m tr4nch's restoration/build thread !! (56k = death)

General discussion forum about the 240sx, and a great place to introduce yourself to the board!
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Chaotic_Warlord
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I can haz update pwease? Seriously dude, sick build. Can't wait to see it on the road.


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2.4Loflove
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Just to be nosy, how much did the paint run you?

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m tr4nch
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Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

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wow it's been 4 months since i've updated this thread, sorry! i'm still alive!
i have plenty of pictures for you all.

i got the rest of the body panels back and for the most part they came out decent. there are some imperfections which i'm not too happy about (on the chassis as well, but that's another story) and the guy said he would fix it all for free when i get it on the road and take it back to him but i'm not so sure about the quality/detail of their work anymore. not to mention they are 40 mins away from me and i can just get a local place to fix things correctly the first time.. anyways enough of that, onto pics:


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i started cleaning/scuffing/prepping parts for paint, also had all the suspension bushings & ball joints removed.

wiper motor casing & brake booster

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sandblasted the z32 knuckles, going to clearcoat them

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stripped the s*** rustoleum paint off the front spindles, i might just have these powdercoated

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blasted the door hinges

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blasted a few spots on the bumper cores, still need to sand them down.

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steering rack cleaned up, replaced one of the hard lines that was bent/kinked. still need to do the inner/outer tie rods & boots.

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new fuel tank prepped for herculiner ;)

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bumper brackets, tank straps, filler neck prepped for paint

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engine bay hard lines ready to paint. i had a very hard time finding a dark olive green color to match the oem color on the lines until i came across armyjeepparts.com, got some swatches, and got a 99% match on the color :biggrin:

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speaking of hard lines, i made some new metal brackets for the lines that run under the car out of stainless steel. left is originals, right are new ones

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i bought some crystal clear front turn signals for an updated look, but i like how the original amber looks on a black 240, so i got some amber vinyl and covered them. 1 layer was a little too light, so i put a second layer and it's a closer match to the oem signal.

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and done, original on left
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m tr4nch
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Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

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can't forget new parts!

some of these i've had for a while (meaning over a year) and just forgot to post them up. well, here they are.


ordered a bunch of stuff from frsport a while back-
spl solid diff bushings
energy flca bushings
circuit sports exhaust hangers
greddy extreme timing belt
new rack boots
rlca ball joints
new oem tokico clutch master cylinder
magnetic oil drain plug
nismo radiator cap
steel braided clutch line
magnetic trans/diff drain plugs & fill plugs
accessory belts

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picked up some stance ruca's

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got a TON of rb25 stuff..
new oil pan prepped for paint
shaftmasters 1 piece aluminum driveshaft
spec stage 2+ clutch
oem gasket kit
n1 water pump
n1 oil pump
new oil pickup
nismo clutch pivot ball
oem slave cylinder
idler/tensioner pulleys & spring
greddy 52mm boost, water temp, oil pressure gauges
fuel pressure gauge
spl eccentric lockout kit
nismo thermostat
energy subframe bushings
energy rear control arm/knuckle bushings
tein inner/outer tie rods
circuit sports aluminum steering bushing
syko mount kit with their stainless turbo elbow

i think that's it lol

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:bigthumb:

edit: almost forgot this.. new converted wiring harness from wiring specialties.

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aaand a real carbon fiber center taillight panel.

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splintercell
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1991 Nissan Silvia
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DAMN BRO!! lookin good and i always love the attention to detail :)

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m tr4nch
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Car: RS13, Z31, P11
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splintercell wrote:DAMN BRO!! lookin good and i always love the attention to detail :)
thanks man! hopefully i can start putting things back on very soon. :biggrin:

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m tr4nch
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threw the bumper lights in to see how it would look. :)

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badbob2121
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Great work, you're going to have such a fresh car when its completed...im jealous

:dblthumb:

S13_love
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Can't wait to see when this is completed! :yesnod
m tr4nch wrote: steering rack cleaned up, replaced one of the hard lines that was bent/kinked. still need to do the inner/outer tie rods & boots.
For those steering rack hard lines, where did you get the replacements from? (I was looking to replace the ones I had as well :frown: ...)

