Celshady's Zed

[celshady]

Not a mod thread as such, rather refresh and upkeep. After spending (wasting) thousands tweaking my old Celica with nothing to show for it but broken spacers and unwanted vibration (wanted vibration, that'd be a different story), I yearn not to catch Zeditis.

 

My Zed is a gunmetal 56 plate with the facelift interior and extra oomph (but alas the extra road tax)

 

Changes so far:

• Don't think the zorst is standard, but don't think it's a known aftermarket jobby. Reckon it's custom fit if anything. Happy to be corrected!
  
• One of I4N's lovely boot dividers in OEM-look black
  

Plans:

• Get a cargo net. Anyone know a good fit one, or can I just spend £10 on Amazon on a generic one?
  
• Fit a replacement front wheel (already bought one) as one is badly kerbed. This wheel also has a Linglong on it, so that should really go too. Can't say it's been bad as such though.
  
• Do the BOSE HU replacement thingy, following cs2000's excellent recent guide
  
• Glue down the NS window trim thingy (the bit that some people replace with a "carbon" version). Noticed it was loose when washing, and for some reason the popper won't pop in
  
• Worry about all the stone chips I'm picking up
  
• Do something about the interior trim paint flaking off the cubby lid. Didn't realise this could even happen. Why did they not just make it out of black plastic in the first place?
  

Done today:

• Wash, wax and exhaust tip clean. Did the latter with t-cut and very impressed with the results. They were completely matte before and covered in soot to boot.
  

[Gus-350z]

Great pictures

[Mopedmark]

Yes very nice pics

[veilside z]

Lovely car and great photos

[Andy_Muxlow]

Nice pics there dude.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[FiddyZed]

I love that colour zed!

 

 

 

 

 

(I could be bias - mines the same )

[celshady]

It's been a lovely few years but now the zed is up on Autotrader as I need an estate for the dog.

 

I don't have enough posts to put it in the for sales section here sadly, but here is the link: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201801253099508

[PPod]

Very tidy z 

[celshady]

Market seems to be a bit slow at the moment so I'm doing a few little jobs and enjoying it (%#@*ing loving it actually) as a second car on nice days. Replaced the battery with a beefier job - that's really improved the starting. This week's job is the scuffed/scratched passenger window switch surround.

 

Looked at a few posts on here of people who'd done similarly, then got cracking. Firstly used the sandpaper we had lying around, then went out and bought some 320/600. A bit of mild effort and it looks like this:

 

 

Tonight I'll bung on a few coats of primer, then satin black it. Hopefully it'll match the driver's side which a previous owner has redone - if not I'll have to do that. I got my primer and satin black from Amazon, brand is Hycote. Think it was £11 for 400ml of both.

 

Then it's wiper arms.

[celshady]

Mild effort was not enough! After 3 coats of primer and 3 coats of Satin in looked like this:

Great from a metre away but bad close up. Learned the valuable lesson that paint doesn't hide bad prep.

 

Sighed a bit, then resanded the piece. Mixture of 320 and 600 again, but mostly 600 and the last bit done under running water - presumably a variation on wetsanding. Very effective anyway.

 

Now looks like this - ready for round 2:

 

The plus side was that I discovered the driver's side was either gloss, or satin + clear coat... need to do some test pieces for a proper match.

[Flashback]

16 minutes ago, celshady said:

Mild effort was not enough! After 3 coats of primer and 3 coats of Satin in looked like this:

Great from a metre away but bad close up. Learned the valuable lesson that paint doesn't hide bad prep.

 

Sighed a bit, then resanded the piece. Mixture of 320 and 600 again, but mostly 600 and the last bit done under running water - presumably a variation on wetsanding. Very effective anyway.

 

Now looks like this - ready for round 2:

 

The plus side was that I discovered the driver's side was either gloss, or satin + clear coat... need to do some test pieces for a proper match.

Just do both then it'll definitely match.  Probably wont take too much longer than doing the one and mucking about with testing paint and lacquer.

[Tom_K]

May I suggest using 800 and make sure you sand it in all directions (if you're not using tools like a DA), that'll minimise the sanding scratches you're seeing through the paint.

Also, try some high-build primer to flat back before putting the top coat on. Lastly (I don't mean to nit-pick, just trying to pass on tips from my many 'learning occasions'), wet sanding isn't really the best on rattle can paints as they're more absorbent than 2k, so you risk water getting trapped in the coats and then blistering after a few weeks. 

[celshady]

On 02/05/2018 at 15:33, Tom_K said:

May I suggest using 800 and make sure you sand it in all directions (if you're not using tools like a DA), that'll minimise the sanding scratches you're seeing through the paint.

Also, try some high-build primer to flat back before putting the top coat on. Lastly (I don't mean to nit-pick, just trying to pass on tips from my many 'learning occasions'), wet sanding isn't really the best on rattle can paints as they're more absorbent than 2k, so you risk water getting trapped in the coats and then blistering after a few weeks. 

Thanks, I appreciate the pointers! Especially as I'm doing the wiper arms next

[celshady]

Wiper arms done (to a much higher standard after all the pointers ) and car sold, for an absolute steal, to a very lucky local guy. Hopefully you'll see it around here. Don't know whether I want to as it'll break my heart!

 

Got some bits for sale which I'll put in the "bits for sale" bit. Suspension set and driveshaft spline thing.