LOLA - Major side damage! - Pictures
 

Poor LOLA -
I almost wanted to :barf: when it happened. New stuff should be here today. Please E-MAIL me if you can not open pictures.
Thanks!
This one - http://www.msnusers.com/miataturbo/loladamage.msnw
or this one
http://www.msnusers.com/miataturbo/documents.msnw

ouch. what did you hit?

A FREAKIN TRUCK!
The parts were supposed to be here today and they just called and said the driver left them at the store --- PUTZ :eek:
It only takes about an hour to dismantle it - I was hoping to have it all together tonite or tomorrow! SHIT!

If you cannot open the first links to the pictures, then here is a photo album of it. I'm not sure if MSN makes you sign up or in for this but it doesn't hurt!
Then you can also create your own albums within that specific group if you wish - Kinda like a MIATATURBO GANG ALBUM just for all of us!

http://www.msnusers.com/miataturbo/loladamage.msnw

LOLA

ouch

reminds me a lot of my car, good luck body work sucks

kinda the same here. i kinda don't mind having it beat up though, because that means i don't have to worry about other people banging it up. :D

if you pay careful attention, you'll notice that all pictures of my car (that i've posted) are from the passenger side. :)

here's the only one i could find of my car in all it's glory, bad front bumper and banged up fender. nevermind the dork working on the fender lining (me).

http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/...001(Small).JPG

Replacement Door & Fender now on.
 

Well, got the major parts today around 2 p.m. The door was painted half black at the cut line, so I had to sand that coat off. Then I swung the door on and started to attach the new front fender. Got that on and had to disconnect the front bumper four times due to forgetting things that weren't right up front.
Finally got it all attached and lowered the lights and hood to find that I have a huge gap towards the front of the fender. Tomorrow is a new day and maybe I will have time to disconnect it all again and realign it. Then I have to replace all of the stuff from my original door to the replacement door. All in all, it doesn't look too bad. :bigtu:

PICTURES of on the mend!

http://www.msnusers.com/miataturbo/lolarepairs.msnw

LOLA

Well -
I think that I've decided to paint LOLA myself. One shop I went to wanted $1900 to paint her & that was "NOT" a "TOTAL REPAINT" :vash: .
When I get down to the nitty gritty of it, I will take Pictures of it as I go so everyone might be able to see the improvement. I've spent about a week reading up on it & gathering up the information that I need to perform a total repaint on her.
This way I can do it right & have a Double Base Coat & Triple Clear Coat on her. Most Miatas don't have the two stage system that LOLA has, and I want to do it again to make her look like a new girl!

Wish me Luck Guys,
Michael & LOLA :bigtu:

Just go flat black with some gloss black flames. :D

Lola will look like she always has!
"OLD PICTURE" of LOLA when first purchased 4 years ago -
http://www.msnusers.com/miataturbo/D...la%20Right.jpg

Just nicer this time around. With no Bumper Paint Cracks and no Rock Chips on the hood. :bigtu:

Well, LOLA is almost completely ready for her new RED FACELIFT. All of the paint is here and I tested the paint and clearcoat on the trunk lid today. It is brighter than the old setup I had on her. I might rip off the bumper covers and do them first because that will be the most tedious part.
All in all, I think that she will look pretty fuckin good when I'm done with it. I've spent under a thousand $'s on all of the goodies to get her fixed up. It's still cheaper than having a shop do it the way I would like it done.
I'll shoot some pics of her this week again so you can see the progress.....
I love the Base Coat - Clear Coat (2 stage) paint job. Nice and deep Candy look to it..........:bigtu:
LOLA

Can't wait to see the results. I need a paint job bad. I wax the thing 2 a month. The bumper covers, finish panel and mirrors fade to a pale red, as soon as the wax hits it the are shinny like new again, but it only lasts a short while.

wow , sorry to see that happen .but at least you dont have to fix the other persons car.

More Pictures
 

On the mend - Almost ready for the Base Coat!

And one more!
 

The Gray Stuff in the pictures is obviously Primer. I had to apply a new CHIP GUARD underneath it all because of the new/used door and the New Frint Fender.

