Painting 86 GLHS questions

[ScottD]

My 86 GLHS is going off for paint shortly.

What do people do with the ground effects? I've seen some GLH-Ts with gloss black ground effects and don't want to do that. Is there a way to polish them up and not paint them at all?

What do people do with the body side trim? This is the trim that runs around the middle of the car, down the fenders and around the hatch. I have trim off a parts car that's in good shape (the trim on my GLHS is kind of flaked/weathered). Can this also be painted? I was thinking matte black.

Lastly, what color should the bumpers be? Mine are pretty weathered and I'm not sure if they should be gloss or matte black. I'd like to make sure the car is factory correct as I've taken pains to keep it that way otherwise, such as having the Koni's rebuilt, finding the original material to reupholster the seats with, etc.

Any input appreciated!

[thedon809]

I am also curios as to what people do to restore the plastic ground effects. Mine look like crap on the glh-t.

[JDAWG]

Scott if you need any oe parts send me a list and ill see what I can do I work at a dealer again

[Marcus86GLHS]

the ground f/x are colored a very dark graphite/grey from the factory, not true black as you might know. I have had several paint shops tell me they can duplicate the color and apply a special plastic paint that would be durable and replicate the exact color. I'd take your pieces to a good paint shop to discuss. A good undamaged sample piece is of course needed.

the bumpers are anodized in flat black from the factory, you can powder-coat them for a lot less money and they would be dead-on and very chip-resistant unlike the factory anodizing.

the body side trim is the Holy Grail to find, I have seen several Omnis in person with trim that is still available and is close to the original but not close enough for a real nice resto in my opinion, but, its better than nothing, wish I could help you locate that stuff. I'd try to restore original pieces.

[turbojerk]

Semi-gloss black spray paint is your friend.

[ScottD]

I like the idea of powder coating the bumpers!

I worry about painting the gfx and it flaking off, even with the special plastic paint.

[turbojerk]

I used Krylon on all of mine so far and all is well 6 years later...

[vipernbox]

subscribed


#174 is going to get a makeover soon...

[GLHS069]

Scott:
If you want to see what powder coated bumpers and gloss black ground effects look like, take a look at pictures of my car. I did both. For quick reference- take a look at the SDAC website photos and you should see some for 14 and maybe 17.

[Turbo224]

I would use a nice satin black for the body trim. I have used it in the past with good results.

[ScottD]

My friend Greg Sultner has the gloss on the bumpers and gfx on his GLH-T. While I think his car looks great, I prefer the stock look for the gfx.

I used Krylon on my Dakota front bumper and it chipped, that's why powder coating is appealing to me.

[Marcus86GLHS]

Scott I would not be too concerned about using the correct type of plastic paint (with flexing agents) for the ground f/x, those paints are very durable, even for the front lower air damn. Unless you locate NOS ground f/x, you will have to use some type of paint process to get them looking new again. Rattle-can paint is the most likely to give you problems long term.

I have an NOS front air damn on my GLHS, the original one is on the shelf, and I might just take it to the shop over here and have my buddy Rick give the re-painting/color matching process a try.

Are you going to be putting a lot of miles on the car once completed?

[contraption22]

I like the idea of powder coating the bumpers!

I worry about painting the gfx and it flaking off, even with the special plastic paint.

If it makes you feel any better, about 10 years ago, I painted my GFX with a rattle-can of satin black flexible bumper paint, from Plasti-Kote and it hasn't chipped, faded, or peeled since then.

[ScottD]

Are you going to be putting a lot of miles on the car once completed?

Probably about 1,000 miles per year.

If it makes you feel any better, about 10 years ago, I painted my GFX with a rattle-can of satin black flexible bumper paint, from Plasti-Kote and it hasn't chipped, faded, or peeled since then.

Your car only goes a 1/4 mile at a time

I'll have to think about this, maybe my first step is to really clean up the gfx and see how they look.

[contraption22]

Your car only goes a 1/4 mile at a time

True dat, but it spends all it's time outside too.

[ScottD]

True dat, but it spends all it's time outside too.

I've had some luck with this kind of stuff and some not so good luck. It's one thing to say have a headlight bezel flake after painting, that's easy to get off. This is more of an ordeal.

I'm thinking armor all might be the way to go. You know - with like the window seals on an SRT-4, they fade in the sunlight but a little armor all and they look great for a couple days.

[turbojerk]

You'll be chasing you a$$ off with the Armor All. Just paint the damn things and let your great grand children worry about it later...

[Pat]

You'll be chasing you a$$ off with the Armor All. Just paint the damn things and let your great grand children worry about it later...

I agree. If you paint the car and leave the ground effects as they are, they'll look terrible. They might look OK now. Put them on a car that looks brand new and they'll look like ---.

[Marcus86GLHS]

"......Probably about 1,000 miles per year........"


with that little use, properly painted ground f/x pieces should last many years. I agree the Armor All idea is lame. I would never use Armor All on any portion of any car I own, that stuff is crap.

got any pix of the car in-process?

[ScottD]

Food for thought.

No pics yet, the car is still in my garage, will be dropped off this Friday 12/17 provided it doesn't snow again like it did last Friday!