OP
OP
Thanks for that, I didn’t know.
Rocket Man's 2008 Bagged CC Silverado Build AKA "THE MACHINE"
- Thread starter Rocket Man
- Start date
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OP
OP
The ebay seller from Flarda refunded my money on both rear panels but it wasn't easy. I finally had to threaten getting my bank involved and also leave negative feedback. They actually wanted me to prove I bought other panels (which I did from another ebay seller) in the form of an invoice, , and I refused. I provided pictures and that was enough. The other seller has not responded so I initiated a return. I have messaged them through ebay and direct email. I ordered these black rear panels from another seller and couldn't find a front driver side online for less that $280 so I found one at a local yard for $75 and they let me inspect it first. It definitely needs TLC and paint.
Tonyrodz
Resident Resident
Gonna spray the whole panel black?The ebay seller from Flarda refunded my money on both rear panels but it wasn't easy. I finally had to threaten getting my bank involved and also leave negative feedback. They actually wanted me to prove I bought other panels (which I did from another ebay seller) in the form of an invoice, , and I refused. I provided pictures and that was enough. The other seller has not responded so I initiated a return. I have messaged them through ebay and direct email. I ordered these black rear panels from another seller and couldn't find a front driver side online for less that $280 so I found one at a local yard for $75 and they let me inspect it first. It definitely needs TLC and paint.
View attachment 240101
OP
OP
Yep. I’ll wash the hell out of it with Dawn, scrub the whole thing with scotchbrite and denatured alcohol, wipe it down with a new microfiber soaked in denatured, then with a dry one, and then spray it. It’s been my method for years and it works great with the Fusion. Edit: I’m also doing the same with the black ones so they all match perfectly. Along with all the small parts.
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I bet if you clean it real good with Super Clean that panel will clean right up.
OP
OP
I used Dawn with scotchbrite and hot water on the armrest and it cleaned up great. And that was the dirtiest part. But yeah forgot about Super Clean, think I’ll get me some.
iamdub
Full Access Member
Seeing the panels in those Lambert Auto Salvage pics has me considering wrapping the top halves of my panels in leather when/if I wrap my dash. Is that top part a separate piece? Looks like there's a seam in front of and behind the armrest. The top and bottom halve look to be slightly different shades, too.
OP
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The top half of the panel is 2 separate pieces at that seam, the bottom half isn’t, it’s just molded in. But you can’t separate anything unless you want to mess with unmelting/ remelting all the places where they’re held together. The only removable part is the pull handle/ armrest.
iamdub
Full Access Member
Ugh. Yeah, that's a lot of melt rivets to contend with. I'd be tempted to just cut the leather really accurately and tuck it into the seam with a thin plastic blade. Thanks for the pic!
OP
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I got a refund for the other door panel. I pulled the chrome handles off all 3 and put them in acid. The first one is painted, I’ll get pics tonight.
edit here it is
edit here it is
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OP
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The panel came out Super Clean lol. Its painted now and drying overnight.
OP
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Well you win some and you lose some. The driver front door panel has been a bust several times. First, the broken one which BTW the seller didn’t trust me was broken and so they paid to have it shipped back to NC and then after inspection supposedly they will refund me. Then the one I found local. I painted it last night but got in too much of hurry I guess trying to get the black to cover the tan and over sprayed the inside corners. So it was noticeable. Probably would have been fine once it was installed but I knew it was there. So I stripped it this morning and I thought it was good. But I was drying it with a heat gun and I must have touched the speaker grill with the end of the heat gun. Not wanting to give up, I cut one out of the broken rear panels and installed it in the front panel, and it came out good, even though it was a ***** to do. Lots of dremel work. Then I hit the panel with a couple light coats and something doesn’t look right again, it’s messed up. I’m done with tan panels. I have been searching everywhere for a black driver front one and the only 2 I’ve seen were $285 and I wasn’t paying that, but today I searched EBay for a 2007 Silverado one and there it was, $120 for what looks to be a perfect black one. It was advertised as a 2007 Silverado driver front door panel, not 2007-14 or 07-14 or Tahoe or LTZ or anything else so it never came up in my searches. I’m done with the tan one. Shit. Waste of time and money.
OP
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Good news is the door handle that was chrome and is now black came out pretty good after I painted, saw scratches, sanded and repainted, saw scratches, sanded and repainted again. I think I still see tiny light scratches but I’m over it lol. The damn acid left chrome in spots on the face of it and when I sanded it off there were craters where it had removed the other chrome so it took a lot of sanding, but I think it looks pretty good.
Edit: the last switch bezel came in just now so there it is.
Edit: the last switch bezel came in just now so there it is.
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iamdub
Full Access Member
Interesting contrast! Looking forward to seeing how it all comes together when it's done.
OP
OP
I assume you’re talking about the contrast between the matte black on the handle and the flat black of everything else. I just painted the other 3 handles flat black to see if I like that better. And if anyone tries to tell you that chrome comes right of plastic using a 33% muriatic acid solution, they’re either lying or their chrome is weak. These were in the solution for over a week and I still had to sand and peel it off in areas. There’s a few things in my garage with rust on them now as a result of containers of that stuff sitting on my bench. But the result is worth it. Pics coming.
OP
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Sold the jumpseat for $300 plus shipping today. Ka-ching. The console upgrade cost me pretty much nothing.
OP
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Here’s the handles. I don’t have their housings done yet so I can’t install them. I definitely need to re-sand the first one, and I’m gonna repaint it flat like these. I like them.
iamdub
Full Access Member
Yes, the varying glosses is interesting. It's like when someone makes the car body a flat or satin color and make what would be chrome trim a gloss version of that color. I'm kinda back and forth about them and want to see the whole scene together, like a shot with front and rear doors open showing the shine of the new leather, the door panels, brushed metal trim, matte-but-kinda glossy handles, etc. I was thinking the handles would look better if they matched the brushed trim, but that might be too much like their original chrome with how they'd stand out. If they were flat or the same color as the trim pieces around them, would they look even better? Or would they look cheap, like how entry-level model cars have basic color trims that's just the color of the molded plastic?
OP
OP
Well there’s no way to wrap the handles or their housings so that’s not an option. I like them in flat to match. I finished the passenger rear panel today. It’s a lot of work on each panel to get all the parts painted without f-ing it up. I had to re-sand the handles and housings twice each before they came out good, and I have to be super careful painting the panels to not get too much paint on the texture so they don’t LOOK painted. The other rear panel has a small 3/16” diameter nick in the upper part and I’m repairing it with a kit- hopefully the texture matches good. In the pic with both panels you can see the matte handle on the left one, flat on the right.
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