Friday, June 04, 2010

Side Scoops by DG Custom Auto

Back on May 15th I took the car over to Jeff Holland at Autograph Sign Shoppe and we pulled the side stripes off the car and made some significant appearance changes.  Once that was completed I spent a day or so trying to determine what the sides "needed" and kept coming back to side scoops.  So... on May 17th I purchased some from DG Custom Auto, Inc..  They arrived on Monday, May 24th, just after 'the paint incident', and just in time to be put on before I put the wax back on.

When I first ordered these I had indicated my color code, G9, and that I needed them in time for an event in early June.  Craig at DG Custom Auto, Inc. replied letting me know that they did not have any of the scoops in my color in stock but they were at paint and were expected in by the following week.  I know that I can be persistent and, to some vendors, a bit of a pain in the rear but my frequent checking in for status didn't seem to upset Craig.  If anything, he put a rush on getting them here... The scoops shipped on Friday, 5/21/10, and they were here by Monday, 5/24/10.

Installation is very straightforward and instructions are provided.  I was surprised to see the 3M promoter supplied.  Very pleasantly surprised!  I didn't get that with some of the other pieces I have on the car and really wish those manufacturers had the forethought to provide it.  I digress...

We aligned the scoops to the car - both sides - to ensure we knew where they would go.  We then broke the seal on the 3M Promoter and quickly applied a light coat where the 3M tape would be applied.  We waited 5 minutes then began the process of applying the scoops.

We pulled a little of each 3M tape back to form a "pull tab" and then carefully seated the top corner by the door making sure that the bottom corner (by the door) stayed aligned.  We then pressed the scoop to the car gently while pulling the red 3M tape backing from under the scoop.   Once all of the backing was removed we pressed firmly on all edges of the scoop, checked to make sure we had a good seal then stepped back to check our work.  Looked AWESOME!  Then we repeated the process on the other side.  The pictures below are of the scoops when I first opened the box, after the first was installed, and then the next morning in full light.

I think they complement the car very well.  :)

Thank you again DG Custom Auto, Inc.!!

- Reba








Monday, May 31, 2010

Paint...

Happy Memorial Day!

Time to catch up.  Last post was on Thursday, May 20th.  On Friday, May 21st, Susan and I met some of my high school friends for happy hour at a pub on the north side of town.  We had some laughs, some drinks, took some pictures and then headed out.  When we got to the car the whole back end was covered in bird droppings.  This should have been a sign for how the rest of the weekend would be... but I digress...

We arrived home and despite the late hour I proceeded to wash the Mustang.  I also washed Susan's.  Heck, it was sitting right there and getting wet too so I figured why not surprise her with a clean car? (She loved it by the way).  So, a couple beers later, jeans and t-shirt soaked through and through, I finished both cars and headed to bed.

A few hours later I was up and getting ready for my niece's wedding.  Showered, dressed and with all my gear in hand (camera? check) I headed out the door to Meadowbrook Park, the site of the reception, to help with set up and to get some pictures before the wedding.  (Yes, I am getting to the point.)

When I got there I noticed, and then mentally dismissed, the painters working on some park structures in the parking lot.  I parked and went to help out.  When I returned to my car a hour later all was well.  We went to and then returned from the wedding.  I parked a little closer this time to the painters... opting for a location that was not under a tree.  From the painters there were two handicap spaces, an empty space, then me.  Again my brain did not grasp the plastic sheeting, smell of paint and anxious look on the painters' faces.  When I returned to my car several hours later they were watching me and I quickly noticed the paint all over my car.  And I mean all over it.  Glass. Trim. All Panels. The painters came over and were looking at it with me.  I could see fingerprints on the car so it appeared they had already been there.  Anyway, the dots would move so we figured they would come off.   This was on Saturday, at 2:00 PM.

At 2:30, when I got it to my Mom's and we looked at it closer, it looked like dust and felt like a combination of tree sap and sandpaper... and it wasn't coming off... this is where the panic set in.  It is also the beginning of a saga and process that did not end until I was back home and wiping it down in my driveway at 2:10 AM on Monday morning.

I won't bore you with the blow by blow details. This post is long enough as it is.  However,  I can say now that I have learned that clay bar and Windex will get overspray off a car.  The car was also buffed and polished.  (Thank you Tara and David Gowin!) When we were done it felt like glass.  In the morning light it positively glowed.  Luckily I had Monday off so the early morning hours didn't hurt as much but Susan did have an appointment that morning that I took her to.  I also received my scoops on Monday afternoon (details to follow in a separate post) which were applied before I put down the first coat of Meguiar's Tech 2 wax that evening. Tuesday evening I followed up with the second coat.  I still need to put a couple more on there to protect the paint but I feel better about it being protected from the elements.

There is still overspray on the trim (like the black areas around the side mirrors, window trim, etc) and around the newly installed decals on the windows.  I am still working on how to get that off.  The window decals may have to be removed, the paint scraped off with a razor blade (which is how it was removed from all the other glass) and then re-applied.  That's a lot to re-do though.

So, anyway, it was nearly a disaster... there's still plenty to fix before Yellow Rose... but it wasn't a total loss.

Edit 6/1/10: Photos are below.