chirag1988

Welcome mate - black is the best colour too

I've got a day off on Friday so will make a trip to halfords to check out the different shades. Hopefully my primer and lacquer will have come by then so will be able to have some practice

I've just bought the hycote white plastic primer and the hycote clear lacquer from eBay for roughly fiver each. Now just gotta find a shade of orange!

Coolio, looks like I've found something else to spend my money on now and it won't be breaking the bank either

Thanks for the above GMballistic regarding strut brace removal. I'll have a few practice goes before I do the actual thing so as to not mess it up lol. Does it matter which brand I use for primer, paint and lacquer? I checked the paints4u and they have a few different brands. Can you guys also recommend where I can find a selection of colours and shades?

Thanks for both your replies guys. I'll probably start with just the plastic covers to see how I get on. Probably even practice on some scrap bits of plastic stuff before trying it for real and leave the strut bar till last. Just gotta decide on a shade of orange now!

Thanks for the tips Vlad. I assume it's the same process for the metal ends of the strut bar? Also once primed, how many coats of paint and lacquer should I apply?

I'm looking to paint a few bits of my engine bay and wanted to know what's the process of preparation and painting and where's the best place to get the paint from (recommended suppliers). I'm looking to start with the battery and brake fluid covers and the engine cover and also the ends of the strut brace. When removing the strut brace is there anything I should be wary of as I've never removed it before. Also as it's metal do I prepare it differently to the plastics for painting? Going to go for a shade of orange as I have the alezan seats inside already and thought it would be nice to continue the theme throughout the engine bay too.

I've gone from a 1.4TDI Polo 75BHP to a 350Z 3.5 V6 313BHP - and here's the punchline...my insurance was CHEAPER!! :scare:

Could be a he-she?

Same with mine, lift it up a bit and then it lifts the rest nice and slowly

At the end of the day it's still an Astra - when people see it they'll say, "Oh that's a nice astra" but with a Zed it's just a whole new level of awesomeness where passers by are simply lost for words.

Who was that from and where do you live? The land of no cars.... bloody hell is that for real?? did they take NCB for driving in your past life? lol I paid £635 and I'm 25 with 0 NCB, which is cheaper than my polo's insurance so i'm not complaining. Hoping it'll go down next year too! I live in a village near Reading, its a B rated postcode. 7 years NCB. Its a quote with Admiral via confused. I got my insurance with admiral too from confused. They were really helpful over the phone and no other extra hidden charges like some of the other "cheap" insurers I came across. BTW mind if I take your nectar points if you don't have a points card yourself?

bloody hell is that for real?? did they take NCB for driving in your past life? lol I paid £635 and I'm 25 with 0 NCB, which is cheaper than my polo's insurance so i'm not complaining. Hoping it'll go down next year too!

Aren't any of the insurers affiliated with the forum able to help?

I'm not too confident with spray painting yet and as this is going to be on display all the time I thought I'd better get it done properly. I'll get some stuff to practice on as I need to re-spray the drivers side switch plate on the door which I'll attempt to do myself - either that or wrap it! Did you do your eyelids yourself then?

I'm not really too hot on cameras...but I do like the look of that Zed

+1 Just some tyre gel to finish the detailing Zeus just in case you needed another reason to buy a bulge SNAP! I just got my eyelids colour coded by RT Performance today and will be fitting them on over the next couple of days when it's not raining. I love the mean look they give the car.

got the kit from here http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Meguiars-Brilliant-Solutions-Winter-Paint-Care-Kit-/151163283238?pt=UK_Car_Accessories_Car_Care_Cleaning&hash=item233208a726 It does say Blobby unfortunately I'm waiting to put my private plate on "CH54RAG" but I can think of better things to spend £80 on than transfer of a number plate. I guess for now my car shall be known as Mr Blobby

As the title says - gave my car a wash and wax using the Megs starter kit I bought. Let me know your thoughts any tips and criticisms welcome

Well said Dean - summarises the main points that have risen of concern

Amazing, they just keep getting better and better (or worse and worse). Tell you what, I'll be happy with just half a mil

I agree with I wouldn't get rid of the zed to buy another sports car. I know there are faster cars out there, nicer interiors, optional extras, etc. But I love being the owner of this car and I can't see myself swapping it for anything in the near future. And to be honest, living in London, having over 300bhp is more than enough, and most times I run out of road before the car's even hit 4500 revs! So for me more power isn't a biggie...yet my main focus on my impulse purchases will be more aesthetics. Even then, i'm not planning on going crazy and spending loads of money on it. But that all depends on how my cash flow is. At the moment my next mod is looking to be a slam panel and then the next "big mod" in terms of expense is an Injen dual air intake which will probably set me back around £500. Other than that I'm more inclined to spend the extra cash on fuel and go to places like the Wales weekend (booked!) and Japfest and enjoy driving the car itself. Finances play a massive part in these situations, and every person has their personal circumstances and none of us are to judge of course. But if you can see there's areas which you can sacrifice on (legitimately) for the sake of keeping the zed then do your calculations. But if you're heart isn't truly set on the car, sell it before it costs you anymore and then take some time deciding which car sends that shiver down your spine everytime you sit inside and turn it on

So heres a question. Because of the cost of the zed, it costs too much to drive from my house to sainsburies on a boring drive, i would personally rather drive it when i want some fun. Are you actually saving money by having a second car? I was looking at getting a cheap run around, but their still a fair few grand for a decent mpg run around. And then theres still the tax, tyres and servicing. Is it really worth it? Well I've owned my polo for a few years and it still averages around 50mpg even for local runs and up to 60mpg on motorway. Tax is £120 a year, service is about £110 a year and I hardly go through tyres, and when I do need it changed I get part-worn for £25 a wheel. A full tank is about £50-55 and it gives me around 450-500 miles on a full tank. Also with my line of work I can claim back my fuel expenses too which helps. If you can pick up a similar car for around £2-3k it may be worth it if you don't want to lose your Z Theres an option for myself and the OP. It is just buying that second car and running it. I always think it wont work out any cheaper when your having to pay off a second car, when you have one that works sitting in the drive. I guess id stop looking at the mpg, just top it up once and month and actually "drive" the car, rather than stare at the fuel gauge, mpg reading, and wonder why im driving a 3.5litre so gently. Its just picking up the diesel keys instead of the zed I guess another way to keep the zed is getting a bike. If its just an a-b work thing, bikes a possibility? as in motorbike? £600 course and looking at £1k for a decent one? That's exactly how I feel when picking up my polo keys when going to work but this way I know when I take the Z out I'll be driving it like its meant to be driven and not worry about the fuel gauge. I'm estimating a full tank or so a month with the Z so about £100 a month on fuel plus any mods I do whenever I feel impulsive Bike is also an option as it'll be cheaper too and be thrilling in it's own way!

So heres a question. Because of the cost of the zed, it costs too much to drive from my house to sainsburies on a boring drive, i would personally rather drive it when i want some fun. Are you actually saving money by having a second car? I was looking at getting a cheap run around, but their still a fair few grand for a decent mpg run around. And then theres still the tax, tyres and servicing. Is it really worth it? Well I've owned my polo for a few years and it still averages around 50mpg even for local runs and up to 60mpg on motorway. Tax is £120 a year, service is about £110 a year and I hardly go through tyres, and when I do need it changed I get part-worn for £25 a wheel. A full tank is about £50-55 and it gives me around 450-500 miles on a full tank. Also with my line of work I can claim back my fuel expenses too which helps. If you can pick up a similar car for around £2-3k it may be worth it if you don't want to lose your Z