Paint matching old awful paint

Stickerbomb the Erebuni in GRM decals for the challenge, then return the stocker afterward? Alt: My Little Pony stickers. Might be more fitting on a Mustang.

Krylon Banner Red, with a satin clearcoat?

A coat of that lurid bright green everyone uses these days for the JDM efFecT, y0s? (Yuck.)

Chalkboard paint, with personal details about the judges, for blackmail purposes?

Custom front mount intercooler made from 5+ Powerstroke cores, that mimics the size and shape of the stock bumper cover, including boom hole cutout?

I like the last option best, that's a new one on me.

Take the car to a body supply place they'll come out with a lunch box sized boxand take a snap shoot of your faded paint and can mix it close. will it be right on? No. but it will be better then if they mixed for the spec color and not the awfull black you don't want. they should be able to mix you a spray can or two just enough to do the bumper. heck if it's thin in a few areas it will add to the faded look.

red checkerboard the whole car!

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

mndsm wrote: PAint the whole middle of the car black. roof, hood, trunk. Bumpers follow those lines.

Dammit Tom, you HAVE one of these. The bumper wraps around the whole front end and goes to the wheelwell.

So? It'd still look badass like that. MANPANTS!

Plaid?

MG_Bryan wrote: Plaid?

In reply to MG_Bryan:

Most baller suggestion yet.

I like the plaid idea, but i find the cheapest way to do that is to wrap it. That's not happening on a Challenge budget.

mndsm wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

mndsm wrote: PAint the whole middle of the car black. roof, hood, trunk. Bumpers follow those lines.

Dammit Tom, you HAVE one of these. The bumper wraps around the whole front end and goes to the wheelwell.

So? It'd still look badass like that. MANPANTS!

So you're saying paint the whole car black except for the fenders, doors, and rear quarters?

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: This is the sort of paint i'm dealing with. This picture makes it look WAY better than it really is.

I am intrigued by this idea of using Plasti Dip to paint a car.

http://www.dipyourcar.com/shop/page/3?shop_param=

I know it has been proven elsewhere on this site that matte finish is dead but this black finish looks interesting to me.
The recommendation that I have is to paint the front bumper, rear bumper and lower sides with Plasti Dip. For the lower sides, paint over the black plastic trim piece and everything down. This will make for a nice line around the entire car.
From what I read above 13 cans are need for an entire car (multi-coat) so doing the lower half should be easy with 7 cans. At $7-ish per can that makes it a $50 investment and a lot of time.
If you are not happy with it, the whole thing can be pealed off.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5H69eMjUXk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hnZ084ff-c&feature=related

Plasti stripes:
http://www.plastidip.com/blog/2011/07/plasti-dip-gone-wild-on-corvetteforum-com/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaVjUdM4RoM&feature=related

Hrmmmm.... Do we have any idea how well that stuff holds up? Color me intrigued. I'd do the whole car in that case.

I just recently stumbled upon this and have no personal experience. There are lots of youtube videos but strangely they seem to be videos mostly of taking the stuff off??
I read one thing that said it holds up for a year if no winter conditions and 5 months if exposed to salt/snow.

ValuePack wrote: Krylon Banner Red, with a satin clearcoat?

This.

Cheap vinyl? Thats easy dollar store shelf liner. This one would be cool for a bumper. http://housewares.hardwarestore.com/37-188-contact-papers/boardwalk-contact-paper-105264.aspx

Leave it off the car until after the Challenge?

pres589 wrote: Leave it off the car until after the Challenge?

But but..... (pout)

In reply to 92CelicaHalfTrac:

In a contest where dollar amounts are kept as low as the Challenge, I'd think the money would be better put into other things, like that hillbilly slipper clutch setup shared here a few weeks ago so you don't scatter H-type bits all over the Florida dragstrip.

pres589 wrote: In reply to 92CelicaHalfTrac: In a contest where dollar amounts are kept as low as the Challenge, I'd think the money would be better put into other things, like that hillbilly slipper clutch setup shared here a few weeks ago so you don't scatter H-type bits all over the Florida dragstrip.

I plan on spinning my way all the way down the quarter mile. It's when the tires GRAB that things break. If i spin all the way down, i won't break.

At least... that's my logic. I'm sticking with it.

(I'm also not sure if my stock-no-i'm-not-kidding-it's-stock clutch would like that much)

Aaron had the same problem with his Judson Supercharged Karmann Ghia Challenge car. He loved the patina of the factory paint but had large sections of body work and primer to "blend" in. He took a removable part of the car that had faded and had it color matched and put in spray cans. He then sprayed and blended and sanded the paint to make it look like it had been there all along. Up close you can see it, but in pictures and at 20 feet you don't even notice it. I believe he spent under $50 on the whole project. Here are some pics:

Before removing the gold spray paint to get to the factory finish:

After paint removal:

After blending:

Under $50 would be perfect! It seems silly to waste this much money on a bumper without re-doing the entire car when talking about a Challenge budget, but i've got about $350 left in budget without a whole lot planned. I think the biggest chunk left is some bolt on flares to clear some tire.

I appreciate all the input! I'll try the paint match method and see where that gets me.

If it doesn't get me anywhere, i'll plastidip the entire car.

MG_Bryan wrote: Plaid?

jackie stewart approves

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

pres589 wrote: In reply to 92CelicaHalfTrac: In a contest where dollar amounts are kept as low as the Challenge, I'd think the money would be better put into other things, like that hillbilly slipper clutch setup shared here a few weeks ago so you don't scatter H-type bits all over the Florida dragstrip.

I plan on spinning my way all the way down the quarter mile. It's when the tires GRAB that things break. If i spin all the way down, i won't break. At least... that's my logic. I'm sticking with it. (I'm also not sure if my stock-no-i'm-not-kidding-it's-stock clutch would like that much)

Only one way to find out. My mystery clutch will be in the same boat. No idea if it's a factory replacement, replaced at all, or some sort of aftermarket unit. Guy that owned it before me bought it from a Mazda tech. Who knows what HE did to it. I know the trans has reportedly been rebuilt at one point.

mndsm wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

pres589 wrote: In reply to 92CelicaHalfTrac: In a contest where dollar amounts are kept as low as the Challenge, I'd think the money would be better put into other things, like that hillbilly slipper clutch setup shared here a few weeks ago so you don't scatter H-type bits all over the Florida dragstrip.

I plan on spinning my way all the way down the quarter mile. It's when the tires GRAB that things break. If i spin all the way down, i won't break. At least... that's my logic. I'm sticking with it. (I'm also not sure if my stock-no-i'm-not-kidding-it's-stock clutch would like that much)

Only one way to find out. My mystery clutch will be in the same boat. No idea if it's a factory replacement, replaced at all, or some sort of aftermarket unit. Guy that owned it before me bought it from a Mazda tech. Who knows what HE did to it. I know the trans has reportedly been rebuilt at one point.

True.... i was TOLD it was stock, but it don't feel like any stock clutch i've ever driven. I've driven obnoxious "Stage 3" clutches that didn't throw my foot off the pedal like this thing.

Mine isn't nearly that wicked, but then again, I'm used to the ms3 clutch, and that's the nastiest thing I've had my hands on, aftermarket and muscle car clutches included.

mndsm wrote: Mine isn't nearly that wicked, but then again, I'm used to the ms3 clutch, and that's the nastiest thing I've had my hands on, aftermarket and muscle car clutches included.

I've driven a few of those.... this is quite a bit harder. I should take the trans off and see what the hell is in that thing, but i'm also afraid to look.