Styling A few more subtle modifications

[S-X-I]

Some of you may remember this thread from last year, well its was time to add a few more things to the car.

First up was brightening up the engine bay.

I thought about going down the silicone hose route but by the time I added it all up its was quite ridiculous.

So I decided some something a bit more subtle.

Before

After

Before

After

Looks pretty good IMO. The badges fit prefectly apart form the 'v' in the '16v' badge but I'm happy with the final look.

All badges are OEM parts with the Panda badge coming from the Panda 100HP like the rear of my car and the 16v badge coming from a Fiat Stilo.

Next up was the brake calipers.

Whilst my car was in having its second year service I asked for the calipers to be removed so they could be powder coated.

It ended up they couldn't be done as the garage would have to fully strip them and it would take too much time so I ending up doing them myself with some Hammerite Smooth then taking them back to the garge for them to be refitted.

Just the after pictures here.

I think the red calipers really finish off the car and although they are not perfect due to lack of time I will give them a quick touch up once the weather gets a bit better.

Hope you like the additions I've made

 

[ian grant]

Very nice indeed, as you say - subtle is the way to go otherwise things can start to get out of hand. Calipers look great as well.

Do you mind me asking what wheel cleaner you use - Ive tried Bilberry and just bought some Very Cherry (Autobrite are 10 mins from home) - the results are OK, but the 100hp Ive just bought is a year old and I don't think its been properly 'cleaned' in its short life!

I need to take the wheels off and do the insides as well to be honest, just waiting for a decent weekend.....

 

[S-X-I]

Very nice indeed, as you say - subtle is the way to go otherwise things can start to get out of hand. Calipers look great as well.

Do you mind me asking what wheel cleaner you use - Ive tried Bilberry and just bought some Very Cherry (Autobrite are 10 mins from home) - the results are OK, but the 100hp Ive just bought is a year old and I don't think its been properly 'cleaned' in its short life!

I need to take the wheels off and do the insides as well to be honest, just waiting for a decent weekend.....

Thanks!

Today the wheels where just sprayed with soem APC 10:1 the cleaned witha shampoo solution.

As with yours mines also need removed and properly cleaned and sealed.

 

[Suasexed]

I absolutely love the endinge cover badge - might have to knick that idea when mines comes in a couple of months! I agree that the red calipers definitely add something. I was going to go for the Pandamonium pack simply to get the red calipers, but it's expensive when that's all you want it for!

 

[Gary]

looking good !!

How about changing the wheel badges to red ones ?

As like yours i have nice red calipers but looked odd with blue wheel badges so changed them all over, plus then makes car look newer

 

[S-X-I]

looking good !!

How about changing the wheel badges to red ones ?

As like yours i have nice red calipers but looked odd with blue wheel badges so changed them all over, plus then makes car look newer

Was thinking about this, might do it later in the year.

 

[Visorfett]

May I ask how much the badges were?

I also might have to steal that idea!

 

[gran_turismo4]

I like the badges on the engine cover/air box, smartens up the engine bay,

 

[S-X-I]

May I ask how much the badges were?

I also might have to steal that idea!

Panda Badge - 735423912 - £9.54 (ex-vat)
16v Badge - 46767641 - £9.93 (ex-vat)

Total (in-vat) - £22.39

 

[doctorchris]

Those modifications look very good but are, at the same time, subtle.
How can you say that the finish on the callipers is imperfect?
Finally, how often do you eat your dinner off the interior of the engine bay?

 

[S-X-I]

Those modifications look very good but are, at the same time, subtle.
How can you say that the finish on the callipers is imperfect?
Finally, how often do you eat your dinner off the interior of the engine bay?

With the calipers you can still see some of the metal showing through but anoth coat should cover it up.

I know I have a bit of OCD when it comes to my car, it has to be clean everywhere, even the bits you can't see lol

 

[100hpJames]

Looking good, It took me about two coats to get a decent finish on the caliper, didn't go to the hassle of removing them, just cleaned in situ, masked, and painted, no one will see the inside

 

[doctorchris]

No offence meant, but you need to do something about those wheelbolts.
I think I saw something in a motoring mag about bolts that have a finish that resists the action of sockets on them and they look good all the time.
Sadly, Panda wheelbolts look very tired after a very short while.

 

[DavePanda100]

Liking the calliper touch, I'm trying to find time to do this myself.

Few questions if you don't mind..

How many coats on each calliper?

Drying times?

How much Hammerite did you use?

Is it just normal smooth red?

 

[S-X-I]

No offence meant, but you need to do something about those wheelbolts.
I think I saw something in a motoring mag about bolts that have a finish that resists the action of sockets on them and they look good all the time.
Sadly, Panda wheelbolts look very tired after a very short while.

No offence taken, i totally agree they look crap lol

Will get round to them at some point.

Liking the calliper touch, I'm trying to find time to do this myself.

Few questions if you don't mind..

How many coats on each calliper?

Drying times?

How much Hammerite did you use?

Is it just normal smooth red?

Coats - 3-4

Drying time - 2hrs (light heat applied)

How much used - Very little

Paint Type - Hammerite Smooth Red

 

[DavePanda100]

Thanks for the reply.

Is that drying time between each coat?

Hoping to do it this Friday.

 

[S-X-I]

Thanks for the reply.

Is that drying time between each coat?

Hoping to do it this Friday.

Yeah, its 2 hours between coats.

It takes a while but its worth it in the end.

 

[DavePanda100]

I'm just gathering information so I can plan the job.

We know how unpredictable the weather is and with no garage it's an outside job

I Might do the front two first and the rear two another day.

Cheers for the help, I clicked thanks, and really impressed how clean you keep your car, top marks

 

[S-X-I]

Thanks very much.

Good luck with yours and I hope the weather holds out for you.

Let me know how you get on

 

[Tom100hp]

How come yours just says panda mine says 100hp?