I learned so much during my winter build process, and it’s time to spread the wealth. This DIY guide will cover a lot of issues not covered with other DIY guides - issues that I learned either through extensive research, personal experience, and my buddy who paints cars.
Necessary Guides
I strongly suggest using Zero’s DIY guide to painting. I cannot stress enough the need to follow all the steps and to be very PATIENT. Do not rush any process of the painting process. It took 36 hours of off and on work until I was content with my results.
Just like Zero talks about in his thread, you need a VENTILATED area with some room to work. It's not just about allowing paint dust to ventilate, it's about your safety. It was cold outside so during my adhesive promotion paint stage, I didn't have the door open and got a hella headache. Don't pull a me
Here is my setup. I eventually propped the sideskirts on cinderblocks (which you can see in the background of my post-priming picture) to get the perfect painting angle and ensure they were always stationary.
Also, make sure to wet sand the ish out of anything you want to paint. Preparation is key to getting the paint to stick and results that LAST. Using a sanding block helps.
Perfect VSM Colormatching and Painting Material Suggestions
Duplicolor makes one import auto paint that perfectly matches VSM. The name of this paint is Import Auto Silver Frost. For Silver Frost to perfectly match VSM, it’s imperative that you use a grey primer color that also closely matches Silver Frost. If you do not use the proper primer color your paint will not match.
I used a light grey duplicolor auto primer that closely matches VSM, and had three-four coats on my lips/sideskirts before I moved forward, as seen above.
Want some proof that Silver Frost is the perfect match? Here's your proof!
The Duplicolor import auto spray paint cans are not large, therefore you will need:
- At least five cans to complete a front lip, rear lip, and sideskirts at the same time.
- Two cans for just the front lip
- Three-four cans for both the front and rear lip
You can get away with one very large (the 33% plus Duplicolor primer cans) primer can and one equally large can of clear lacquer. Having more than one can of primer and/or clear lacquer won't hurt.
Painting ABS Plastic versus Polyurethane
A few notes before we discuss painting technique. Painting ABS is different and easier than painting polyurethane. ABS requires less preparation because ABS requires less sanding, paint also sticks much easier. Regardless of how well you prepare your polyurethane lip, paint CAN have a tendency to settle slightly bumpy, which will require wet sanding between coats. Also, it doesn’t matter how much you sand and how much adhesive promoter and primer you put on in preparation, it’s not uncommon for scrapes of paint to come off even when wet-standing at 2000 grit between coats in the later stages of painting.
This is why patience is important, because if you’re painting something for the first time, there will inevitably be setbacks so know that it can be natural to have adhesion issues with polyurethane.
Spray Painting Technique
Spraypainting is an art. Having the right technique is equally important to having the right paint. I had a friend come over that has a lot of experiencing painting autos, and let me tell you, I learned a TON. How do you do it?
Do NOT spray paint back and forth following the length of the lip/side skirt. You need to spraypaint the opposite way, with small, light, overlapping sprays from one end of the lip to the other. Overspraying leads to drips or uneven paint, and will require wet sanding to fix. To save yourself a lot of time, do not overspray.
96-98 Civic Type R front and rear lip installation and fitment issues
It’s surprisingly easy to install CTR style lips. I had the front lip on and fitted perfectly in less than five minutes. Because of the unique shape of the lip, it literally snaps into place. However, there are two keys to fitment with the CTR lip.
1. The JDMshit CTR style front lip comes with 3M double-sided sticky tape along the top ridge of the lip. This is important because it insures a strong fit along the front of the lip. If your lip did not come with 3M double-sided sticky tape, you can easily buy it at your local hardware store and install it yourself.
2. The 3M tape will not assure proper fitment on the sides of the front bumper. In order to achieve a proper fit, start by pre-drilling two or three holes on the lip before installation on the part of the lip that fits inside the wheel well. Once the lip is properly fitted, pinch the side of the lip up against the car as strong as possible until the fitment is flush - and finish drilling through the pre-drilled holes into the rear of the front bumper. Once the hole is complete, throw a bolt and nut in there to hold everything in place. You can fit your bolts with black Plastic Screw Covers and Nylon 1/2" spacers if you want to.
Rear lip installation is done in a similar way. Ever see those rear lips that look like they’re sagging? There’s a way to prevent that. Use 3M tape, use the same drilling technique in the rear wheel wells, but also drill six equally spaced holes in the upper portion of the rear lip. A good guide on rear lip fitment perfection can be found here.
How to take off EJ8/EM1 sideskirts (and put them back on)
One question a lot of people ask is how to take off sideskirts. Responses online to this frequently reposted question vary and are often completely wrong, so let me clarify the issue for the squad. The process is surprisingly easy; I had both of mine off in less than two minutes. It’s easiest if you turn the front wheels to the left (for the driver side sideskirt) and vice versa for the other in order for easiest dismantle.
Under each wheel well, on the actual mudflap, there are three screws. Take these off, and take off the mudflaps.
Also, on the underside of each side skirt, there are one or two small black screws, just take em off.
Now all you have to do is push the sideskirt towards the front of the car and they’ll pop off. Sometimes using your heel or a mallet to smack the back of the sideskirt helps. In order to put it back on, make sure all the white clips on the car are perfectly horizontal, line up the sideskirt, and put the sideskirt back on the way you took it off. If you’re getting fitment issues, check to see if any of the clips are loose, if so, just take it off (missing one or two per side won’t kill anybody).
