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Fixed up hood, fender and side view mirror moderate size road debris dents that have been bothering me. The worst on the hood was 1/2 deep and near 2 inches long. Rear fender had been crushed in about 1/3 inch. Side view mirror had a nasty gash all the way into its plastic.
I really hated seeing those accumulated dents, but couldn't justify cost of professional body work on 18 year old, 224,000 mile, non-collectible car. Still, my heart bled for my poor baby.
Golf ball sized rock did this to my hood a few years ago.
Used PDR techniques to minimize the amount of filler needed. Removing 18 year old XPEL from a hood is a pain. After that many years, the plastic is weaker than the adhesive and comes of in little pieces despite adequate heat. Lots of fun removing glue!
Took care of minor chips and dings with glaze and sandable primer. Once those were sanded to 800 grit, the deeper wounds were skimmed with filler and then primered.
Here she is midway in the body work process.
Finally, done with base and 2K clear. I'm only using rattle cans. So, there are some blems and and orange peel to sand, but it's a heck of a lot better than the accumulated battle scars. Going to wait at least a week before I sand down the orange peel.
Not perfect by a long shot, but better than what I started with and I'm happy I did it for her.
Last edited by Seattle SCone; 12-27-20 at 02:23 AM.
Nice work ! I can attest to how much of a pain the 18 yr old paint protection is to take off. Took me about 10-15 hrs to get all of mine off.Tried heat gun but got too aggressive and ended up making 'tiger stripes' under the clear coat. Only ended up being about a 4x5 piece and hardly anybody notices but i know it's there. Once i slowed down i would be happy to get a piece the size of a finger nail off at a time and hence the 10ish hrs.
Here is the most recent and last pic of my 2002 SC430...it’s a sad day for me but it was time to let her go...she went to a nice lady who will care for the car...she let her husband drive it back home.
Sold for $11k
113,000k miles.
My neighbor gave in to the desire of owning an SC430. He bought one! It is light brown-cream color. It is an 02. First thing I told him and he did the next day is to dump the pie plate, he replaced the center cap and it looks good now ( 5 Spoke classic). Now his Maserati sits on the driveway and the SC takes the garage, lol. Then a few days ago, the SC lands on the driveway but has a cover on it, works. He trades cars. But he admitted to me he has been longing for an SC ever since I bought mine. Funny.
Last edited by mandyfig; 01-16-21 at 06:18 AM.
Reason: add photo
Here is the most recent and last pic of my 2002 SC430...it’s a sad day for me but it was time to let her go...she went to a nice lady who will care for the car...she let her husband drive it back home.
Sold for $11k
113,000k miles.
it was my wife’s friend.
Congrats on the sale of your '02. I'm sure that was hard considering all the work you put into it restoring it. I imagine that your wife's friend will enjoy it for a long time. At least you still have the '07.
Congrats on the sale of your '02. I'm sure that was hard considering all the work you put into it restoring it. I imagine that your wife's friend will enjoy it for a long time. At least you still have the '07.
thanks Harold, it was certainly bitter sweet since I spent so many hours fixing her up.
I have done very little to the 2007...it’s time may come.
Just now starting to sort out some modifications after two years of enjoying the basic car.
In all candor some of the most recent work documented here I was forced into when last March an absent minded driver bumped into the front of my car while in a parking garage. For now I've wrapped some of the front grill trim and painted the stock grill gloss black. I was hoping that the simpler pre-2006 grill would fit as I prefer the cleaner lines when the Lexus logo is pulled off. My 2004 SC is like that.
I'm still researching a body shop to make a new bumper grill that grafts the newer spindle grill onto the SC cover. To date most body shops and customizers have declined to participate so if anyone comes across a possible vendor please let me know. If I do find someone I'll report back.
I just added staggered 20" wheels and in all honesty I'm unhappy with the ride quality over the stock 18" setup. Feels too much like the flat runs on my 2004. Perhaps I'll get used to it but if not I'll explore different tires with higher sidewalls. Question - would different shocks help smooth out the ride?
Both my 2004 and 2007 SCs have the Injen air intake system. Considering the Magnaflow exhaust system if only for the sound benefit. Car also needs a new receiver with Apple CarPlay, Sirius XM and rear back up camera, maybe one of those electronic throttle boxes.
That's more or less it, for now...
without any scientific backup my opinion about ride quality is that maybe affected by fairly short multi link suspension components. Or the basic mounting angles. They seem to point somewhat down at tide height? Am I incorrect?
Hey CFB, the lower the tyre profile, the harder/harsher the ride. I put 225/50/R18 tyres on my 2004 SC430. The benefits are soft/cushy ride, fills up 1cm of the fenders, raises the ride height 1cm which prevents scaping the front valance/air dam and underbody. The same result can be achieved with 245/45/R18 tyres.
I am about to undertake this modification to my SC430. Can you share your components used? Did you also incorporate a back up camera into the mix?
Thx Chris
not today, but recently two weeks ago and aligned it last week. Rarely on the forums anymore..
if anyone needs T-belt/waterpump/thermostat/pulleys kit, lmk! Too lazy to do it myself and don’t have connects in Houston I trust to do it. Just gotta have the stealership touch my baby...
12-27-20, 02:20 AM
Body Work and Paint
