Paint job?
 

Hello guys, I'm a brand new member of the forum!! I'm also a brand new owner of a 1985 GSL!! I've always loved these cars and I think I got a pretty good deal on mine ($1000).

Now what I don't like about it...the cream color!! YUK! I'm gonna get the color changed...probably to black. I got one quote from a bodyshop and it was for $1600 including some very minor bodywork and maybe a new, original front airdam. Does this sound about right?

Oh, another thing, the car runs great but the engine is dirty as hell and has a thick coat of black gunk on it, is there anything that can safetly take it off? I mean it's even in the hardest to reach spots. If anyone knows a good mechanic for these cars here in Houston I'd love to get the name.

Thanks guys!!!!

Congrats on the purchase. It's the most fun car i've ever driven so far.

As for the paint, ask them the type of paint they use (brand). Sikkens (Akzo Nobel), PPG, and DuPont is the only ones i trust, personally. Those are the ones you pay $800 to $2500 for, which is good. For a dark color, it's vital to pick a good shop and a good quality paint. It's all in the preparation tho.

As for the years and years of grease, my recommendation is to dilute 3 parts water to 1 part Castrol Super Clean degreaser. Spray the sucker on, brush a little, and steam or hose off. That "Engine Brite" type cleaner (in a can) works too, but stinks bad for the first 30 minutes from starting your car and warming up. Another way is: a shitload of brake cleaner. Spray it all over and brush only the heavily soiled parts. Buy it at WalMart, it's like $2.50 or so per can versus $5 at Pep Boys.



Jeff

Thanks n1sh1. I'll try the Castrol mix and see how much gunk i can get off. The bodyshop guy said he only uses PPG (it was listed in the quote he gave me). And I saw some of the cars his shop did. Some where insurance jobs, but he also had a few custom jobs that looked amazing!

Oh, where's a good place to buy parts from. I'm talking about things like the air conditioning vents, maybe even whole door panels and stuff?

your best bet is probably ebay or victoria british for stuff like that.

good luck and welcome to the fourm!

I'm not sure if you're the junkyard type of person (actually, most 1st gen guys are in my area), but that would be the cheapst way. If you have a gray interior, i got almost everything for an 85 GSL. It's my parts car. Problem is, shipping for door panels and junk... UPS has to make their money too...... If it's small stuff , it's cool tho. Feel free to ask, i need to get rid of it anyways!

www.mazdatrix.com has alot of stuff for the 1st gen. but like n1sh1 said, junk yards are the cheapest. The paint job sounds like a great deal. The last quote I got was something like $2400 just to have the paint done, they would have left any dings.

ebay is a good place to look and theres a catalog victoria bristish that sells parts and if u look in the vendors list theres tons of websites with all sorts of stuff. racingbeat.com is good too.

random thought.... what if you just take out the door panel and just screw in an aluminum panel instead.....

Mazdatrix in Signal Hill has all that stuff too. Brand new factory parts, but be prepared to send the "big bucks". Some parts might be better off buying new, because if it's broken on your car, it's gonna do the same with a used one (center console, etc)

Welcome to the forum and the purchase. I have to agree I have never been that much of a fan of the cream color but others would say that they do not like my brown car :)

I have owned quite a few different cars including a lt1 camaro and I have to tell you that the 125rwhp that I had in my GSL-SE was wayyyy more fun than the lti could ever provide me with.

The price seems about right maybe a tad low. When I looked into paint a little bit ago I think that the average was around 2k or so. That was a quality job. I am a fan of PPG.

Also what about the engine bay? What are you going to do about the color dofference? You could strip it and paint it the same color of the car or someway paint it with a aerosol can if you are skilled enough. Sorry I am just a tad bit anal about small things like thant :)

Have fun, and lets see some pics!

Z

I had good luck cleaning my engine bay with Simple Green degreaser. I tried spray can engine cleaner first, but it didn't work as well.

I also picked up at Walmart some kind of kitchen brush for pots or something. The handle is about 18" long and the brush part is about 1 1/2 inches square, and the flip side has small really stiff bristles. This worked great to get into the tight areas and scrub.