Now you know, and knowing is half the battle. Go paint your VSM lip/sideskirts!
Necessary Guides
I strongly suggest using Zero’s DIY guide to painting. I cannot stress enough the need to follow all the steps and to be very PATIENT. Do not rush any process of the painting process. It took 36 hours of off and on work until I was content with my results.
Just like Zero talks about in his thread, you need a VENTILATED area with some room to work. It's not just about allowing paint dust to ventilate, it's about your safety. It was cold outside so during my adhesive promotion paint stage, I didn't have the door open and got a hella headache. Don't pull a me
Here is my setup. I eventually propped the sideskirts on cinderblocks (which you can see in the background of my post-priming picture) to get the perfect painting angle and ensure they were always stationary.
Also, make sure to wet sand the ish out of anything you want to paint. Preparation is key to getting the paint to stick and results that LAST. Using a sanding block helps.
Perfect VSM Colormatching and Painting Material Suggestions
Duplicolor makes one import auto paint that perfectly matches VSM. The name of this paint is Import Auto Silver Frost. For Silver Frost to perfectly match VSM, it’s imperative that you use a grey primer color that also closely matches Silver Frost. If you do not use the proper primer color your paint will not match.
I used a light grey duplicolor auto primer that closely matches VSM, and had three-four coats on my lips/sideskirts before I moved forward, as seen above.
Want some proof that Silver Frost is the perfect match? Here's your proof!
The Duplicolor import auto spray paint cans are not large, therefore you will need:
- At least five cans to complete a front lip, rear lip, and sideskirts at the same time.
- Two cans for just the front lip
- Three-four cans for both the front and rear lip
You can get away with one very large (the 33% plus Duplicolor primer cans) primer can and one equally large can of clear lacquer. Having more than one can of primer and/or clear lacquer won't hurt
.Painting ABS Plastic versus Polyurethane
A few notes before we discuss painting technique. Painting ABS is different and easier than painting polyurethane. ABS requires less preparation because ABS requires less sanding, paint also sticks much easier. Regardless of how well you prepare your polyurethane lip, paint CAN have a tendency to settle slightly bumpy, which will require wet sanding between coats. Also, it doesn’t matter how much you sand and how much adhesive promoter and primer you put on in preparation, it’s not uncommon for scrapes of paint to come off even when wet-standing at 2000 grit between coats in the later stages of painting.
This is why patience is important, because if you’re painting something for the first time, there will inevitably be setbacks so know that it can be natural to have adhesion issues with polyurethane.
Spray Painting Technique
Spraypainting is an art. Having the right technique is equally important to having the right paint. I had a friend come over that has a lot of experiencing painting autos, and let me tell you, I learned a TON. How do you do it?
Do NOT spray paint back and forth following the length of the lip/side skirt. You need to spraypaint the opposite way, with small, light, overlapping sprays from one end of the lip to the other. Overspraying leads to drips or uneven paint, and will require wet sanding to fix. To save yourself a lot of time, do not overspray.
96-98 Civic Type R front and rear lip installation and fitment issues
It’s surprisingly easy to install CTR style lips. I had the front lip on and fitted perfectly in less than five minutes. Because of the unique shape of the lip, it literally snaps into place. However, there are two keys to fitment with the CTR lip.
1. The JDMshit CTR style front lip comes with 3M double-sided sticky tape along the top ridge of the lip. This is important because it insures a strong fit along the front of the lip. If your lip did not come with 3M double-sided sticky tape, you can easily buy it at your local hardware store and install it yourself.
2. The 3M tape will not assure proper fitment on the sides of the front bumper. In order to achieve a proper fit, start by pre-drilling two or three holes on the lip before installation on the part of the lip that fits inside the wheel well. Once the lip is properly fitted, pinch the side of the lip up against the car as strong as possible until the fitment is flush - and finish drilling through the pre-drilled holes into the rear of the front bumper. Once the hole is complete, throw a bolt and nut in there to hold everything in place. You can fit your bolts with black Plastic Screw Covers and Nylon 1/2" spacers if you want to.
Rear lip installation is done in a similar way. Ever see those rear lips that look like they’re sagging? There’s a way to prevent that. Use 3M tape, use the same drilling technique in the rear wheel wells, but also drill six equally spaced holes in the upper portion of the rear lip. A good guide on rear lip fitment perfection can be found here.
How to take off EJ8/EM1 sideskirts (and put them back on)
One question a lot of people ask is how to take off sideskirts. Responses online to this frequently reposted question vary and are often completely wrong, so let me clarify the issue for the squad. The process is surprisingly easy; I had both of mine off in less than two minutes. It’s easiest if you turn the front wheels to the left (for the driver side sideskirt) and vice versa for the other in order for easiest dismantle.
Under each wheel well, on the actual mudflap, there are three screws. Take these off, and take off the mudflaps.
Also, on the underside of each side skirt, there are one or two small black screws, just take em off.
Now all you have to do is push the sideskirt towards the front of the car and they’ll pop off. Sometimes using your heel or a mallet to smack the back of the sideskirt helps. In order to put it back on, make sure all the white clips on the car are perfectly horizontal, line up the sideskirt, and put the sideskirt back on the way you took it off. If you’re getting fitment issues, check to see if any of the clips are loose, if so, just take it off (missing one or two per side won’t kill anybody).
Now you know, and knowing is half the battle. Go paint your VSM lip/sideskirts!
