well, i just started to order all the moldings and trim pieces for my 3rd gen since i will soon start to prep it for paint. i just got the trim pieces for the front windshield from the dealer for $80 but from the SE since i will get rid of all the chrome trim off my GXE since i hate chrome. i shall be removing my mirrors, side moldings, all the windows and glass, front and rear bumpers along with side skirts, headlights and corners, taillights, and sunroof. kind of like stripping the whole car down so that the paint job can be done right. little by little i shall be doing this until its finally ready for paint. just wanted to share. if any of you guys have pointers before painting then let me know.

 

When you get all the trim parts in black, lemme know the part #'s to them. I'm tired of the chrome **** too.

 

hey rick pm me the part numbers also. i want to get rid my chrome too.

 

here are the parts #'s:

72762-6E110
72752-86E00
72763-6E110
these part numbers are for the front windshield outer trim.

72754-6E110
72725-85E00
72755-6E110
these part numbers are for the front windshield inner trim.

once i start buying the ones for the doors and back glass i will post them as well. im buying them piece by piece since they are pretty pricey.

 

guys i need your help on this one. im already starting to prep the car the paint but i need the help of those that have done bodywork to their own cars. how the hell can i take out the dents? i am stripping the paint down to practically bare metal and then prime. what can i use to strip down? what sanding paper? what primer do i use afterwards? how many coats of primer?

 

I'm prepping my 4th gen for paint too, and for dents, i popped them out from the inside as best i could, then sanded them with 80 grit so the metal and then bondo-ed over them and sanded smooth, bondo-ed again, and smoothed. Then i used 120 and 220 to smooth it even more, primed it, wet sanded it with 400 grit paper, and it was smooth. For the body I am just going to wet sand it with 400 grit all around but i don't plan on stripping the paint or primer since factory primer/paint is the best base coat. I have a friend who does body work for a living and he said sanding the factory paint down to a very dull finish with wet 400 grit paper is more than fine, and he suggested primer wouldnt even be necessary if sanded right. He has painted his own cars this way and they look great and last, so this is how mine will be done, i dont know if its "right" or not but its much easier and i have seen the results.

 

if the dent has a crease in it, you will need body filler of some sort. if the dents don't have any creases, you can pop them out with a suction cup. Oh, and don't strip down to bare metal.

 

I wouldn't suggest stripping your car unless you plan on priming your panels immediately! Bare steel rust in a few hours....

 

awesome, thanks for talking me out of stripping it down to bare metal guys. i shall sand down like 92gxe/cg2 suggested. where the hell is Michael when you need him or Juan???

 

what the hell is difference between the rear back glass on both GXE and SE models? i was at the dealer ready to order the back trim for the back glass but for the SE model and my friend at the parts counter couldn't tell the difference on both trim levels as to why there would be a difference in parts. heres the link:

http://www.courtesyparts.com/betasit...1747_1754.html

if you click on the numbers for the trim it'll only say GXE but not SE for the black trim. and then like 3 other frames for the back glass but for the SE trim and not the GXE trim. its like there is a difference. could it be that some came with rear intergrated antenna on the back glass and others didn't or did all 3rd gens came with a secondary antenna in the back glass? im confused here???

 

i have 2 SEs and a GXE so i'll look at their rear windows tomorrow morning and let you know if it appears that the GXE just has added crap that the SE doesn't have

 

please do, i shall go to the junkyards today and i too will be looking at the differences.

 

so i looked at the 89SE and compared to my GXE last night... the GXE has added trim on the rear window that the SE does not have. So I think that explains the GXE-only designations on those trim items. I usppose if you pop them off then the textured SE pieces below will be revealed? Or you can just pop them off, spray them black, and put them back on.

 

I just did this exact same thing. Just take it slow and careful. Be VERY carefull when removing the rear side window molding that goes around the triangle piece. You have to angle it up and down to remove it from the clips. There's also an 8mm nut holding in on.

Be sure to remove the door handles, and take carefull note of how it is assembled, since you'll also want to remove the black trim around them.

Remove all the screws and brackets from the doors. Remove each window and its track, when possible. You don't want paint overspray to gum them up. Also remove the lock mechanism rods and electronics from the inner door.

