Black & Green modding thread (1998 Civic DX Coupe base)

[freebeard]

Simulpost!

Get a decklid and conserve the paint-matching one. Use a single piece of Polymetal that stretches the width of the decklid and from the trailing edge of the spoiler to the rear window glass. It will be a single curve 2-3" thick in the center and make more of an airfoil than a single layer of material. Julian Edgar might approve.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by freebeard

The thinking is the easy part.

• Sacrificial deck-lid you can drill and weld on?
• Turnpike-cruiser skirts that terminate in a skeg. (forms outer [diverging] fence[s] of the difusser)
• Fillet the junction of the spoiler and side plate. Cut the waste out of one or the other.
• Polymetal get's my vote, but it does leave a raw edge.

I've got a pair of Nissan NX tail lights. Free if you're in the neighborhood. ...

Thanks for the offer of the taillights, but I am not in your neighborhood... all the way down here near the MX border. I have wheel well skirts and i considered connecting them to declid assembly. Not practical. I like poly metal a lot in theory, but I have never worked with it. There ought to be a way to smooth jagged edges, no?

Originally Posted by freebeard

Simulpost!

Originally Posted by freebeard

Get a decklid and conserve the paint-matching one. Use a single piece of Polymetal that stretches the width of the decklid and from the trailing edge of the spoiler to the rear window glass. It will be a single curve 2-3" thick in the center and make more of an airfoil than a single layer of material. Julian Edgar might approve.

Trying to picture this. Are you suggesting it would not lay flat on the decklid? The lid has some mild compound curves.

[freebeard]

There ought to be a way to smooth jagged edges, no?

The edge doesn't have to be jagged, for instance if it is sheared. But it is three layers. The aluminum skins are finished, but the center is black plastic. A cap strip is all that's needed.

Are you suggesting it would not lay flat on the decklid?

Observe the [saddle] curvature of the front edge of the decklid. A flat sheet would have a slight crown for most of it's width with a roll triangulated off the front corners to the curved rear corners.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by freebeard

... Observe the [saddle] curvature of the front edge of the decklid. A flat sheet would have a slight crown for most of it's width with a roll triangulated off the front corners to the curved rear corners.

Yes, and the formation of that crown is part of why I kept the portion laying on the decklid as short as possible last year. I wanted to capture the OEM contour a bit in the trailing edge of the spoiler, but not so much that the spoiler would not sit flat. I cut strips along the edges of the lid that reached toward the real window instead. I could extend them all the way up to the window in this years "CAD" template and attach security straps since the testing version is held on by tape and magnets. Here is a pic from last year (upside down!).

[California98Civic]

Did a pair of heat reflective clear coats on the badly damaged finish on the roof. The primary goal is reduction of solar heat gain (without resorting to a new brighter color).

Roof paint clearcoat... faded badly and beginnig the scale.


Most of the supplies (sandpaper and acetone missing from pic)


The look after second coat, at dusk, meh... I never done this before:


The car at dusk from 10 feet looks pretty good, lol.


Most online guides to roller painting cars describe diluting the paint, but I chose not to dilute my paint because of concern that it would weaken the heat reflective qualities. This is function above "beauty." But I think it will look okay.

[Xist]

Is that Cool Coat black? I look forward to seeing how it works. I may know a guy with a black Civic in Arizona.

[Piotrsko]

The reason they ask you to thin it is to improve flow qualities such that it "flattens out" the roller / brush marks. A <5% thinner addition wont alter the characteristic of the paint

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

The reason they ask you to thin it is to improve flow qualities such that it "flattens out" the roller / brush marks. A <5% thinner addition wont alter the characteristic of the paint

I know it is not a big admixture of thinner, and I understood its purpose. But I was not certain how even 5% would affect the heat rejection, which is the functional point. But you give me more reason to sand and thin and apply a third coat if I dislike the look enough and tests show little cooling improvement.

Xist, it is just clear coat... therefore the paint color is an instant match.

[Xist]

So... it preserves bad paint?

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Xist

So... it preserves bad paint?

Hopefully. But I am unsure about the degree of value of the paint I bought. It seems measurably better than no clearcoat, but it is no revolution in coolness. Yesterday after the first coat and this morning after the second coat I used my IR Thermometer gun to measure roof temps. It seems the clear might be good for 5-8°F less than the badly degraded roof paint/clearcoat. The roof feels significantly cooler to the touch too. But it is not a radical difference. So, there is a benefit, but most people here on EM probably will not think it worth $55 for the gallon.