85 Stalker

I'm looking to prime/paint the door sills on my car with the Ecklers plastic repair paints. The passenger side is an easy removal with the 6 or 7 screws. However, what is the trick with removing the sill on the driver side?????? It looks like it should pop right off, but I cannot get it to clear the e-brake handle?

HELP!!!!! I'll buy the beer :cheers:

Rocky Rothrock

Replied to you im and will take a closer look tonight :cheers:

rocky

C-4 Cross Fire

:( I'm sad to say I can't remember right now--but if you look at it you should be able to tell what order stuff has to come out and go back in. I seem to remember that I had to take the seat out so as not to break the plastic cover piece for the e brake.

:lurk:

vetteboy88

If I remember correctly, you have to pop the seat bottom out and remove a couple of screws from the e-brake cover. Hope this helps....

85 Stalker

Thanks for the help guys – I appreciate it.

I figured out what was wrong / different. The person who owned the car before me must have taken the sills off at one point in time. The e-brake gear cover had a screw towards the rear, but at the front, they used a pop rivet?!?!?!? So I had to take the seat out, drill out the rivet, then the cover came right off. I spent about six hours on a job that should have only taken ten minutes. :mad

Oh well, it keeps life interesting.

Last night I removed and painted the soft sill pads with vinyl paint from AutoZone. I’m actually in awe at how well it came out! The OEM color paint and prime for the plastic portion of the sill should arrive any day from Ecklers.

Anyone considering doing this type of detail work should!!!! :thumbs:

Ron

CentralCoaster

Post pics when youre done. :yesnod:

85 Stalker

I cannot wait to get the pictures posted. The primer arrived, but they are shipping the vinyl paint separately. Hopefuly it will arrive today. I cannot wait to get it finished and back on the road!!!!

There is a small crack on the drivers side sill which is never seen (towards the rear of the piece). I tried to repair it with superglue on the backside, but it does not hold. Tonight, I'm going to pickup a fiberglass repair kit and fix it.



[Modified by 85 Stalker, 11:53 AM 3/26/2004]

85 Stalker

I finished glassing the back side where I had some cracks. After that, I scuff sanded some of the minor imperfections and scratches, cleaned with thinner, primed, and then painted them last night with seven very thin coats! I was floored at how well it turned out!!! The part looks like it just came off the assembly line.

My plan is to let the paint set for a couple days, then I'll clear coat it for added scuff protection.

As soon as I'm finished, I'll post before and after pics.

Bruthish

:iagree:

stalkervette

wheres the pics?! i'm waiting patiently here to see how it came out and would like to try it. :lurk:

85 Stalker

I'll post some pics this weekend -- I'm only waiting for the vinyl clearcoat to arrive. I have phots of all the steps. The clear is not absolutely needed, but for the added protection, it is worth it. I only hope it is not too glossy.... The clear should be a the house today (still waiting for the Brown Truck!!!). Last night I took a close look at the sills and the seat belt cover with the new paint, as I said, the color match and surface tecture came out perfect. Anyone considering this should place an order for the paint (Ecklers, MAD, CCentral, etc...). Believe me, this inexpensive project is worth every cent and then some!!!!

85 Stalker

I took some pictures after the parts were prepped, primed, and painted. In order to do these photos justice, I need to post the BEFORE photos (I'll do that this weekend). I'm still waiting for the clear to arrive before I install them in the car.






[Modified by 85 Stalker, 7:02 AM 4/2/2004]

Rocky Rothrock

Lookin good :thumbs:

85 Stalker

I need to expand a little bit more on the photos. In the third image you can see the backside where I repaired the crack with fiberglass. In the second image, where I glassed/primed/painted on the top of the sill -- the old crack and repair cannot be seen. The texture of the prime and paint blended perfect. Wait till you see the before pictures!!!

This was my first time working with glass, and I was amazed at how easy it was!


[Modified by 85 Stalker, 7:56 AM 4/2/2004]

85 Stalker

I rented a steam cleaner after I saw how dirty it was under the seats! And I thought I kept my car clean!!!!!!:crazy:


The carpet came out great. It still looks a little dark in the photos because it was still wet. Now that it is dry, and vacuumed -- it looks like a new carpet. Of course, the water from the cleaner came out almost black.... You'll also note I took most of the interior out for deep cleaning and vinyl painting. I'll post photos of the finished results soon.


I steam cleaned the seats also. It was amazing how dirty they were. I left them out in the sun to air dry.


FYI -- I did clear coat the hard plastic parts (door sills), they have a little gloss, but overall, I think they look pretty good :yesnod: