GMballistic

So when I had my Zed I paid a local company called "AquaGraphix" to hydro dip some interior bits for my car in a gold carbon fibre weave effect. Link: http://www.350z-uk.c...ls-grab-handle/ Their work was fantastic imo and from that moment on I was intrigued by the whole process. Now my job and a lot of my hobbies/interests involve spray painting at times so I'm no stranger to different paint processes/techniques. In fact I have dabbled before in what's called "swirl painting" which in its own way is a form of dipping (picture below of one of my swirl dips). Anyway I decided that knowing part of the process involved with hydro dipping should at least make it a little easier to get to grips with so with that in mind I ordered a £55 hydro dipping starter kit from an eBay seller. The kit came with: 2 meters 50cm Wide Film of your choice (I chose sticker bomb) 1 x 400ml Can of our Actvivator 1 x 500ml Primer Of Your Choice (I chose white) 1 x 500ml Base Coat Of Your Choice (I chose gloss white) 1 x 500ml Ultra Clear Laquer 1 x Tack Cloth 1 x Scotch Pad 1 x Sand Paper 1 x Face Mask 1 x Roll of Masking Tape 1 x Digital Thermometer 1 x Water Tub / Storage Tub 13" x 11" with a 9" Depth 5 x Speed Shapes (3 x White & 2 x Black) & Instructions To attempt my first dip on I selected an old plastic "Cherry M5400" mouse that I wasn't using anymore. Firstly I dismantled the mouse down to its component parts and chose the part that I wanted to dip. I then used 800 grit wet & dry sand paper to remove any imperfections from the shell as well as remove the makers name. I then masked off some areas that I didn't want to dip. Then I primed it with white primer.... ...followed by a coat of gloss white as my base coat. This was then left to fully dry for 24hrs. The next day I prepped my hydro dipping film by cutting it big enough to wrap around the part. It was then taped around the edges with masking tape and I cut slits in the corners & centres in order to allow the film to expand slightly. The container that came with the kit was a bit large for my mouse so I used a smaller more suitable tub that I had in the kitchen. It is important that the water you fill into your dipping tank is around 27-30 +/- degrees C (also don't fill up the tank to the top as you need to leave at least an inch or two for when you put your part & hand in the water). I then slowly lowered my film onto the surface of the water trying to ensure I didn't trap any air bubbles under it or got water on top of the film ~ it's also worth noting you need to place the film shiny side down into the water. You then leave the film on the surface of the water for around a minute whilst it hydrates the film. After the time has passed you then use the activator (well shaken) in a left to right motion followed by an up & down motion in order to ensure you've fully covered the film with the activator (you should see the film start to expand outwards slightly). You then have around 30 seconds to dip your item/part ~ this should be done at an angle of around 25-30 degrees whilst you slowly submerge your part completely under the water. Once your part is completely submerged under the water you then need to clean away any remaining film from the surface of the water before pulling your part upwards out of the water. Sounds easy so far right? Wrong. Not sure whether my kit has either a cheap Chinese hydro dipping film (the good hydro dipping films are from Japan) or my activator is sh*t but it ended up taking me a 5-6 attempts before I finally got a half decent result. The problem I was having is that my film didn't seem to be liquefying properly so refused to wrap correctly around the part. Anyway result below which I used 1000 wet & dry on the front to try and give it a blended in look with the white paint... I then lacquered it, waited for that to fully harden and then rebuilt the mouse. Appreciate any comments on what you all think of the results and I would love to hear any tips from other DIY hydro dippers or the more professional/experienced dippers like Ricey & AquaGraphix. Thanks all.

Congratulations both and enjoy the honeymoon. Love York and getting married in the minster must have been great.

Welcome aboard.

Welcome aboard.