Lucky you're in Florida; don't need to get it finished before the cold weather sets in.:ugh2:

I'm in the process of picking up a white '90 to play with. Going to try that cheap paint thing that Philip posted after I blow off the rest of the white with a powerwasher.:gay:

Keep the primer color, add APC stickers and flames. :bigtu: Now your talking performance!

How about Some Basecoat?
 

This rain is slowing me down. I shot the Base Coat on the hood, rear bumper, front bumper and headlight covers at least. Going to have to shoot the Clear Coat another time. This is soooo time consuming. I wish I wasn't so ---- and I didn't have Ship Wrights disease..... Taking me forever to complete.
Pictures for your viewing again! :gay:

LOLA on BASE!
 

Well, here are a few more pictures for you folks. Almost everything is BASED now. The Fender covers are CLEAR COATED. As soon as it stops raining, I'll get bask to work on it. The hood needs a new base coat & the rear fascia needs to be base coated --- Then it's on to the CLEAR COAT for her......... Pictures BELOW. Click on them to make them bigger.
Apologies for clarity -- Camera doesn't work too well in the enclosed garage!............

Few More SHOTS
 

Here are some clearer pictures I hope!
Tomorrow is the CLEAR COAT & then I get to reasemble the damn thing!:eek:

And Here's some CLEARCOAT!
 

CLEARCOATED - I'll probably let it dry up a little and then sand it down with 1K grit paper and reshoot the clear. I want it to be better than it is, but I'm tired of FUTZIN with it.....
P.S. You might notice that the windshield surround hasn't been shot yet - I'm going to do that separate from the rest of it.....

was this the first car you painted? It looks great

Your tires are backwards! COME ON MAN!

Really? They don't bolt on inside out, do they? :eek:

Thanks -- Yes -- First time - Lotta work involved with it and I still need to do more before I put the whole thing back together. I want it to look like a new car paint job. Plus the best part about the whole thing is that it is a 2 part paint system with base and clear, unlike the original factory paint jobs that were a single stage system. Thsi way I have a real deep shiny look because of the multiple clear coats and it will not fade out and dull.......

LOLA

no but if you put the tires on the left side on the car that were on the right side of the car your tread will be pointing in the rigth direction.


Looks really really good though!!!!!! I'm jealous.

How about if I turn them upside down? :gay:
NO - I know what you mean - The tires are on the car right now so I can roll it in and out of the garage. - But, thanks for the heads up on the rotation. I might not have noticed it if you hadn't pointed it out to me!
And Thank You for the Compliment. It's a real Pain In The ASS to do it, but then I can only blame myself for any flaws in the finished product. I do know one thing - There will not be any RED PAINT on any gaskets or seals around the car. I hate it when they tape off a car around the seals and gaskets and leave telltale signs that it is a REPAINT! :bigtu:

You can do mine next! It needs a paint job soon. The front bumper, finishing panel, mirrors, and drivers front fender all fade fast. I wax the thing about twice a month so you can't tell, but I get tired of doing it.

Sure BRAINY -
I'm CHEAP TOO! $20 per hour I've probably spent 70 hours on mine so far and it still not done = figure it out to $2500 in labor - No paint and supplies :gay:

We're TALKIN SHINE!
 

What do do think guys?
Is this Mirror finish or what? Now I just have to sand down the rest of the car with 1500 grit wet paper & Compound it out and then double wax it.
Oh ya, forgot to tell ya that I ran out of paint on the front bumper REDO. So I'm waiting for more paint to finish the front bumper and the winsheild frame....DAMN!
It's going to blind people when I'm done with it - Of course it has only taken me like "FOREVER"! :gay:

REAR BUMPER finished
 

Ready for install:

Very nice, but I thought you were going with pink.

Just my unmentionables, Bruce :gay: .

looks real nice

Rear Skirt On!
 

Here's some tail shots for you now:

Fantastic job :bigtu:

But over 70 hours work before the final clear coat went on :eek5:

Want to paint a new bumper for my GTO :x:

Sure - Fly me out there Philip. I haven't been to Colorado for two years I think. 'bout due for a visit! :bigtu:

it's cheaper to mail the bumper to you :D

Took All Day - But here it is!
 

