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K11 Micra (First Car)
- Thread starter cgten
- Start date
OP
OP
Uh oh. Is she fully comp? If she is, it's normally free.
Magpie42
Actual Magpie.
Apparently, the crack gets bigger in winter... :O
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OP
OP
Today we spent a load of time polishing the spoiler and plinth. First they had a run over with some 2000 grit to kill the orange peel and then some 3000 grit to smooth it out:
After that they had underwent two passes of resin polish and two passes of scratch removal polish. They then had three coats of wax to shine them up and protect against the rain:
The photo makes it look a bit pale, but the colour is really deep and will almost certainly show the rest of the car up once fitted. The rest of the car will get the same treatment, so no worries there. I haven't mounted them to the car yet, as I need to order some Tiger Seal and wait for a nice dry weekend.
On another note, I've been looking into using vinyl dye to recolour the interior plastics black (but not glossy black - more of a charcoal colour). Has anyone managed to successfully do this with vinyl dye spray cans? I was under the impression that vinyl dye penetrates the plastic surface for a permanent finish, but the Halfords stuff I used peeled off easily and appeared shiny in places. Any thoughts on this? Should I be using something like Rit Dye instead?
After that they had underwent two passes of resin polish and two passes of scratch removal polish. They then had three coats of wax to shine them up and protect against the rain:
The photo makes it look a bit pale, but the colour is really deep and will almost certainly show the rest of the car up once fitted. The rest of the car will get the same treatment, so no worries there. I haven't mounted them to the car yet, as I need to order some Tiger Seal and wait for a nice dry weekend.
On another note, I've been looking into using vinyl dye to recolour the interior plastics black (but not glossy black - more of a charcoal colour). Has anyone managed to successfully do this with vinyl dye spray cans? I was under the impression that vinyl dye penetrates the plastic surface for a permanent finish, but the Halfords stuff I used peeled off easily and appeared shiny in places. Any thoughts on this? Should I be using something like Rit Dye instead?
OP
OP
Another weekend, another update. Today has been a terrible day in terms of weather, so once again progress was slowed down. But today we still managed to get this done:
The plinth was complete so we took the service panel from the bootlid and removed the existing black one:
And here is the newly painted plinth fitted. We also polished the number plate light lenses:
Believe me when I say that getting the rubber gasket back onto the plinth before fitting was a complete nightmare. Next up we got to work tinting the foglights with Lamin-X:
This stuff just sticks to the lenses and we used a heat gun to flatten it out and remove any bubbles. The excess is then just trimmed off and the units are placed back in their housings:
Here they are fitted to the car:
Also, here's a bonus picture of the painted horns, seeing as it was too dark to photograph these when I fitted them:
Overall I'm pleased with how it's looking so far. I still need to sort out the peeling lacquer on the back of the car and finish colour coding the bump strips and wing mirrors, then it's onto the engine bay.
Thanks for reading
The plinth was complete so we took the service panel from the bootlid and removed the existing black one:
And here is the newly painted plinth fitted. We also polished the number plate light lenses:
Believe me when I say that getting the rubber gasket back onto the plinth before fitting was a complete nightmare. Next up we got to work tinting the foglights with Lamin-X:
This stuff just sticks to the lenses and we used a heat gun to flatten it out and remove any bubbles. The excess is then just trimmed off and the units are placed back in their housings:
Here they are fitted to the car:
Also, here's a bonus picture of the painted horns, seeing as it was too dark to photograph these when I fitted them:
Overall I'm pleased with how it's looking so far. I still need to sort out the peeling lacquer on the back of the car and finish colour coding the bump strips and wing mirrors, then it's onto the engine bay.
Thanks for reading
Not sure if you've already found one but i got a spare factory fitted rear parcel shelf with the speakers built in
OP
OP
Not sure if you've already found one but i got a spare factory fitted rear parcel shelf with the speakers built in
I managed to get hold of some speakers, but I'm just waiting on @Shamalam to get back to me about getting the rest of the shelf (I messed mine up pretty badly BUT IT WORKS... barely)
OP
OP
@Shamalam PM'd you matey.
I've also ordered a 1:24 scale March kit from eBay. What I want to do is try and replicate any mods on my car onto the model and attach it to the dash or perhaps the middle of the parcel shelf. Would be even better if I could wire in LEDs for the head/tail lights so they come on when the actual ones do
I've also ordered a 1:24 scale March kit from eBay. What I want to do is try and replicate any mods on my car onto the model and attach it to the dash or perhaps the middle of the parcel shelf. Would be even better if I could wire in LEDs for the head/tail lights so they come on when the actual ones do
Magpie42
Actual Magpie.
@Shamalam PM'd you matey.
