So i did some painting for the engine cover, spark plug cover, fuse box cover. Blacked out the stock chrome grill piece and added chrome trim to the front. IMHO helps the look of the lancer 10x more. Only problem while doing this is i got red over spray onto part of the black honeycomb grill insert and as its barely noticeable its still there but gave me a nice idea to have the grill over sprayed for the whole thing cuz it gave it a red tint on the inside of the grill.

Total time: Varies because i had the engine cover and the 2 others sanded primered and sanded again when i started on the front end. So it took a few hours to get everything done and painted and sitting down to dry. A great weekend spent.

**Pardon for horrible camera quality** (camera phone is all i could work with)

(IMG:http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/3122/sspx0238ht9.jpg)
started taping and cutting with razor.

(IMG:http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/1751/sspx0239mj3.jpg)
once it was taped off. looked good as it was

(Dont have pics of the spark plug cover or fuse box cover sanded or primered)

Sanded those 3 things and primered with 2 light coats and then sanded again when primer was dried. Cleaned off with rubbing alcohol and a cloth towel and then went onto the next part.

(IMG:http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/8784/sspx0268ue3.jpg)
painted

(IMG:http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/1408/sspx0267nw1.jpg)
painted

(IMG:http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/1425/sspx0269mj3.jpg)
painted

Next was the chrome piece on the front end. That was sanded and primered with 2 light coats and then sanded again after the primer dried.

(IMG:http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/189/sspx0271dj8.jpg)
primered

(IMG:http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/9064/sspx0273ag3.jpg)
painted

Next was adding the chrome trim. This was pretty easy. Cleaned the area needed with a cloth towel and rubbing alcohol and made sure no dirt or anything was there to prevent its stickiness.

(IMG:http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/334/sspx0276nd6.jpg)
chrome trim installed and the blacked out grill piece was still drying (i gave it a day and a half in a shop that doesnt have ac to dry) came out fine. I wish i took more time on this because to me and others that study it its not very straight in some areas, but once it was on, it was on for good. Still looks awesome tho.

(IMG:http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/5890/sspx0277ie5.jpg)
just a pic with my stock lights on

(IMG:http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/813/sspx0278hi0.jpg)
Everything put back on and painted

(IMG:http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/2082/sspx0279rv4.jpg)
went with the red and black look and kept the Mitsu emblem and mivec the same.

(IMG:http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/3310/sspx0280rn3.jpg)
Fuse box

(IMG:http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/3163/sspx0281oi1.jpg)
Far back shot of the front.

(IMG:http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/8479/sspx0282pt5.jpg)
Side angle shot of car. Can you say sexy?

Am i a camera whore?

Hey looks great.... What kind of paint did you use for the chrome grill, and did you clear it or leave it flat black..... Props to you for the diy...... :beer:

Ever consider painting the chrome trim red?

Either way, looks great. Kudos! :clap:

WOO HOO!!! Looks great.... very sexy! Love the front look!

Yes, yes you are a camera whore! :grin:

Sorry pics are big. But i used this gloss black paint for plastic that from home depot i can't remember the name of sorry. Then i used dupli-color red brake enamel spray paint, its more sticky and can stand heat and doesnt get dirty that much cuz its resists brake dust and what not. And no clear coat, was told from my dad who knows alot about this stuff that its not needed.

I also added alot of paint coats (remember light coats tho) to get rid of the grainy look to the covers and make it smooth. I sanded it before this but i guess i suck at sanding.

And to willy for asking about the chrome trim, my bro mentioned it to me but i would hate to do it and not like the look. The grill insert could go red and i think im going to paint the mitsu emblem or vinyl it red.

looks good, nice job. its cool to see how we all have our own take on the front end. i've seen the two tone paint, the chrome trim around look, and the blacked out look. either way is hot, especially on the tarmac black. :)
I went with the blacked out look, decided against the chrome around like yours, but dont get me wrong, yours does look cool. i think the chrome around look says take me out on the town, im styling and profiling, and the blacked out only says take me to the track, im mean. lol
great job!!

I dont think i would take this car to the track. Closest one to me was 75-80 but got shut down :(. Simply street car and daily driver for my needs but who says i cant make my car look hot like me.!! Dont cha wish your car was hot like me(mine)....

Ok sorry bout that.

*shakes head* now I am going to sing that song all day looonnnggg...... thanks!

Anyway can you post a closeup pics of the front trim? I wanna do it, but need to see how it was done. What size trim did you use?

Its the 1/4" trim i got from pep boys called Custom Chrome it was like $18.00 and i was in the same situation you are in fullmetalpanic, i had no clue how it was done. I just winged it and went around the outside of the grill part. But when you get to the bottom where it has the weird curve the chrome doesnt bend that way so i had to like turn it into the bend and then make it come back out. Hard to explain, ill take a close up and use my wonderful computer paint skills to show you what im talking about.

Edit: And i realized my car is dirty lol.

Here are the pics.

(IMG:http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/4978/sspx0283el0.jpg)
See you can tell from this one that i didnt do that good of a job on keeping it straight on the bottom. And look at the bugs on my car lol

(IMG:http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/3774/sspx02842ez3.jpg)
This is where im talking about, this little bend. It goes straight along the edge of the grill and then you have to bring it in to stick around the bend and then bring it back out to stick back along the edge.

(IMG:http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/6130/sspx02852kc4.jpg)
same thing, but remember once its on there its hard to fix if you mess up so take your time.

(IMG:http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/6030/sspx0286iz2.jpg)
Half of the front

(IMG:http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/8386/sspx0287rj6.jpg)
other half


I hope this helps alot of people out.

You my friend are my hero! Thanks a bunch :beer: Now I have direction so I guess I know what my weekend project is

;) I believe It will really look cool n awesome if you change your hook into Evo-x

change my hook? or do you mean look?

Edit: I say sticky for people who want to paint and/or chrome trim!!!

woo. our cars lookalike =]

Yea, i still have some more stuff i need to do. Make emblem red, maybe inside grill red. Im going with a black/red look.