Had a manual '63 Falcon, '92 Eclipse GST, '88 Omni GLH, and '02 F150 I finally decided for my daily driver/college car I want an auto. I was looking at either buying a new Hyundai Accent(eww) or a used Toyota when an opportunity arose. I paid my friend $4K for his 1 owner Indigo Ink '05 TC Auto w/ 80K.

Day 1: At 6' tall I fit comfortably. My 6'4" dad can also...with the sunroof shade open.


'02 F150 that's now sold :


Day 2: Kumho Ecsta AST. Paid $130 a tire out the door w/warranty @ discount tire.


Day 3: Tint...needed it SO badly being in Houston, TX. 5% rear, 35% front windows. $115 at RS tinting in Rosenberg, TX. Also replaced brake pads, turned rotors, and painted the calipers while they were off.


Week 2: Tired of the curb rash sticking out so much, I decided to paint my wheels. Began the process with stripping the wheels to the metal. Then wet sand, prime, wet sand, paint, wet sand, clear.




Next I put eyelids on the car, went with 20% smoked...and 35% tail tint to keep legal. Went to the tint shop to have the windshield tint strip added also.



Ordered the optional sub cause I like the simplicity of install, minimal cargo space it takes up and it was only $150 new on ebay, shipped with harness, brackets, etc.




I am very pleased with the car. School starts next week so there goes my money and time. Working on getting a set or TRD lowering springs and a sway bar. I have to keep the car mechanically reliable and decent on fuel as I commute 90 miles every week day. Just keeping it maintained with Royal purple synthetic oil and a K&N air and oil filter.

 

i would honestly repaint those wheels.. it doesnt match your color. everything else looks fine though

 

Would you go darker or lighter? I think my camera phone doesn't do it justice, I'll take better pics tomorrow with a digital camera.

 

yeah it looked fine on the pic above it.. maybe the digital cam will help :D

 

I would also recommend repainting those wheels. Adding a gloss would add a shine to them. And save your $$ for a drop. Good start though

 

definetely add a gloss to the wheels. makes them look so much better.

 

if they look more like the ones in the first couple of pictures after the paint job, then I like them, if they look more like the last picture,I would go lighter. or yes, like everyone else said, make em shiny. I don't know though.

how you liking the tint setup? dark enough?

 

Why would you use aircraft remover on your wheels? Just scuff up the wheels with 800 grit and paint.

Fix the curb rash, wasn't that the point of doing the wheels?

 

Good start so far man.......but yes glossing the wheels up will make it shine a bit more or re-paint bronze or gold.....look good with the color of ya car IMO

 

repaint them bronze. looks good tho, keep up the work.

 

Aircraft stripper is a breeze to use, so why not use it to get a good base for the primer? I reduced the curb rash as much as I could with a wire wheel and 400 grit wet sanding. If the tires weren't mounted I would've been able to do a better job on them. I used Duplicolor wheel coating as they recommend on their how-tos. I suppose it doesn't show well. I am hoping that the wheels are temporary until i can get a nice set of 18"s come this winter.

I agree with the bronze wheel paint, i just can't find it anywhere in my area. And I also tried while I was across town in Kingwood and didn't find it at Napa or Autozone. If I repaint it'll either be gloss black or bronze.

*Updated 1st post with better photos*

 

It's dark enough for the summer sun here. There is NO chance of seeing through the rear tint unless it's night and I have my 115 lumen LED flashlight on inside of the car. No need for that rear cargo cover anymore.

 

hmm yours rims don't look they came out right, here's how mine came out...



i would say repaint them, they look too light

 

09SoCalTC...what primer/paint/clear did you use? Just want to make sure I have everything right if I repaint.

 

fyi i used rustoleum BRONZE paint from lowes to paint my wheels on my other car....