marzman

When painting anything, prep is the key. Sand down the covers before painting, making sure the whole thing is sanded nicely, maybe using 600 grit paper... Then wash the covers in water to make sure all dust is gone, and then dry thoroughly. Next, spray maybe 3-4 coats of primer on them. Each coat should be very light, for the first 2 coats you probably wont even cover the whole thing...! You should then allow the primer to dry overnight, before sanding it with 1200grit paper, and then doing the same with your colour of choice. NEVER spray on an area constantly to make sure it gets covered - just keep building the layers... :thumb:

Thats quality mate! God times.

Welcome mate. Post an message in the intro's area and introduce yourself...

Yeh cheers for that. I found that guide originally which gave me the inspiration to do it myself. I've used a different circuit though - that guy used relays, i've used microswitches. I may see if i can get hold of some actual paddles though cos they do look good!

Hey Guys, Right, i worked on these all day yesterday from 9am till 7pm! The switch mechanism is still very rough around the edges and will be tidied up, and i've already started work on a metal casing to house what you can see. For the paddles themselves im currently using some door handles which look crap but are fit for purpose. They will do for now until i find something better...! I've built these completely from scratch, so dont laugh at how crap they are!! But the movement is correct although is a little too flimsy - i need to figure out how to make it feel stronger. Im VERY happy with how they work though... i've been out for about 30mins driving in manual mode and they are brilliant! Oh, and total cost so far...? About £17, including the glue which was a fiver! See the pics below - and watch the video - you can hear my K1 nicely!

Just an update - i've been building my paddle switch mechanism for the last couple of days!! Its messy, and a bit bigger than i wanted, but it feels just right! Thats whats important. I've been dremmel-ing bits of metal all day, and have made good use of the old epoxy resin...! I've spent ages walking round the house and hardware stores looking for inspiration for the hinge mechanism, and i've settled on the levers from a radio control handset! You'll see what i mean when i post the pictures up...!

Just an update... black paint is on the wheels now... Done 4 coats and will be doing quite a few more - the coverage on the edges of the spokes isn't great, but i'll sort it...! Hopefully i'll be painting the red lip on tonight if i dont go out, otherwise i'll be doing it on the weeknights, and then clearcoating next weekend...! Pics to come soon!

brilliant! Welcome mate.

Very nice - not seen these before...

Mate - me too. I worked 10am till midnight last saturday, and then all day sunday too. Still, it was overtime and i'll get just over 400quid out of it - which will be spent on my car im sure. So thats why we do it!

It infuriates me, but i love it. The FIA are completely embarrassing themselves!

Interesting. Its not something i'd go for but is definitely different! I think to go with a japanese inspired angle would be a little cliched maybe...? If it was me i'd go with a mechanical theme, like car parts stylized in some way... And as for colour i'd only do it in just different shades as your current paint colour.

Very sad. Also glad to see you posting Stew...!

Thats very funny mate - good find!

+1. I've been following the used prices of Caymans quite closely this last 6 months or so... very tempting and if i'd have waited a year i'd be getting one instead of the zed. But im not complaining though...! ...but i still think the zed looks 10x better.

Very sorry mate. Know what you're going through... my mother in law died on the 6th March at just 48. My missus is really struggling...

I have thought about that - but they're wired - so when applying full lock etc, the wires would get twisted up... and i dont want to take my wheel off and run the cables through - im terrified of the airbag going off! I've also seen some RF transmitter switches fit for that purpose, but apparently they'd cause a very slight delay to the operation.

Hey Jay, How long did you spend on prep per wheel? Did they look like mine looks now, or did you do more than that? Also, hows the paint finish holding up now, and did you just use standard spray paint? I was umming and arring about doing it until i found those pics - i think they look special there!

Yep - new switches so its bypassing the existing switches - so i wont be able to change gear using the stick any more. As for paddles - im going to build my prototype first and see how well it works... Im not overly concerned by the look of the paddles, its more the feel of the button press i need to get right... i.e. how hard is it to press, how far does the lever travel etc. Thats crucial! Im stopping at Wickes' tonight on the way home to get some bits of metal so i can start the prototype paddles... so i'll see how that goes!

Hey guys, With the problems im having with my 19" alloys, i've decided to paint my stock JDM's and see how they turn out... if they look good i think i'll put them on the car instead of my 19's! I prepped one of the wheels tonight - i spent 90mins with 260grit wet&dry paper, and then 20mins with 800grit... see comparison pics of the prepped wheel with a normal wheel. Nurrish - how much prep did you do on your wheels before you painted them...? Also everyone - im just going to buy a large can of standard gloss black spray paint from Halfords - is there any reason this wouldn't be suitable...? Then i'll give it a clear lacquer afterwards... again, any recommendations? The first pics below are of how i want them to look - these are from a car i found on my350z.com If mine look 3/4 as good as that i'll be happy Comparison: Prepped: Normal:

Hey all... I've resisted posting on this for a few weeks as i wasnt sure if i could get it off the ground, but i've started to make my own paddle-@*!# kit to install in my tiptronic zed! Some of you may know about the works-bell paddle shift kit, but these retail at $400, and with the way the pound is against the dollar and yen, i was gonna work out waaayy too expensive to buy that. So, i've done about 20hours research into it reading through wiring diagrams from the service book etc, and researching the type of microswitches is needed. Anyway, i ordered the electronic components required (2x microswitches, cable, snap in connectors), and set about working on my circuit design! I stayed up till about 2am 3 nights last week experimenting with the circuit, wiring in 3 led's so i could see if it was working how i wanted etc. On Friday night i managed to get the circuit working as i wanted, and i went and made my final wiring harness. 2-microswitches, a long bit of cable, and a connector from a PC so i can disconnect it easily should i need to. I planned to start work on the actual paddles on Saturday, but we had a crisis with a go-live of an upgrade at work, and i ended up working 12 hours straight from home (earned a few quid though ). So, i wired in just the switches today, and have tested them and they work perfectly...!! At the moment they're just 2 microswitches at the end of a bit of cable which i've taped to my dash - but they work just as you'd expect. I've not got a clue yet on how im gonna design and make - and mount my paddles, but im going to do it right - it needs to feel solid and oem. (anyone got any ideas?!) So far, im thinking about buying one of those 'pretend' paddle shift kits of eBay and retrofitting my paddles to that - only i dont think those paddles move - they're fixed... i'll need to fit a hinge of some sort. Anyway, enough writing - here's a few pics of my wiring harness... no incar pics yet - my center console is currently in my lounge (part of a different project), but you get the idea. Oh, and total cost so far - £7.00 on components... and £40 on my tool chest and new butane soldering iron

Sad i know, but i've always wanted one of these... I've been keeping my eye open for a while for one, but i was at Halfords today and they're selling them at 40% off! So i bought the 3-drawer chest for £25, reduced from £42! Bargain! Construction seems good, but obviously the draw runners are pretty cheap... its not one with the ball bearing runners. They're a bit too expensive Sat and cleaned out my 2 tool boxes tonight and put all my stuff in the new chest! Great fun!

Sweet, cheers chris.

very nice. what side skirts are those? Dont ask him - he doesn't even know himself... eh H5?

Hi Guys, Does anybody have the interior trim panel which goes directly below the steering wheel, and also possibly the one that goes above it? The picture above is from a LHD zed, but obviously i want the RHD one...! Cheers