Save the little pink and green tabs that hold on the gaskets. The paint shop will probably loose them. Also, dont' forget to remove the rubber bumpers from your trunk and gas tank.

Pull the door wiring harnesses into the cabin, since they'll have to remove the doors to paint your doorjams.

Be sure to take lots of pictures of everything as you remove it, like door panels, handles, and the trunk, etc. You can refer to these when re-assembling.

Then put all screws and things from each panel into its own labeled baggie (front L door, rear R door, trunk, etc...)

Remove all your seats besides the drivers. The guys painting the car WILL get overspray onto to anything left in the car. That means you'll have dust in your vents, stuck to your dash, in the carpet, headliner, etc. Your car is going to sit in the shop with the doors off for AT LEAST half a day for painting. They don't mask it closed untill the very end. Some places clean this overspray dust for you, some don't. Either way, you don't want to turn your vents on for the first time after you've reinstalled your interior. It's a b!tch to clean.

I advise you to buy a panel popper. It helps a LOT and they're only a couple bucks.

PS) The SE rear trim is attached to the window. You'll break the window if you try to remove the rear window trim by pulling. (believe me I know) Instead, I would paint the GXE trim black with some duplicolor trim paint and a nice primer before. Make sure your paint brands are compatible...for example, most krylon does not bond with other brands like rustoleum or duplicolor.

If you're considering upgrading the audio wiring, now is the time to do it. Run all the RCA's and power cables your heart desires, since it'll be easy to get under the carpet when all that trim is removed. I'll post pics of my 3 year build in a week or so, then you can see what I did to prep my car for paint.

Also, if you want to get unique with your modding, now is the time to drill holes for cornering lights, a relocated antenna, or anything else that interests you.

 

damn!!! sounds like i will be doing the same but im not removing the doors. but i will remove all those little things like door handles and rubber seals and electrical components. as for the rear glass and the rest of the trim on the doors, i could care less if they break when i remove them. i already bought the new SE trim for the front windshield at the dealer. next will be the trim for the rear glass and then buy the trim for the doors. its costly but everything will be new. i want to do everything right the first time and not bother with it later down the road. but thanks for your input buddy i really appreciate it. i shall keep you posted on the progress though. post up your pics i want to see.

 

well, i did notice this while i was at the junkyard and the SE rear glass trim is a one-piece trim while the GXE utilizes like 6 pieces. now what i want to know is the glass differences. i also noticed that the GXE bottom piece of the trim screws onto the car if im not mistaken while the SE doesn't have this since its a one-piece. weird on why the hell would NISSAN do this???

 

All my trim on my SE is worn down and graying. Except for one piece the previous owner tried to spray paint black again. I would like to know the parts numbers too so I can replace them. Possibly do what you're doing to restore the paint as well. How is the progress coming along?

 

i haven't been able to keep up with the progress since my g/f wants to go to Disney in Orlando next month so i had to stall this for a bit until after our vacation getaway. just go to link that i had posted above from www.courtesyparts.com and you shall have all the part #'s for the trim pieces you want to replace. once i come back i will continue to order the trim pieces for mine. i shall start sanding the car down next week to get a head start.

 

courtesy doe not show the true part # on their website.

 

then again i did order the parts at the dealer not through courtesy parts. so i wouldn't know either. but the part #'s i listed in like my 4th post in this thread are the ones directly from the dealer and not courtesy parts. as i order the rest i shall post it on here as well.

 

so get this, i went today to pick up the trim that goes on the front drivers door, the one on top and the one that goes on the bottom where you put your arm to rest. the one at the bottom came in i was happy, but the one on top came broken so guess what... they tell me i won't be getting that trim piece until Jan. '09 simply because its on back order. BACK ORDER??? for a '92-'94 SE door trim. then again they have to make the damn thing since they don't usually stock these anymore but damn to wait that long??? well, i shall go next week to order the ones for the other side now.

 

I shall summon Juan to this thread lol.

 

damn, where have you been all this time buddy??? how's the E60 treating you?

