after the clay work on the rest of the body, it did need addressing properly. Some of 3M's finest and an hour and a half of our time and this was achieved....
And after!
Make NO mistake, there will be more of this being introduced to the car in the not too distant future... watch this space!!!
Next, I bought, fitted and prepped the bodykit, firstly by sanding down the screw holes that I had made by fitting the kit.
Next was a good two coats of primer. this was then followed up by a guide coat to enable me to sand back the primer enough for a smooth finish and get rid of any discrepancies.
A quick clean to get the dust off, then paint time!
Was going to wait a while to do this, but Im impatient and the paint had cured fine. SO, i dug out my cutting compound and with lots of water and a LOT of elbow grease, tried to bring back some shine to the paint. I could get more out of it, but im knackered (!), so this is good enough for now. Next weekend, I will give it another going over to finish it even better. But for now, this is how she looks.
I do now need to move the exhaust over by about an inch to the left unfortunately.. This will be another task
Found a smidge of tint spray in my garage so thought I would modify the rear lights.
I'm quite a Euro fan and like the look of black/red rear lights like the Escort GTi, mk2 golf etc and thought it could look okay on my car.
Here's what half hour later looks like! Just needs a polish up in a couple of days! No doubt it's been done before, but I hadn't seen it and thought it 'meaned' it up a bit! Not many people are too keen on these, but i like them and ultimately, thats what its all about, isnt it!?
Andy
Andy's Roadster project
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Re: Andy's Roadster project
Looks cracking Andy, like the all black look!
Did you take the rear lights off to do that or just spray the outside?
Did you take the rear lights off to do that or just spray the outside?
Re: Andy's Roadster project
Thanks very much, Sam!
As for the rear lights, I just cleaned them and masked them up on the car. Im really happy with them. Didnt want completely blacked out rear lights, I dont like the facelift ones but just wanted something that looked a little meaner.
I think next on the list is to paint all the badges on the car. Cant decide between Focus ST Orange (i have some paint already that i was going to use for another project) or the same black that I used for the kit... decisions, decisions!
Andy
As for the rear lights, I just cleaned them and masked them up on the car. Im really happy with them. Didnt want completely blacked out rear lights, I dont like the facelift ones but just wanted something that looked a little meaner.
I think next on the list is to paint all the badges on the car. Cant decide between Focus ST Orange (i have some paint already that i was going to use for another project) or the same black that I used for the kit... decisions, decisions!
Andy
Re: Andy's Roadster project
Very impressive home bearding chap!
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Re: Andy's Roadster project
Very good!
I've got mr-s alloys on my mk1 and they are really really bad! Did you take them back to bare metal or just sand them down til they were even?
Also, where did you get the carbon vinyl from and what did you do exactly to apply it?
I've got mr-s alloys on my mk1 and they are really really bad! Did you take them back to bare metal or just sand them down til they were even?
Also, where did you get the carbon vinyl from and what did you do exactly to apply it?
Re: Andy's Roadster project
Hi SuperRed. The alloys that came on the car werent in great shape. Fortunately, I bought a set with good tyres that were in much better condition than mine, so i sprayed them and just swapped the set straight over (still have the old set if you know anyone that wants some!).
If I were to paint the bubbling alloys, yes, I would sand them down until they were smooth and paint them up. Might bubble up again in a couple of years time, but ive done it this way plenty of times before and never had a problem before.
As for the bonnet, this was my first time using the film. The trick is a little preperation and LOTS of heat! Obviously, work from the centre out to eliminate bubbles etc. Lots of heat on the corners will help mould it to shape. I got it from a trader on Ebay. Just looked for the cheapest one as one 3M product is the same as the next. Just comes down to bartering them off against each other for a good price! Think I paid about £80 for the amount to do the bonnet and quite a lot left over.
Andy
If I were to paint the bubbling alloys, yes, I would sand them down until they were smooth and paint them up. Might bubble up again in a couple of years time, but ive done it this way plenty of times before and never had a problem before.
As for the bonnet, this was my first time using the film. The trick is a little preperation and LOTS of heat! Obviously, work from the centre out to eliminate bubbles etc. Lots of heat on the corners will help mould it to shape. I got it from a trader on Ebay. Just looked for the cheapest one as one 3M product is the same as the next. Just comes down to bartering them off against each other for a good price! Think I paid about £80 for the amount to do the bonnet and quite a lot left over.
Andy
Re: Andy's Roadster project
A ridiculously small update, but one that I feel has made quite an impact... Spraying the front badge black!
Re: Andy's Roadster project
The car looks fri88ing great. Really like the rear light tinting, not seen it done before, looks smart. The bodykit really helped chunk the car up too, didn't it? I like it alot - I'm not normally a fan of the mk3s...!
Re: Andy's Roadster project
like that a lot
Re: Andy's Roadster project
Thanks, guys. Yesterday was the first time Ive had the hardtop off since fitting the kit! Its back on now, but had to take a couple of pictures. I honestly thought it wouldnt look as good with the hardtop off, but actually, I kinda prefer it again?? Even the softtop on made it look sleeker?? Wish it wasnt winter approaching now, I want more softtop action!
Andy
Andy
!
To augment the rear lights, you could also do what I have done on my roadster.
Basically black Hammerite on the inside of the lens, covering the parts of the lens that dont actually have any lamps behind them......!
The rear on the roadster always seem to be twice the size they should be (and look fairly crap, too, TBH..!)
Basically black Hammerite on the inside of the lens, covering the parts of the lens that dont actually have any lamps behind them......!
The rear on the roadster always seem to be twice the size they should be (and look fairly crap, too, TBH..!)
Re: Andy's Roadster project
Im kinda happy with the rear lights as they are to be honest, thanks for the suggestion, though!
Andy
Andy
Re: Andy's Roadster project
Looks fantastic Andy, cant believe how much you have done to it in so little time! have you considered getting the optical headlights at all? Thats my first on my list i have them already luckily cant wait to get them on! Did you do the Hard top conversion kit yourself is it fairly straight forward??
Re: Andy's Roadster project
Lawz01 wrote:Looks fantastic Andy, cant believe how much you have done to it in so little time! have you considered getting the optical headlights at all? Thats my first on my list i have them already luckily cant wait to get them on! Did you do the Hard top conversion kit yourself is it fairly straight forward??
Hi pal. thanks for the kind words. I havent considered changing the headlights to be honest. I can appreciate they look nicer, but if Im not upgrading the rear lights, I think it might look a little mix-matched. And Im not personally a fan of the late spec rear lights.
I have considered tinting the front lights with something like a lamin-x film. Ive had quite good success with this on previous projects, and think something like the yellow tint would give it a real individual look. its all money though, and ive got quite a lot to pay for at the moment, what with Christmas coming up etc!
Andy