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m tr4nch
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thanks!!
S13_love wrote:For those steering rack hard lines, where did you get the replacements from? (I was looking to replace the ones I had as well :frown: ...)
i replaced the longer line in that pic, the shorter one isn't available anymore from nissan. part number for the longer one is 49542-40F01 and it should be less than $5 from nissan. :bigthumb:

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m tr4nch
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small update. haven't really had any time lately to get anything major done, so i've been working on small things here and there when i can.

i painted the brake/cluctch/vapor lines that go in the engine bay, color looks brownish in the pic but they are really a dark green like oem.

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installed the filler neck on the new fuel tank, then i picked up a quart of herculiner and coated it all. the quart was exactly enough to brush on 2 full coats.

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installed walbro pump in the new sending unit, spliced wires, and installed into tank with new o-ring & hardware-

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i rebuilt my bm-50 1" brake master cylinder and cleaned out the reservoir which had a lot of dirt/sediment in it. just need to get another flare fitting for the middle spot.

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received some new stuff from nissan :biggrin:
new brake hard lines for the rear & T-connectors
diff gasket
subframe brackets
rear hub seals
random grommets

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got some new oem s14 seatbelts for free under the lifetime warranty.

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now i'm saving up money to have a bunch of suspension pieces powdercoated :bigthumb:

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Hijacker
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'94 F-150
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Hmm...I wonder if Nissan can still replace my convertible seat belts. They're a funky set that we have issues tracking down parts for.

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allenms240
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I commend you on your patience. I couldn't lol.
Looks awesome, can't wait to see this thing running.
I read your comment back a few pages about selling the shell, nearly spat out my drink. There was no way after all that work to just sell that. The work done is priceless.

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m tr4nch
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Hijacker wrote:Hmm...I wonder if Nissan can still replace my convertible seat belts. They're a funky set that we have issues tracking down parts for.
i'm sure they would be able to. i assume if they had a lifetime warranty on all the seatbelt stuff they would have to still be making them.
allenms240 wrote:I commend you on your patience. I couldn't lol.
Looks awesome, can't wait to see this thing running.
I read your comment back a few pages about selling the shell, nearly spat out my drink. There was no way after all that work to just sell that. The work done is priceless.
thanks man. yeah it's really been dragging out, i mean it's been YEARS.. but i want to see this thing through, as i'm sure a lot of other people do. haha yeah i was just messing with saying i sold the shell, although it's definitely crossed my mind more than a few times lol. i love the v35 chassis too but the s13 is my first love. :)

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allenms240
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I couldn't imagine ever selling that shell before it was at least finished. All the work and effort and I'm glad to hear you're going all the way!

vas13hatch
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Hey man i just found this thread for the first time. Incredible. Once i get more stable and have an actual garage i wanna do mine like this.. well maybe not this extreme. anyway have you started putting the interior back together yet? I wanna see all that oem goodness!

va240dude
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I demand updates, what the heck is going on lol???

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m tr4nch
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Location: Eatontown, NJ

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been a while.. slowly getting things done as usual.


bought some new "weatherstrip retainers" from nissan, aka the upper window trim.

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also bought a center vent gauge pod from broadfield for the future setup. mocked up-

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installed a new oem breather hose on the fuel tank and installed the plastic protector, all with stainless hardware-

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i've been spending a lot of time prepping parts to be clear coated and/or painted. it's a lot of tedious work but i think it's coming out great so far! i used a few cans of spray max 2k clear, after having great results using it for my g35 spoiler repaint. the finish is excellent :biggrin:

so far i did- driveshaft, steering rack body, z32 knuckles, new rear hubs & bearings, brake mc, clutch mc, e-brake T cable, fuel sending unit top, the engine bay brake/clutch hard lines, and the fittings on the new stainless braided brake/clutch lines. the main reason behind clear coating all of these is to protect everything from rust and corrosion, figured i might as well do everything while they're all off the car.