 

If he's putting bondo on it, he needs bare metal. Otherwise in six months you'll be painting it all over again. Bondo won't stick to the old, sanded paint.
Go to metal where you need to, bondo and smooth to your liking, then shoot it with some sealer asap.
If your drastically changing the color of the car (like green to red, etc.) you should shoot the whole with a sealer. Primer alone will not seal in the old color.

 

i ainth your biatch....

dont strip your car. thats the beginning to the end. just ask michael.

 

i'll keep this in mind. where is Michael when you need him???

 

i havent heard from him in probably 8 months.

ok. now for my words of wisdom.

if your paint isnt peeling or flaking, dont strip it. factory paint is the best "primer" for a respray. small dings can be filled with polyester after the paint's been scuffed up(figure less than the size of a quarter) anything bigger than that you would have to take the paint completely off hammer and dolly it out or pull it out with a stud welder. NEVER drill holes to pull out dents. it's not 1972. technology's changed and for 200 bucks you can buy a decent stud welder. if its your first time doing bodywork...............be ready. ready to be told by your paint shop that they have to redo some or all of it. dont take offense to it, there is a large learning curve to doing proper bodywork. goldie had 2 sets of taillights(gs300 and wrx) why? not because i though the wrx's were cooler, because the bodywork sucked and i wanted to redo it. easier to work from clean tails than ones i had already messes with. i also bought a parts car to shave a new set of doors. why? because i warped the crap out of the first ones. again, learning curve and goldmember was my guinney pig. i shaved the second set of doors 6 years ago and they look as good as day one. by that time i learned how to do things right.

make a plan of attack and stick with it. i would shop around for a paint shop to go to that is willing to work with you as far as you doing some of the work. 95% wont. of the 5% that will 95% will be hacks(meaning they'll take your money, give you a crap job and say"you asked us to paint it and thats what we did". doesnt mean theyre bad people, they just simply give you what you pay for without explaining your options.) the shop i run wouldnt touch a custom car with a ten foot pole(doesnt mean i wouldnt do it from home though). unfortunately it's not profitable, and just like a house, bodywork is the foundation to a nice paint job. if it's not done right, by a professional, it will not last. in my case after doing the bodywork twice, it would have cost less to find someone who could do it for me inexpensively, but i wouldnt have the experience i have now)
unless you plan on doing side work after you learn, the cost of tools, filler, sandpaper, a compressor, cheap gun to shoot primer, quality primer etc may outweigh any benefit to doing the work yourself. a same color quality job will run you 3 grand with some bodywork(wear and tear, not acciDENTS)soup to nuts. wanna cut it down? take appart and reassemble the car yourself (be careful with those back handles. they WILL scratch fresh paint) find out how well the car will come out of the booth. having to polish it for a day will add onto the cost of the paintjob, and if you're willing to live with some dust or a factory looking orange peel, you could save yourself 4-500 bucks. unless you've detailed cars before, dont plan on polishing the car yourself. you WILL burn the clear and have to repaint that area, costing you more money.

there are pages full of right and wrongs of bodywork. once you decide if you're going to do it feel free to shoot me an email and i'll guide you as best as possible.

as far as all your chrome trim, my wife's 93 was a gxe. i painted all the trim black and it held up very well, you just have to have a good piece to work with(if the black plastic part is cracking it may not be worth saving). goldie was a gxe too, but my parts car was an se i used the trim and back glass off the se. i repainted the windshield trim black( i didnt want to take out the windshield)

the pieces that they say are "backordered" are probably discontinued and theyre searching other dealerships for overstock. so start searching junkyards because that's probably the way to go.

good luck and post up some pics

 

grnmaxdmn.. i have a SE parts car i can probably try and get some pieces off it for you if all else fails.

 

damn, i really appreciate you giving me pointers from your point of view. currently i was told to sand down first with 200 then a 300 and then finally with a 600 grit sandpaper. body work i guess i'll just leave it to them. i am taking apart for them and removing all the glass from the car along with all the trim, bumpers, lip kit, and lights, and door handles. the bodyshop that will do the work is the same shop that the BMW dealer i work for uses. i got quoted about $1500 for the paint. the factory paint on my car is peeling on the roof and trunk lid. the hood is useless too many dings and dents so i'll replace that along with front bumper cover and one of my fenders. since the paint is peeling what would you recommend me to do first? the paint on the sides of the car is still shiny though. when you switched the back glass to the SE glass did you use the same trim off your GXE or did you use the SE trim? how different were the trim pieces from the GXE to SE? let me know and i will have more questions for you my friend.

