My 1994 Civic Hatch Project - clean, simple, stanced - (no purple JDM towhooks here)

Good work mate, keep it up.

It's coming along nicely.

[lightisright]

What a BIG painting job!


I love EG's they look really fine just with little wheels...

[CubbyChowder]

Update:

Beware: This is where the term "budget build" really comes into play. Stuff's about to get pretty ghetto in here. If I could do this the proper way, I would. I'm almost embarrassed to share haha.

Anyways, my Civic is the "CX" model, which is a base model. AKA manual windows, locks, no power steering, etc. Honda also decided it'd be a good idea to put less sound deadening throughout the vehicle to save on costs. So as you can imagine, the road noise is ridiculous. Very overpowering, I can't hear my music too well when I'm on the freeway, so I decided that had to come to an end. Most of the noise is coming from the hatch area, as that's usually the loudest part of a hatchback anyways. I did some research on some poor man's sound deadening and discovered "Peel and Seal" from Lowe's. Some swear by it, some say it's pointless. Either way, I figured it was worth a shot. I bought two rolls (6" x 25') which I thought would be plenty. It didn't cover nearly as much as I thought, but I'm sure it will help out somewhat with road noise.

I figured now would be a good time to strip my interior and give everything a good pressure wash and start on the sound deadening:





I was pleasantly surprised at how clean everything was. It was obvious the factory carpet had never been taken out before because it wasn't cut anywhere. You need to cut a couple small sections in order to remove it. Not bad for 7 year old carpet:



Started pressure washing everything:





Before (not even that dirty):



After, all clean and ready for Peel and Seal:



Ok, this is where it starts getting pretty ghetto and hard to look at. I was pretty limited on Peel and Seal so it couldn't really cover too much, which is why there's little bits and pieces everywhere. I even cut a sleeping bag in half and stuffed it in the quarter panels HAHA!






That's it for now. I'm going back today and finishing it.

After browsing through the Stanceworks forums (which I do frequently now), it's making me realize how bad I want a properly stanced Euro. I've had my fair share of VW's and I think I'm pretty much done with them. I'm really starting to like BMW though. My only reason for owning a Honda is the reliability and efficiency. I appreciate so many of the cars on here, I might have to start a new project pretty soon

[CubbyChowder]

do you need to clear it so it doesnt obsorb water like a normal primer?

From what I gather, no. I am not 100% positive, but I'm pretty sure since you're mixing it with an epoxy hardener you wont need to. It's a very durable paint, and I've heard of guys daily driving their epoxy primered cars for 5+ years with no problems. I think it's more common with hot rods/rat rods/classics.

Don't take my word for it though, as I may be wrong. If you're interested in doing something like this, contact your local paint shop and ask them all about it.

[benz88]

do you need to clear it so it doesnt obsorb water like a normal primer?

[CubbyChowder]

Very nice write up. I think I prefer the original Type R lip but it's still cool. 195/50/15 and 15x8, that's what I'm talking about. How many people remember when most mini trucks rolled that tire setup

The Type-R lip is an eBay lip made out of polyurethane which sells for $40 new haha. It's just a knockoff and you can tell up close, I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as an original OEM Type-R lip, I don't think they even made a Type-R civic, I think that's more of an Acura thing (someone correct me if I'm wrong). It actually fit pretty decently though. It definitely does have a more aggressive look to it though compared to the OEM lip.

wait so its a primer? did you put a clear over it?

Yep, it's an epoxy primer. No clear coat needed. How it works is you get one gallon of primer and one gallon of epoxy hardener. When you're ready to paint, you mix equal portions of each into a cup and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes so it can fully react. The next part is optional, if you want, you can thin the paint down with Acetone. Basically, the more thinner you mix in, the more shine it gives it. I wanted a semi-gloss look so I added a decent amount of thinner. Each batch of paint I mixed up was:
6oz. of primer
6oz. of epoxy hardener
3oz. of Acetone

and that's what gives it that sorta shine.

The BEST part about this paint is it can used as a sealer/top coat. AKA, it wont fade off in a year into a dull chalky mess, it will keep this finish. Plus, if I decide in 2 years that I'm ready for a legitimate paint job, all I need to do is quickly scuff the primer and it's fully prepped for paint.

[benz88]

wait so its a primer? did you put a clear over it?

[redciv1]

Very nice write up. I think I prefer the original Type R lip but it's still cool. 195/50/15 and 15x8, that's what I'm talking about. How many people remember when most mini trucks rolled that tire setup

[CubbyChowder]

wasnt sure if you wanted it satin so i didnt say anything the first time but i think it looks perfect, especially for your first time spraying a car, i just love the teal color lol. you could always try stripping the clear on the wheels and polishing up the lips....i think the wheels are great for what they are, deff good looking for a wheel like that

Thanks man! I appreciate the comment. I am very happy with how it turned out considering it was my first time painting and my booth was an army tent in my dads front yard haha. The teal color is nice when it's in perfect condition. There's a guy locally who has a freshly painted one and it looks tits. I just wanted to do something different, I feel its a pretty unique hatch. There's only one other hatch that I've seen online with these wheels too, so they're not all played out. I'm a big fan of wide, low offset, step lip, mesh style, etc. So these wheels were the perfect candidate.

[hinrichs]

wasnt sure if you wanted it satin so i didnt say anything the first time but i think it looks perfect, especially for your first time spraying a car, i just love the teal color lol. you could always try stripping the clear on the wheels and polishing up the lips....i think the wheels are great for what they are, deff good looking for a wheel like that

[DeeAOne]

Love those wheels man.

[CubbyChowder]

definately needs a wetsand and buff/polish. looks good though for a first time!

thanks, but it's not meant to have a glossy finish. The paint is an Epoxy Primer and I thinned it down with Acetone to give it the satin/semi-gloss look.

[benz88]

definately needs a wetsand and buff/polish. looks good though for a first time!

[CubbyChowder]

wish you would have kept the teal, but looks great now with the new paint. any plans to wetsand and buff? what wheels are those?

I'm personally not a teal fan, and from the beginning I planned on painting it myself and I didn't really wanna attempt a 2 stage base/clear paint job for my first time ever on the car haha. I've always been into the satin/semi-gloss look, and although this isn't really the legit way to do it, I'm happy with how it turned out. It was very affordable as well, I spent $150 on paint and $50 on a gun.

As far as wetsanding and buffing, I'm going to stay away from those because apparently it takes the shine away with this paint. I'm just going to leave it how it is.

The wheels are Stance Mindset 15x8 +25et. By no means a baller setup, but the size and offsets are perfect for my application, and I just love the way they look

[hinrichs]

wish you would have kept the teal, but looks great now with the new paint. any plans to wetsand and buff? what wheels are those?