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i actually resprayed these lines with krylon italian olive before clear coating them with the spray max 2k. i liked the color better than the gellespie paint i used before. neither is a perfect color match to the oem finish, but i thought the italian olive looked better overall. also i would have rather had these be a satin finish, and after the fact i realized that eastwood makes a matte 2k clear in an aerosol can :mad: oh well, the gloss will do i guess.

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should have more painting stuff done in the next week or so :bigthumb:

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pepesilvia
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Aha, an update i've been waiting for :bigthumb:

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tonis56
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Thanks for the update. Great thread and nice work. This is motivation for my resto that I will be starting sometime this decade lol.

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4cefed
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I discovered your build recently, truly amazing amount of dedication! I'm about a year away from having my garage built and I plan on restoring my Shelby first, then my 240. You have opened my eyes to all the places rust will behiding in those shells!

General question: You mentioned that the plastic retainer clips for the engine bay run of the fuel/brake lines have been discontinued. Does anyone on this forum have access to a 3D printer? It seems like these could be reporduced, maybe there are a few more bits here an there we could make for ourselves too.

Keep up the awesome work!

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m tr4nch
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Location: Eatontown, NJ

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tonis56 wrote:Thanks for the update. Great thread and nice work. This is motivation for my resto that I will be starting sometime this decade lol.
haha thank you!
4cefed wrote:I discovered your build recently, truly amazing amount of dedication! I'm about a year away from having my garage built and I plan on restoring my Shelby first, then my 240. You have opened my eyes to all the places rust will behiding in those shells!

General question: You mentioned that the plastic retainer clips for the engine bay run of the fuel/brake lines have been discontinued. Does anyone on this forum have access to a 3D printer? It seems like these could be reporduced, maybe there are a few more bits here an there we could make for ourselves too.

Keep up the awesome work!
thanks! it is definitely hard work but hopefully will be worth it later.
yes those plastic clips that keep the lines together are all discontinued, even the s14 ones now. there are a couple of alternative options i've come up with for new ones- one is trying to make silicone molds of the originals and casting new plastic ones (something i am most likely going to try very soon, i have all the materials and equipment to do so), and another is getting some pieces of aluminum machined to "sandwich" them together (already have designs for that too, i just need a machinist that can make them for cheap). the 3d printing idea is not bad either, i may have to look into that as well.

m tr4nch wrote:should have more painting stuff done in the next week or so
yeahh this didn't happen.. i finally got the subframe and crossmember (among other things) prepped up and ready to paint, but it's pretty much too cold to do it now, and i currently don't have any space to paint them in. so it looks like i'm going to have to wait until spring to do them which sucks because that's like another 6 months gone. :frown: but i guess in the mean time i will try and come up with a solution for those plastic clips.

subframe and crossmember cleaned/sanded, what a b**** these were..

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painted the new oil pan with some high temp engine enamel-

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that's about it for now.

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m tr4nch
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well as it turns out, i was able to do some painting over the weekend! had a few days of warmish weather here so i busted my a** and set everything up and sprayed for 2 days. after cleaning up the garage and making some space, i taped off everything with plastic sheeting. bought a couple of box fans for airflow, set up a few ladders and hung everything up with wire hangers. i sprayed so much that i got a blister on my trigger finger lol.


everything set up ready to go-

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spray gun ready to go. it's a sharpe finex fx300 with a 1.4mm tip for those that are wondering-

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day 1, 3 coats of masterseries silver as protective base coating/primer/whatever-

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after that, it was time for the base coats and clear-

;)
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also bought a can of 2k satin black from eastwood to do the brake boosters, wiper motor cover, clutch pedal, lower steering shaft, and front rotor dust shields.

