munkman

ClubXterra.org Brake Light Decal

This was originally supposed to be a progress thread but I haven't really posted much progress since I joined. It isn't for lack of progress, definately got the mod bug, just haven't had the time/effort to post. I have been taking pictures though so I'll post things in sequential order over the next few weeks so there will be some sort of progression and so people can comment.

Immediately after removing the resonators I realized I was hooked with CX so I bought the brake light decal because I think it looks awesome. So this was my official 2nd mod. Though, in the background of the pictures you can see my 3rd mod taking shape (next post).

Here are some pics I took during the install:





Here's after:

Extreme Back to Black

Time for the 3rd Mod. I have been annoyed by the faded plastic look of the Xterra ever since I got it in '03. A temporary and expensive fix is to use Armor All or one of a hundred other plastic/trim refurbishing/rejuvenating products. I'm going to save you time and money. They don't work. You'll get a nice shiny but greasy finish and in about 2 weeks anything exterior is going to look exactly the same.

For my back to black I went all out. I pulled every piece of black/grey plastic and metal off of the car that I could. And those that I couldn't, I taped around and sprayed on the spot. For the plastic parts I used black matte Krylon Fusion spray paint and it has been great, even a year after the fact. For the metal parts, mainly the front and rear bumper, I roughed them up quite a bit with some sand paper and then did a couple of primer coats followed by a couple coats using the same black spray paint. The metal has fared slightly worse than the plastic. The chipping from rocks etc is more noticeable but 10 minutes of touch up would solve that.

Here's the violent aftermath of removing all of the plastic/metal bits!!!






Buddy of mine did most of the painting while I disassembled and reassembled.


Now everything back together. The adhesive on the Nissan badge wouldn't work a second time and I didn't have any double-sided tape handy. Ended up eventually buying some 3M stuff.