"Doing It Myself"

Appearance, Paint & Body Work
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"Doing It Myself"

By OmarG
- Thu Mar 20, 2008 6:15 am #46873 so, heres the deal.


I bought my civic for 2k, and needless to say, after nearly 14 years of abuse, she needed some body work. Personally, I'm at a loss as to what to do, so I'm going to just list the various issues and let you guys give me advice as you see fit.


1) the car looks like it was either in a HUGE hailstorm, or pelted repeatedly with a paintball gun all over the body

2) the side moulding all around the car has turned about three different shades of gray due to exposure of 14 years of Texas sun.

3) the paint on the front bumper has chipped and pealed off of the bumper itself and it looks as if dirt has managed to crawl under the paint in some spots weakening the overall paint. I know paint doesn't stick very well to plastic, but I took the liberty to sand the bumper down for the most part.

4) the bumper doesn't seem to mesh well with either of the fenders (easy fix, I saw the DIY on the forum) but the hood sticks out about 1/2" to about 3/4" over the bumper. I'm sure I have the correct hood/bumper so that shouldn't be the issue.


I'm sure I missed a few things but I guess I'll get around to those later.

I've begun the bondoing/primering process myself and it's turning out ok. In fact, I LOVE the color of the primer. if I sanded it down good enough, would it be safe to just apply the lacquer over the primer?

I will provide pictures once I can get ahold of my digital camera, but in the mean time, feel free to give any advice/feedback you feel would help.
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By chrono404
- Thu Mar 20, 2008 6:34 am #46879 to fix #2, the Side molding we have a DIY on that Here and Here(scroll down).

On #4 try adjusting your bolts on the hinges. Sliding the hood as far back as you can might fix it.

Good luck :thumb:
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By OmarG
- Thu Mar 20, 2008 7:14 am #46887 on #4 My moldings also have some dents, would It be safe to bondo them? or do you think It would be safe to just scrap the moldings and try to bondo the empty space flush with the door?


I'm all ears :)
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Re: "Doing It Myself"

By teal_dx
- Thu Mar 20, 2008 1:49 pm #46922 so, heres the deal.


I bought my civic for 2k, and needless to say, after nearly 14 years of abuse, she needed some body work. Personally, I'm at a loss as to what to do, so I'm going to just list the various issues and let you guys give me advice as you see fit.


1) the car looks like it was either in a HUGE hailstorm, or pelted repeatedly with a paintball gun all over the body

That's gonna take some time to fix... take off your interior panels and push out what you can. Then use filler & block sand. Be sure to note where all the dents are before you get into sanding, they're hard to see once you start sanding.

2) the side moulding all around the car has turned about three different shades of gray due to exposure of 14 years of Texas sun.

Simple fix, take it off, sand it down, and spray it with primer, then trim paint.

3) the paint on the front bumper has chipped and pealed off of the bumper itself and it looks as if dirt has managed to crawl under the paint in some spots weakening the overall paint. I know paint doesn't stick very well to plastic, but I took the liberty to sand the bumper down for the most part.

Just use a primer, the bumper should be sanded up to 600 grit to give the primer something to bite to. Be sure to use a flex additive with the paint so it doean't crack & start flaking off when the bumper flexes.

4) the bumper doesn't seem to mesh well with either of the fenders (easy fix, I saw the DIY on the forum) but the hood sticks out about 1/2" to about 3/4" over the bumper. I'm sure I have the correct hood/bumper so that shouldn't be the issue.

Core support could be pushed back from a previous accident

I'm sure I missed a few things but I guess I'll get around to those later.

I've begun the bondoing/primering process myself and it's turning out ok. In fact, I LOVE the color of the primer. if I sanded it down good enough, would it be safe to just apply the lacquer over the primer?

It's a good idea to use a primer sealer first, but you don't have to. It depends on what colors you're using. sometimes filler with light colors over it can stain through if you don't use a sealer.

I will provide pictures once I can get ahold of my digital camera, but in the mean time, feel free to give any advice/feedback you feel would help.

keep us updated :thumb:
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By BLACKS' COUPE
- Thu Mar 20, 2008 4:45 pm #46951 ) the bumper doesn't seem to mesh well with either of the fenders (easy fix, I saw the DIY on the forum) but the hood sticks out about 1/2" to about 3/4" over the bumper. I'm sure I have the correct hood/bumper so that shouldn't be the issue.

Core support could be pushed back from a previous accident

***Teal, i am having the same problem with my hood sticking out a 1/2'. how can i fix this problem? plz help.. :?
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By BAXTER_EJ1
- Thu Mar 20, 2008 5:04 pm #46952
chrono404 wrote:to fix #2, the Side molding we have a DIY on that Here and Here(scroll down).

On #4 try adjusting your bolts on the hinges. Sliding the hood as far back as you can might fix it.

Good luck :thumb:
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By Chance
- Thu Mar 20, 2008 5:13 pm #46955 Honestly it sounds like you have a 4 door hood... they fit great except that its a tad bit longer than a 3dr/2dr hood. idk though, take a picture of the engine bay/ core support, and a picture of your front end that might help us help you :thumb:
Last edited by Chance on Thu Mar 20, 2008 5:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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By BLACKS' COUPE
- Thu Mar 20, 2008 5:21 pm #46956 thanks and i will post some pics as soon as i get home tonight. :D
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