If its really oily, you will probably have to go over it 2 or 3 times.

If you get a paint job, look at some of there work, make sure there stuff matches, check referemces, and if you want to go to Giddings, come stop by our shop. www.bodyshoppros.com
MAKE SURE THERE PAINT MATCHES THE REST OF THE BODY ON THERE OTHER JOBS!!!!!!!!!!

Paint Schemes
 

Jessica -

I have owned a number of 1st gen RX-7s in the past 20 years, and painted several of them. I have changed the color on some, and there are things to consider, such as the under hood area as someone already pointed out. Before yu change the color, consider if you plan to do any "spirited driving". The color you have is about the perfect color if you don't want to be noticed. I have one with a V-8 that is the beige color, originally planned to put a fancy paint job on it, but then realized it is better not to be noticed by the cops.

I recommend you consider a two color paint job. Take a look at my red/silver car on this web site: www.cardomain.com/ride/646433

I am planning to put this scheme on my beige car, leaving the top beige and using a metallic brown on the lower part. This way the engine compartment and the area inside the door jams can be left in the original color, which considerably simplifies the job.

You should also look at the photos on this recent thread if you have not already: https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/needed-pics-1st-gen-472218/

Thanks for all the help guys! Can't wait to get my 7 looking pretty! I don't think I'll get everything in the engine compartment painted cause I think it'll cost me too much to have someone take out the engine just paint that area. And I think that that area is so greasy that any paint I spray on it will just peel off, won't it?

The engine bay will take as much, if not more prep work than the body, simply because of all of the fluids that it has been exposed to. If nothing else, at least prep and paint the area in the bay that are rusting, to preserve the body. Then when you cet a wild hair to do the moter, you can detail the bay.

Pay particular attention to the areas under the brake and clutch master cylinders, remember, brake fluid eats paint, rust soon follows. You can get to those areas with removing just a few parts, and a lot of hand work to prep for paint.

As others have already mentioned, decent paint jobs are not cheap. The reason for this is two-fold:

First, the afore-mentioned pricier paints vs. the cheap (and useless) stuff; but secondly, the prep work involved. A less-than-professional shop will simply mask off everything that's not to be painted, sand the surface and fire away with the sprayer. If you're lucky they'll also do your door jambs and the under side of your hood. Hopefully you'll be ok with the overspray in your wheel wells and on your muffler and suspension components because these morons can't be bothered to properly mask them off, especially if they've quoted you a price lower than say, $2500.

In a few years this paint will begin peeling and flaking, especially around the parts that should have been removed during painting--- door handles, mirrors, windshield trim, hatch hinges, etc.

If cash flow is a problem, and if you're feeling adventurous, you may wish to do much of the prep work yourself. Remove all trim items, including the interior door panels. Remove the hatch and hood. Call a friend who is in the autobody trade (or knows someone who is) to help you sand and prep the body for paint. Also, remove and/or mask off as much as you can in the engine bay and sand/ prep the paint here as well. It won't be as good as it could be if you had removed the engine but it will look way better than if you'd left it the stock color.

Once all of this has been done have the car towed to a reputable auto body shop to have the car painted. Do not skimp on the quality of the paint. However, do shop around for the best price for this paint. You might be able to get it for less than what the shop sells it for, assuming they will still paint using stuff purchased from a source other than from them.

If you do much of the above yourself you should be able to get a quality paint job at a bargain price.

As for the engine bay, before cleaning, wipe doen the distributor cap, spark plug wires and the wires leading to and from the ignition coils. Then spray them with a silicone or plastic-based coating to protect them from shorting out from the water that you'll be spraying throughout your engine bay. Nothing more annoying than having the car not start after an engine bay wash due to wet wiring. Ask me how I know.

Then drive to one of those self-serve car washes (the coin-operated ones with the pressure-wash wands and brushes that you use yourself in a wash bay). Let the engine cool down for at least 1/2 hour and then spray the degreaser thoughout the entire bay,especially where there is caked-on oil-soaked gunk. Also, spray the under side of the hood.