I've also ordered a 1:24 scale March kit from eBay. What I want to do is try and replicate any mods on my car onto the model and attach it to the dash or perhaps the middle of the parcel shelf. Would be even better if I could wire in LEDs for the head/tail lights so they come on when the actual ones do
You're beginning to sound like @MicraPRO !!!
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OP
OP
Has this already been done then haha?
I'm going to do it anyway, will be fun and it'll be like having two project logs in one
OP
OP
A 1.5 for facelift?
Looking nice. It's very satisfying sorting out all the problems and making your car better isn't it. Your mates Polo is spot on too, lovely lows. On the insurance front, remember, any modifications you make from how your car came from the factory are considered modifications to standard. If they were really anal (and they can be) even hanging an air freshener from the mirror can constitute a modification. But then you can't do that legally either 'cos it constitutes an item in the 'swept area' of the wipers and therefore a visual obstruction........tedious isn't it!
I'm old now and can appreciate why people make mods and don't declare them as the insurance is stupidly high these days, getting fully comp with mods under £300 is certainly a bonus of being past 40 but stick with it, your premiums come down eventually! Finding the right insurer for modded cars helps no end. There's a good few about.
But never mind all that, your car looks great so keep up the enthusiasm and keep us posted as a well written and photo populated thread always wins
I'm old now and can appreciate why people make mods and don't declare them as the insurance is stupidly high these days, getting fully comp with mods under £300 is certainly a bonus of being past 40 but stick with it, your premiums come down eventually! Finding the right insurer for modded cars helps no end. There's a good few about.
But never mind all that, your car looks great so keep up the enthusiasm and keep us posted as a well written and photo populated thread always wins
OP
OP
Couldn't agree more. Luckily the things I'm doing won't bump insurance too much as none of it is aftermarket. They already know about the colour-coding, so I can get on with that once this friggin weather improves a bit None of the other stuff has been permanently fitted yet. The fogs need to actually work for it to pass an MOT, so they'll be out until then, and the spoiler can't go on until the weather plays nice so that the adhesive gets some time to cure. I'll be phoning my insurers in the next few weeks though, definitely want to keep everything above board (I've heard they sometimes even check forums for undeclared mods etc - might be a myth). I won't be adding new wheels or springs for a while though, not unless I can get hold of some for a decent price and my insurer won't charge through the roof to add them to the policy.
None of the other stuff has been permanently fitted yet. The fogs need to actually work for it to pass an MOT, so they'll be out until then, and the spoiler can't go on until the weather plays nice so that the adhesive gets some time to cure. I'll be phoning my insurers in the next few weeks though, definitely want to keep everything above board (I've heard they sometimes even check forums for undeclared mods etc - might be a myth). I won't be adding new wheels or springs for a while though, not unless I can get hold of some for a decent price and my insurer won't charge through the roof to add them to the policy.
OP
OP
Quick update: I was sick of seeing the peeling lacquer on the boot lid, and water was getting underneath it, making it worse and the affected area larger as the days went by. As we had a bit of sunshine yesterday, I decided to try and apply a temporary fix to the area, but I should have left it until I had the right tools really. I sanded it back with 600 grit, which was all I had, masked it off with note paper and sellotape, then gave it a coat of primer, then some AJ4, then some lacquer. It looks awful, really bad, but at least it's sort of protected until we can take it all back and respray that part.
Actually I say that, but when removing the masking paper, the tape pulled a nice strip of lacquer from just above the driver's side tail-light, so really I should have just left it. This just goes to show that you should always use the right tools for the job and never rush things. I'll try and get a photo up later on.
Actually I say that, but when removing the masking paper, the tape pulled a nice strip of lacquer from just above the driver's side tail-light, so really I should have just left it. This just goes to show that you should always use the right tools for the job and never rush things. I'll try and get a photo up later on.
MicraPRO
Part Of The Furniture
It is...
MicraPRO
Part Of The Furniture
Yep just cut the struts lower
Magpie42
Actual Magpie.
You can probably pick up some from your local toy scrapyard...
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OP
OP
Whilst I'm there I can get some OEM parcel shelf speakers, as my model doesn't have them
. I was looking at the decals though, and the instrument panel has a tachometer. It's laughing at me, it knows I can't get one and it's toying with my emotions. The model is actually pretty good. It comes with both the facelift and preface style dashboards and you can either put on the Japanese plates, or the rectangular European plates. Just need to get some model paints and get started.
@Shamalam : Sorry to keep tagging you mate, but any news on that shelf?
Whilst I'm there I can get some OEM parcel shelf speakers, as my model doesn't have them
The model is actually pretty good. It comes with both the facelift and preface style dashboards and you can either put on the Japanese plates, or the rectangular European plates. Just need to get some model paints and get started.
That dash sticker is the biggest paint in the arse. Broke it.
The kit is pretty fiddly, but detailed... Takes hoursss