WOW! - After two more days and now it's finished. Came out a little on the orange side -- :gay: :gay:

Resurrection Day is Near!
 

This is it. The time is near for LOLA to Debut her new dress.
I should be finished and ready for pictures tomorrow. I might respray the top because it has quite a lot of Cutting Compound sprinkles on it that most probably will not come out. All I have left to do is the Fog Light Assemblies and a few screws and of course the TOP.
I purchased new door Moldings from Marshall at Trussville. And when I took them out of the bag the passenger side was kinda bent up. I tried to straighten it as much as I caould, but I still don't like it. SOOOO, I'll have to call him and see if I can get a replacement.

*********** :gay: LOLA LIVES AGAIN :gay: **************

Come to CALI so you can paint my car LOL. j/k you do nice work. i paid a friend to paint mine for 800$ it turned out ok but i am a perfectionist. probably should have shot the paint myself

Late Pictures!
 

It's been a couple of weeks since I put her all back together. She still needs pinstriping and I think I will paint the black stripe on the bottom again. I purchased a new LOGO emblem from Japan also - I didn't like the old "toilet bowl" emblem. I haven't stuck that one on yet either. All in all, I'm pretty happy with the finished results. :bigtu:
Thank You All,
LOLA

:bowdown: Looking good. (I see the tires are pointed the right way this time!) Hey and they are the same as my DDs.

More!
 

Few more shots. I just can't seem to get "super clear' shots.

As for the tires - I just turned the whole car around and left the tires just where they were! :gay:

No need to bow down BRAINY! But, Thank You Sir! :bigtu:

damn...mines flat black...just b/c I'm to poor to finish it and it needs more body work...sucks driving your project car as your DD. :cool:

Pinstriping Done!
 

Here's some shots after the Pinstriping -
Hope you like them :gay: LOLA is soooo GAY! :gay:

those are the exact same pics as above in #46, there is no pinstripping buddy!

Yes there are! Take a closer look :robert: ! Melbert was here!

:twofinger You edited that post! Don't make me look stupid!

What can I say? - "I'M A MELBERT :robert: " - So I loaded the wrong pictures! Just don't key the paint on me.
Love Ya,
LOLA

wow that looks good!
looks alot like my car after I painted it.

Did you paint it yourself? If you did, how long did it take you to finish it off? And did you use BC/CC?

no I didnt do it myself, all I did was some sanding and some minor body work my friends dads body shop did it, it took them a couple weeks to do it, but hey it was free :bigtu:

I can ask him how he did it if you have questions

I'm going to bring this back to the top just 'cause it's awesome. So you did this in your garage I assume, cause the car is on blocks. You didn't build a little booth?! I notice there's not much overspray on all the other things in your garage. What did you do for ventalation? What equipment (gun, compressor, water/oil seperator, respirator, etc)? How is it holding up after 2 years?

You -
In the garage -
Funny you should ask right now, because I am compounding out some over-spray from something else I did near the car about a month ago -
STUPID ME!

I got the paint on-line from here:
http://www.automotivetouchup.com/
Clear coat and SU Base Coat and some primer for nose cover and raer cover and the accident area at the rear quarter.

Lots of Vinyl that painters use - 1 Roll
2 fans - I didn't really mask off the garage - Too much of a pain in the ass, although if I remember coorectly I did cover many parts of it. But with the fans blowing and sucking there wasn't much of a problem.
I bought 2 HVLP guns (low end).
The compressor was (crappy), but it worked. Small compressors have a tendency to make more moisture. YES I used a water separator but moisture still came through at times. A small pressure regulator was also attached to the guns.
Double filter face mask about $40/50. (You need this for sure)
I removed all of the belt mouldings and anything RUBBER, for a more professional look. I hate paint/tape marks on the rubber.
Side mirrors werwe also removed.
I painted the hood, trunk lid, headlight covers inside the garage and outside.
Once again - The most important part is the prep work and how far you want to go to make it look right - My feeling was that if a paint shop wants $2K to $4K to fix my car and they are not rocket scientists, then I can do it also. It just takes time to do it right.

~~ The paint was the most expensive (app. $550) part of it. I spent around $1200 including the ($360) for the new front fender and the used door (whole w/windows and internals). ~~