Let this stuff sit for about ten minutes and then drive into the wash bay. Spray the engine bay down thoroughly, first with soapy water and then with the setting on "rinse." Be careful to spray as little water as possible into the alternator.

Welcome to the forum, and do take the time to read the FAQ sections and any threads that describe the proper care and feeding procedures for these cars. With proper common-sense maintenance practices these cars can be very dependable, even considering their age. It's neglect and unprofessional mods that tend to kill them.

I advise against changing the car color. It reduces car value and is very expensive to have done properly. By using original color you can also eliminate some masking problems by over-masking and under-spraying very slightly. I've done that in the past with good results. When you change colors you have to do the doorsills, window sills, engine compartmet, etc. Very costly. I have an SE with a badly faded Silver finish, and after considering a mild color change (like pearl white) I've decided to go with the original silver (even tho I already have a good looking silver 85GSL). Even tho silver is probably the most common color, nevertheless the best maintained car will always stand out in a crowd.

The original beige/cream is a very good color when it is properly maintained and polished. Also, they were relatively rare, which enhances value. There's one around here someplace that I always admire when I see it. A clean polished well-maintained car always looks best. Put a cover over it when not driving, and avoid parking in the direct sun.

Black is poor because there were no original 7s in black, and black very easily looks dirty and marred. Also, black will be very hot in the texas summer.

B

^^^ Most of what you posted, I can agree with except the way you clean the engine. Silicone spray causes nothing but problems for painting, and I refuse to use it anywhere on any of my cars. The crap just does not go away and tends to spread everywhere you don't want it. When it does that, you get fisheyes your paint.

When I clean an engine bay, whether at home with the hose or the pressure washer, or even at the carwash, I usually leave the engine running. It will not hurt it to do so. If it dies during cleaning, take the dizzy cap off and either dry it out with a towel, compressed air or an electronic parts dryer that comes in a spray can.

I have never been stranded with a non starting engine, even if it was shut off during the power washing.

This post refers to Aviator's post, biffle jumped in before I could post.

Take care of your car and it will take care of you. I bought the Misty Blue 83GS in my avatar new 23 years ago and it looks as good now as when I bought it. I've never polished it, I wash it once a month with a mild sudsy solution of Joy dishwashing liquid in warm water (lately I've been using something called KIT from the autostore which contains a little carnauba). The finish is deep and smooth and looks new. I cover it every night and when I'm not using it, and I replace the cover once a year for $40. Now I have to repair dings in the front from people backing into it, and my concern is to keep the undamaged surface original while matching the color well on the 3 damaged panels. Most shops want to paint the whole car, which is unnecessary and suggests to me that they are not good at matching colors.

B

[QUOTE=trochoid]

Most of what you posted, I can agree with except the way you clean the engine. Silicone spray causes nothing but problems for painting, and I refuse to use it anywhere on any of my cars. The crap just does not go away and tends to spread everywhere you don't want it. When it does that, you get fisheyes your paint.

You're right. Silicone will do exactly that, and in the aircraft maintanence industry we've found that one of the few things that will completely remove silicone is Methyl Ethyl Keytone (M.E.K.). This is nasty stuff, but at least the paint results are good. Iso Alcohol just won't get it done.

The good news is that silicone only has this negative effect on the painting process. Once the car is painted and dried there's no problem--- until you decide to paint it again.

When I clean an engine bay, whether at home with the hose or the pressure washer, or even at the carwash, I usually leave the engine running. It will not hurt it to do so. If it dies during cleaning, take the dizzy cap off and either dry it out with a towel, compressed air or an electronic parts dryer that comes in a spray can.

This is one way of doing it, and if you have access to pressurized air there's no problem. I didn't at the time so I had to spend an additional 20 minutes (time that I really didn't have to spare) drying the distributor, wires and cap off. By the time I found that this wasn't going to do the job it had gotten just dark enough that I could see where the spark was jumping from--- the coils themselves. So much for my dry dist. cap.