 

thanks buddy, i will let you know if the dealer doesn't come through with the parts.

 

the whole rear glass is different? how did I miss that??? or is it just the routing of the little defroster elements such that it doesn't leave space for a nonexistent CHMSL?

 

I lol'ed

 

now sure about the glass but i do know the trim is different. the GXE has multiple pieces that goes around the back glass while the SE is a one-piece trim.

 

i'll work backwards.
the se glass has a rubber surround in it while the se is chrome. you cant buy the rubber surround, so the glass is different. try an aftermarket glass place. it may cost you 100-200 bucks for a new one instead of trying to salvage one. the chrome around the bottom wont be reused either(i think that the rubber surround goes all the way around, just like the chrome trim. you do have to buy the smaller rubber surround though, that was 40 bucks i think.

i'm assuming the shop told you to buy a new hood, bumper and fender. are you buying new, used or aftermarket? new can get pricey. it may be cheaper to have them fix a good fitting oem used part instead of an aftermarket that wont fit well. and then you dont have to repaint the jambs, unless you're changing the color and that wont matter. you can get CAPA certified a/m parts, but the additional cost may outweigh fixing yours.

on the roof and trunk i would buy a dual action (DA)electric sander(ryobi, 50 bucks at home depot) and strip the paint off. easier to do with a sander, the DA will take the material off much quicker than by hand, but dont do until you're ready to bring it to the shop. the reason why i say this is i'm assuming you dont have a way to respray primer onto the car at home. rattle can primer really isnt good unless it's a small area. you'll create more work for the shop because since they dont know what primer you used they'll just take it off, for that you could have just let them strip the roof and trunk. start with 80(36 if it takes too long to cut into you paint, but be careful, 36 could leave gouges in the metal. then you can smooth out the scratches with 180 or 220. keep the sander as flat as possible. if you put it at an agle you may take more material off, but you'll dent the metal(vibrations+heat= warpage) on the rest of the car i would first mark any small dings you see(anything water based so you can wash it off) take some high res pics, and start sanding with 600 wet. the reason why i say take pics of the dings is that once the panel has no shine the small dings become hard to see, so if you' re able to point them out beforehand you'll make sure they got them all. buy some red scotch-brite pads from a body supply place. theyre coarse enough to do the nooks and crannies where sandpaper cant get into. most importantly before you do anything, wash the car a couple of times with good old dish soap. thatll get any grease and wax off the surface before you scratch it into the paint.
dont go any coarser than 600 if you're not planning on doing bodywork. itll create scratches that are too deep , then theyll have to prime with a high build primer where maybe they could have just sealed the panel. you could do 400, but 400 is better at removing high build primer than surfacing paint.

if you're doing it right thatll keep you busy for a couple of weekends. you need to take all the shine off the panel. you want an even satin sheen.

 

for comparison sake i snapped a few pics today of my car and my parts car (90gxe, 89se) of the rear window area where it meets the trunk, the upper corner, and a level shot across the top.

GXE

 

SE

 

the black one that touches the body is seppt and is the same on both.that has to be replaced. good pics!

 

well, the shop didn't tell me to replace the front end. i decided to do this since the hood has a lot of dents and one of my fenders also has dents, the front bumper cover is useless so that has to go. but i will start to work on this once i get all my trim pieces so that means until next year i guess until i get all the trim that i need before i start stripping the car. but i will come on here to get more of your input if i need to.

 

see what i mean? now is the glass the same for both GXE and SE or are both different just like the trim?

 

http://www.courtesyparts.com/kb_sear....php?keywords=[79713Y]+\(j30&cPath=1610_1611_1747_1754

i think the glass is the same

on the page on there where it shows the window, you need the moulding on the left for SE, and then the one on the bottom right for SE(only) and the one above it too, i believe.