Well I managed to get a copy of "Project Cars" for my PS4 from eBay (£22 odd including delivery) as I wanted to see for myself plus I have no other games apart from MGSV so needed something to break it up a bit. So far I have encountered no problems whatsoever. I'm playing the game offline and am currently racing in the GT5 category of cars after completing the Renault Clio Championships yesterday. The graphics are great and I find the handling so far to be good although the Clio did seem a bit too eager for the rear end to step out. Definitely glad I decided to give it a go as I missed having a driving game.

Welcome aboard James.

Good luck with the new Zed Buster.

Welcome aboard Rob. Obvious differences between UK & JDM Zeds are things like the number plates being square on the JDM Zeds, speedometers in kph (also limited to 112mph), badged as a "Fairlady" (instead of 350Z) and also they usually have aftermarket rear fog lights on the JDM versions as it is a UK legal requirement but not so in Japan. There are though lots more differences (I believe there where 4 different specs of JDM Zeds available in Japan) including things like headlight washers to different spec brakes etc ~ have a read of this thread for some more info: http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/1648-the-differences-spec/

Try zmanalex to see if he can help you with all the parts you need. Link: http://www.350z-uk.com/user/9648-zmanalex/ Re: the misted headlights> depending on how bad that is it can usually be fixed using a "Meguiars headlight restoration kit" available from places like Halfords. Link: http://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-cleaning/clay-bars-detailing-products/meguiars-one-step-headlight-restoration-kit Although some people have had success using toothpaste, ...not that I'd recommend that but it's up to you. Definitely a cheaper option if you're a bit strapped for cash. Link: http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/102452-headlight-restoration/#entry1540806

^^ Exactly what I was thinking. If the Toyo's are like new still then they should sell easily enough especially if you don't mind dropping the price a bit from the new cost.

Welcome aboard.

When I say return it to them I mean for them to keep and refund you your money if you can get them to do that. Oh and it was a nightmare ~ loved my Subaru as it was truly a car I had always wanted since being a child and had watched Colin McRae & later Richard Burns drive in the WRC's. Unfortunately it had a catalogue of things go wrong with it during my ownership despite pouring all my love, attention & money into it. That is the way sometimes though.

Welcome aboard.

Welcome aboard Jeff. As one of my old mates would say it's not ginger, ...it's strawberry blonde.

Very sad story and I've actually been in a similar situation myself in the past. The situation that I found myself in was quite some years ago now when I purchased a my96 JDM Impreza from a small trader. The engine went a few weeks after I had bought it (big end failure due to oil starvation after the oil pump failed) and after doing a very similar thing to what Ekona (Dan) has suggested, with all things said & done I ended up getting a measly £500 from the trader towards what ended up being a £4.5K rebuild. In hindsight although I loved the car (just like you seem to with the Zed) and didn't want to let it go the best thing I could have done was outright reject the car and get as much as, if not a full refund from the trader. That car cost me literally thousands & thousands and even after the rebuild things went wrong again & again including the engine which went some 12K miles/2 years later (this time due to a thrown conrod which went through the block). Imo I'd try to get the garage to accept liability for the car and if you can return the car to them in its current state asap. Then using the money you get back try to find another Zed you can love just as much.

Done. (free bump Ben )

Yep it's not always about the numbers, ...just how it drives afterwards is the main bit so if you're happy that's all that matters.

Welcome aboard Dan. Try zmanalex on here for the bumper or keep an eye out in the for sale section. Link: http://www.350z-uk.com/user/9648-zmanalex/ The trading post area: http://www.350z-uk.com/forum/14-the-trading-post/

Hard to tell from the slightly blurry image but just cracked 300 then? Pretty good then. Maybe post the results in the "dyno" thread if you like. Link: http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/23450-dyno-results-info-thread/page__st__160#entry1529796

Welcome aboard, ....get some pictures up of the old Boxster & its replacement if you can (Photobucket works best).

Ohhh they look nice. Going to look even nicer contrasting against the lovely purple of your Zed.

That made me think of this meme which seems relephant considering the story Stu...

Welcome aboard.

Welcome aboard.