I'd still prefer to coat the wiring, but if painting is to be done chose a non-silicone-based coating.

[QUOTE=bliffle]

I advise against changing the car color. It reduces car value and is very expensive to have done properly. By using original color you can also eliminate some masking problems by over-masking and under-spraying very slightly. I've done that in the past with good results. When you change colors you have to do the doorsills, window sills, engine compartmet, etc. Very costly.

This is usually very good advice, and I've posted exactly that in other threads. The only problem is that some colors just don't sell very well because few people like them. When they do sell, the price is generally lower. For example, a pink, puke-green--- or biege car doesn't typically sell for as much as it would if it were say, red, black, white, blue or silver.

For this reason, the fact that the car has been re-painted a different (ie: more universally desireable) color doesn't hurt the car's value because the car was already worth approximately the same percentage less than that of cars that came from the factory with a more desirable color. The new color increases the value, but the fact that the car has been painted drives it back down to where it was. The benefits here are that now the owner has a car that he/ she likes the color of, the new paint makes the car look newer, and the more universally-desirable color is much easier to find a buyer for when it comes time to sell.

But all of this assumes a very thorough and professional-looking paint job. All bets are off if the paint job is a cheap and poor-quality one.



The original beige/cream is a very good color when it is properly maintained and polished. Also, they were relatively rare, which enhances value.

Actually, any color looks better when properly maintained and polished. But they're still harder to sell because too many people don't like that color.

As for the relative rarity of beige, there's a reason Mazda didn't paint more of them that color: low demand. To put this into perspective, 1st gen RX7s with automatic transmissions are also rare, and when new cost more than manual trans- equipped ones did. But fewer were produced because sportscar buyers looked on them as a form of blasphemy.

And they still do. As a result, 1st gen automatics sell for substantially less (if they sell at all) that 1st gen standards--- in much the same way as brown and beige cars sell for less, no matter how rare they may be.


Black is poor because there were no original 7s in black, and black very easily looks dirty and marred. Also, black will be very hot in the texas summer.

Uh, I think you'll find that black was one of the more common stock colors available in most if not all model years that the 1st gens were produced. But yes, black is harder to keep looking clean (ie: doesn't hide dirt very well) and it also gets very hot in the summer sun. All the more reason to insist on quality paint that won't fade from the heat, and all the more incentive to wash the car frequently. BTW, black cars are very easy to sell.

I only know a handful of people that I would trust to fix anything on my 7 here in town, and none are for hire. If you're brave and you have a few tools, there's almost nothing you can't do yourself to a first gen. If you need help, the local guys will lend a hand if you ask - especially since you're a girl.

On a side note, I'm looking for a paint guy too: if you find any gems on the cheap, throw the name my way.

You're absolutely right about it being easier to keep the paint its original colour. The attention to detail must be that much greater. I changed the colour of my
GSL-SE from white to grey and I ended up putting over 50 hours of prep work into the thing. I wouldn't worry about what it does to the value of the car though. Just do whatever makes you happy. I know that if I ever sell my car (something that seems more and more unlikely every time I drive it) I won't get my money back but as long as I enjoy the way my car looks and drives I really don't care.

I understand your reasoning for not changing the color, but I'm just not excited about the beige/cream color my car is now. I know myself, if I'm not excited about the way my car looks now it won't be too long before I just let it go untill it's a hunk of junk! Besides, I've seen how these cars look when painted a deep black and they look very pleasing to me!

I'm taking everyone's suggestions into true consideration, but one thing I know for sure is that my car will get a color change, and I don't mean to insult anyone here by doing so, I just don't see myself parting with this car for quite a long time because I love the way it drives and the body style, I just want it to have an awesome black paint job as well!! By the way, my brother already buffed up the paint it has now, it's nice and shiny, I'm thinking it will hold me over untill I save up some more money so I can demand a real quality paint job!!

what color do you have in mind?

I spent $3800+ getting my car repainted the original color - brown - and it rocks.

Right on.

Sometime I'll actually take some photos...I just realized I have never posted pictures of the finished project.