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OK, lets have a show of hands, how many of you have plastic covering your living room couch?
Hummmm I see.... Oh come on, I know there are some of you out there. Well, even if you won't admit it, this post is for you!
I ordered my 94 with the Aluminum door sill option. So, for the last 24 years I have been carefully lofting my shoes over the sill to avoid scratching the soft aluminum with moderate success.
Also, for 24 years at work I've been staring at the Patco 5560 removable film that we apply to protect optical lenses during shipping. Today, after 24 years, I had an epiphany! What if we combine the film and the sill? No more shoe lofting and no more accidental scratches! So here is the result of my experiment:
Whats that hat you say? You don't see anything? Well, that's the idea isn't it? It's not really visible until you get very very close like this:
See the edge at the top? Had I not been lazy and brought the tape all the way to the end you would have an even harder time seeing it. It took me a few tries to get the sill dust free and the film applied bubble free, but no worries you have 108 feet on the roll to play with. I bought the 2" wide roll, to just cover the top where most of the scratches were, at this place.
I imagine you could also use that clear bra stuff they use on the front end of car to protect from rock chips and whatnot. Might even be worth getting a quote from a local shop that does clear bras, they could probably do it with off cuts for a reasonable price.
I assume this didn't cover or hide existing scratches?
I assume this didn't cover or hide existing scratches?
Dale,
You assume correctly. I do like this tape over other tougher sticker tapes (I tried 3 different types) because it peels off very easily and is very stretchy when you apply it. If it begins to look a little long in the tooth, just peel it off and stick another piece on. Once you learn how to lay it down without air bubbles the whole process from pulling the old tape off to laying down the new tape takes less than 5 minutes.
I imagine you could also use that clear bra stuff they use on the front end of car to protect from rock chips and whatnot. Might even be worth getting a quote from a local shop that does clear bras, they could probably do it with off cuts for a reasonable price.
I assume this didn't cover or hide existing scratches?
I bought a very good condition used set a few months back. I am going to send them to a chrome shop and they are going to hopefully chrome them for me. Anyone have any experience with these chromed? The shop owner states he has done dozens of other scuff plates for mostly antique cars but hasn't done these before. He also stated the way they prep these so that all of the scratched or mildly grooved areas are filled in for a smooth finish.
Thanks Mike
A chrome shop could definitely do it, anything metal they can stick chrome to.
The only thing I would think about with that process is the RX-7 logo not being gold afterwards, don't know if that's an issue for you.
Also the finish will be a lot shinier - mirror finish. The plates are a satin finish of course. But they will be VERY durable, chrome is extremely hardy.
Yes, the gold letter portion would be gone. I guess you could try to use some gold stain that is used for stained glass and glass bulbs. It would likely stick since it is solvent based, but might scratch off easily.
Mike
I bought a very good condition used set a few months back. I am going to send them to a chrome shop and they are going to hopefully chrome them for me. Anyone have any experience with these chromed? The shop owner states he has done dozens of other scuff plates for mostly antique cars but hasn't done these before. He also stated the way they prep these so that all of the scratched or mildly grooved areas are filled in for a smooth finish.
Thanks Mike
I chromed mine maybe 10 years ago. Very happy with it. If there are slight scuffing marks you get, you can polish or buff them out. You could do them in black chrome if you don;t want as much bling.
The original OEM scuff plates were a dealer option, they are LONG gone new. Only source would be finding a good used set.
They ALL scratch up by the way. Big time. It would be near impossible to find a like new mint set, it's just going to be how much scratch/scuff/dent you can deal with.
The carbon fiber ones out there are decent fit/finish and look good and hold up well. I have had them on my car for ages and they still look great.
Not only do these things scratch and scuff easily, they dent easily. They are made of very thin, soft aluminum, so your knuckle or your knee will leave a permanent impression. My car came with them installed from the dealer, but I bought a second set for future use because they are so fragile. The new ones were protected during handling by a frosty plastic film.
