kitkos

iTrader: (1)

Four pieces need to be painted.
Manifold Cover
Battery & Brake Fluid covers
Windshield Washer cover

The body shop I used said they couldn’t paint the windshield washer cover because it was a different type of plastic and it would peel off to easily.

Manifold Cover: I did the masking of the letters myself using regular masking ½ inch tape cut into strips. The letters are silver only on the very top surface and I wanted to make them stand out so I took great effort to be sure to get the edge of the tape to the bottom edge of each raised letter. This way there will be a black space all the way around each letter. The best tools I came up with were a utility knife and some large toothpicks. The soft wood doesn’t scratch the surface of the manifold cover.

Battery & Brake Fluid Covers: I thought about the Battery and Brake Fluid covers for quite a while and in the end thought the best route was to fill the letters with silicone caulk. I used white so I could tell where the edge was on the lettering and to be sure I didn't leave any behind prior to the paint job. Be sure to get one that works on plastic and won’t shrink. At this point each letter is filled to the top edge with caulk.

Here is an image of the pieces before they go to get painted.

kitkos

iTrader: (1)

After the paint is dry I first moistened with a damp cloth for a while and then dug out the caulk with toothpicks. If they need to be touched up (they always will) use a Sharpie brand marker for the black and some red paint.

Picture of them when I received them back from the body shop. Oh and the FedEx guy showed up with a package from Courtesy Nissan and the mailman had a package from insaneamine.

kitkos

iTrader: (1)

The finished project

kitkos

iTrader: (1)

and another

kitkos

iTrader: (1)

and another

kitkos

iTrader: (1)

and yet another

kitkos

iTrader: (1)

and one more. No this isn't the engine bay it's of the new NISMO piece. These aren't decals they are actually raised letters. Very high quality.

westpak

iTrader: (19)

Very nice, I want to do mine as well, how much did the body shop charge?

grayfox

Zowie - very cool =)

Looks like you've got a custom paint job on the side of the car - can we get see it please? =)

grayfox

/agree Victor

The Nismo sticker looks so classy there - understated but classy =)

ZGone

What is the RWHP gain from adding those stickers?

blue wax

that looks real cool dude

yezzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

love it

Traffic

Don't be a DH. If you don't have anything nice or constructive to say, try a different thread.

That said, the bay looks very nice. I'm still thinking about painting mine but I dunno which color to paint it.

tex350

That looks really good kitkos, I want to do that on mine, and since I work at a car dealership, our bodyshop will be able to do the paint work for cheap. But I was just wondering , will the paint crack easily and just flake off and ruin the engine bay within a short amount of time, or did you do some homework and figure out what kind of paint will stand the heat and or flex to prevent cracking. any help will be appreciated.



2003 350z touring 6mt
pikes peak white Frost leather

eskimo

Might as well paint the strut bar, or buy a red one.

dubcac

For the windshield washer cover you may want to look into anodizing. I know plastic parts can be colored, because I wanted to change the color of the gas tank on my dirtbike. When a friend's frame was powdercoated, I asked them and they said a type of anodizing was used for plastics.