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day 2, everything coated and cleared!-

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only did the outer face of the rear bumper core, didn't bother to paint the back-side, just the tow hooks. and also didn't bother to paint the front bumper core black since it will never be seen. i might have to cut it up for intercooler fitment later anyways, so i just left the masterseries silver finish-

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bumper cover laid over, only part that will be "exposed" is where the license plate bolts up-

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i painted the subframe, crossmember, and fuel tank straps ford UH, aka tuxedo black. it's suuuper sparkly! i just wanted something dark and subtle, but noticeable that i put the time and effort into refinishing them. :biggrin: the rest of the brackets and stuff i just did regular KH3 super black.

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rest of the stuff.. left the front spindles masterseries silver and cleared over them. also cleared the front hubs, new rear brake lines, and new crossmember bolts.

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btw, i absolutely LOVE the way the eastwood 2k satin black came out. the finish is amazing on all of these. i only did the bottom half of the clutch pedal, and it pretty much blended right in with the rest of the factory coating-

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i'd say overall i'm very happy with the results. i guess i sprayed the clear on a bit heavy and got a few runs and orange peel (probably didn't have the air/flow adjusted correctly on the gun) but most of those parts will not or barely be seen, so i don't care much, as long as everything's protected from the elements. if it was an exterior panel i'd be a little more concerned obviously. but for my very first time spraying "real" paint and clear out of a spray gun i don't think i did too bad with it.

i have to touch up a couple little spots on the subframe that i missed with the tuxedo black and get some pics of that and the crossmember out in the sunlight. :)

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splintercell
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impressive. the attention to detail on your build is the best ive seen.

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Hijacker
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Looks very awesome! I never thought of clear spraying the hubs for protection. I might consider doing that on mine.

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m tr4nch
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splintercell wrote:impressive. the attention to detail on your build is the best ive seen.
thanks man! what happened to your thread?? it seems to have disappeared.
Hijacker wrote:Looks very awesome! I never thought of clear spraying the hubs for protection. I might consider doing that on mine.
thanks! yeah i decided to do them with everything else since i would have a lot of wasted clear left anyways. worth it imo, especially for the price you pay for new hubs, they would rust up in like a week being on the car. just have to tape everything off carefully. i'd suggest a can of the spray max 2k aerosol as it's 10x easier, and you'd have a bit left over to do other stuff if you wanted too.

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Hijacker
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It comes in aerosol? Good to know since I don't plan on converting my teeny 2 car garage over to a booth for now. I'll tag my front and rear hubs. Everything else is getting powder coated.

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m tr4nch
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Hijacker wrote:It comes in aerosol? Good to know since I don't plan on converting my teeny 2 car garage over to a booth for now. I'll tag my front and rear hubs. Everything else is getting powder coated.
yessir, i bought a few cans from this ebay seller- http://www.ebay.com/itm/181264584816
or you could try eastwood's- http://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-s-2k-a ... clear.html

(posted above)
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splintercell
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m tr4nch wrote:thanks man! what happened to your thread?? it seems to have disappeared.
I just got tired of it. I will make one complete build thread from start to finish when im done. I just started working on my car the last 3 sundays. I didnt touch it all summer & fall.

That clear spray seems to have a real thick coat. I did my hubs in the Duplicolor clear engine enamel and i thought that was thick, but your stuff looks way better! :dblthumb:

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m tr4nch
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splintercell wrote:
m tr4nch wrote:thanks man! what happened to your thread?? it seems to have disappeared.
I just got tired of it. I will make one complete build thread from start to finish when im done. I just started working on my car the last 3 sundays. I didnt touch it all summer & fall.

That clear spray seems to have a real thick coat. I did my hubs in the Duplicolor clear engine enamel and i thought that was thick, but your stuff looks way better! :dblthumb:
i gotcha. well fwiw i love seeing your updates! sounds like me, i really didn't get a chance to do anything with my car the whole summer up until now really.

yeah the spray max clear is pretty awesome, i think i just sprayed the other clear on a bit too heavy though lol.


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