Oh yeah i painted all that too including the fuse box i painted it red awhile ago but i didn't lik it once i saw what it looked like blue haha so i decided to paint it a blue color sort like the metal specs.

How many coats did you guys use? Also, did you find that you needed to sand down the engine/fuse box or spark plug covers at all?

I just bought the red metalspecks for my rally red lancer. will post up picks of that shortly ;) (along with picks of my awesome stubby antenna, you know the one that doesn't fall off) :P

When I did my fuse box and cover I didn't sand it. I just put on 2 light coats and then 1 heavy coat. I waited a week for it to cure and then did three coat of clear just like that. Waited a few more days for it to cure and then put it on. I live in Texas so my paint cured a little faster, the 105 degree garage helped it out a little. If you put in on and don't wait long enough the clear coat can cause cracking. Just be patient!

:laughing:


LMAO @ Fall off... mine's is peeling off like band-aid after shower :laughing:

For the front i put about 3 coats on making sure i got all the cracks. For the covers well mines a long story i first painted it red then i didnt lik that so i painted it blue and lik i didnt get all the red off being dumb so it looked shitty so i took all of it off with MEK and then i just took my time and put very light coats on letting each hav awhile to dry and i did about 4 of those. But no sanding or anything. Only sanded for the front.

+1 Lemywinkss

So you did sand the car down huh? That kinda makes me cringe... I have enough hairline scratches in my car :(

Yeah it hurt to see it all sanded haha but omg the end result is amazing i love it and all my friends love it too. No one thinks that i did it myself haha but if you just take your time im sure youll be fine.

About those hairline scratches tho they just oiled and chipped my road today and im gonna need some hefty touch up paint...

thanks for all the info,

you know that you guys can use primer vice sanding right? lol

Im in the process of the engine cover, spark plug cover, and fuse box cover, and i have sanded down with 320 grid and then 1500 grid. Right now they are primered and will need to be re-sanded and primered again then resanded. Its a b!tch but in the end it will look good.

My question to those who have done this, did you prep it (sand and primer)?

Or did you just spray and hope for the best?

I just feel like im wasting time on something that can be painted and look just fine.

even if it doesn't really call for it. at least using a between coat wet sand paper to prep your surface is the best route to go if you don't want to strip it completely bare.

after using that wipe it clean with a low lint cloth. then get rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle and spray that on the surface.

it will help to evap the liquds. use a tack cloth and dab the surface to get the rest of the possible dust or whatever off.

it takes a lot less time than stripping the surface bare, and will offer a twice better looking (less bubbles, less run off, smoother surface look) outcome than just washing the surface your going to be painting and going at it.

do it like that and i'm certain you will be happy with the end results.

Well its already primered, and for being a first at primering (not a word) but i did a heavy coat on the spark plug cover and the fuse box lid. So i know for sure im going to have to sand it down. I dont have the materials to do wet sand so i just used sanding paper.

I used "retro red" metal specks paint for the engine cover, spark plug and fuse cover. I didn't sand it at all. Just cleaned all surfaces very well with alcohol. The surface is already gritty, so it's not a major issue, plus it makes it easier to reverse the process if you screw up, lol

Also, It took a few extra coats to overtake the black because I didn't prime, but in the end it came out perfect. I am going to add a few clear coat layers tomorrow.
Now that's something I recommend.

(IMG:http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q4/dogdog140/IMG_0414.jpg)

(IMG:http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q4/dogdog140/IMG_0415.jpg)

A quick update on the stuff I painted; it still looks like I just painted it, both the front bumper part and what used to be the chrome grill. There's still no chipped paint whatsoever and I'm glad for that :P

The engine cover, spark pugs cover and the fuse cover all are still holding up at warm temperatures. Just like the outside, it's still chipped-less. She still looks like as I just painted her yesterday :grin:

All the extra time sanding and being patient seems to be paying off. :banana:
I'll upload some photos later on when I get a new camera, the one I had stopped working after I was thrown in a pool with my camera in my pocket this past weekend :crying:

Thats sucks about the camera, some friends are just ***holes. I was in NC and was on my boat dock and my friend pushes me in with my $400 ipod touch in my pocket, good thing i had a warranty for accidental damage or else he would owe me the money, but i can let it slip now because i know he will have to pay me back in some way.
:offtopic:
Yell at me idc.

Just wanted to say how awesome the paint job looks under the hood and on the grill. :beer:
I just got my lancer last weekend and will soon be making the same mods you did. My lancer is also blue so it was nice to see how great my car could look. Anymore mods in your future?

Looks outstanding, great job!!

Where did you get the red tubing for the wires in your engine compartment?

What kind of paint did you use for the chrome Grill and how'd you go about stripping and sanding the chrome off?

i saw you did it .. looks sweet so i had to do it .... went to lows got an airgun ... went to autozone got some primer base and clear .. along with some 1000 grit sand paper and heres what i got

sry for the bad pic .. its off my cellphone