Critique My Painting Plans

[tjdean01]

My car has some scrapes on the front of the bumper from the previous owner, the hood has a lot of small rusty spots from pebbles being kicked up, and the wheel covers are nasty and scratched (and I can't find cheap aluminum wheels). I don't want to spend a lot of money, but I do want to fix the scraps and rust spots, but I don't want to have to worry about matching the beige.

My dad has an air compressor, I can get a cheap airbrush for about $15, I have sandpaper and sanding tools, and black and clear paint are simple matches. Here's what I'm thinking of doing. I'll add the pictures in order. The final ones are a bit extreme and I don't know if I'll go that far, but what do you think?


Here's a beige Gen 4.0 except that mine has rust spots and looks kind of crappy.


Black grill alone looks weird without chrome around it, but I don't need it because I'm going to paint more things black...


I've never seen a Toyota with a black hood around here. I saw one Ford Probe. If everyone had it I would think it's stupid, but since it's rare, I think it's kind of cool.



The wheel covers are crappy and scratched. I tried black but it looks stupid. So, I'm thinking a graphite color. Also, the tinted lights look great. I looked into buying some halo lights, but I'm not about to pay $200 for them. I think I can tint them with the air brush and some transparent black paint. If it dims my lights too much I'll buy ultra-bright LEDs.



The paint's chipping off of the lower grill anyway, so why not paint that black too. Here's the first way I was thinking...(and I might stop here, actually, I don't want to overdo it)



...or I could do the lower grill this way. Which one looks nicer?


And here's if I go all out! This final nose project would be the only way to cover up the scratches in the front bumper without trying to match the beige. What happened is the license plate was ripped off when they crashed into something. The screws are still broken off inside of the plastic bumper. I don't know how I like this though:



What are you opinions? Gonna be a fun project!

[heartdisease]

Originally Posted by tjdean01

My car has some scrapes on the front of the bumper from the previous owner, the hood has a lot of small rusty spots from pebbles being kicked up, and the wheel covers are nasty and scratched (and I can't find cheap aluminum wheels). I don't want to spend a lot of money, but I do want to fix the scraps and rust spots, but I don't want to have to worry about matching the beige.

My dad has an air compressor, I can get a cheap airbrush for about $15, I have sandpaper and sanding tools, and black and clear paint are simple matches. Here's what I'm thinking of doing. I'll add the pictures in order. The final ones are a bit extreme and I don't know if I'll go that far, but what do you think?


Here's a beige Gen 4.0 except that mine has rust spots and looks kind of crappy.


Black grill alone looks weird without chrome around it, but I don't need it because I'm going to paint more things black...


I've never seen a Toyota with a black hood around here. I saw one Ford Probe. If everyone had it I would think it's stupid, but since it's rare, I think it's kind of cool.



The wheel covers are crappy and scratched. I tried black but it looks stupid. So, I'm thinking a graphite color. Also, the tinted lights look great. I looked into buying some halo lights, but I'm not about to pay $200 for them. I think I can tint them with the air brush and some transparent black paint. If it dims my lights too much I'll buy ultra-bright LEDs.



The paint's chipping off of the lower grill anyway, so why not paint that black too. Here's the first way I was thinking...(and I might stop here, actually, I don't want to overdo it)







What are you opinions? Gonna be a fun project!

I like the looks of this one the best. I have never really liked the black hoods, I am more of a stripe guy and that doesn't go on a Camry IMO.

What would it look like if you Blacked the bumper just inside the lights up to the hood, kind of like a stripe to tie into the hood? Any way have fun with it, it will be a stand out car for sure. People will remember this Beige Camry

[bigbird]

1. unless its a cf hood...dont paint it black unless you two tone the whole car. you can get vinyls to do that too so you dont have to paint it.

2. dont paint the door handles, gas cap OR the lower part of teh grill like you have shown. thats just cheap and silly.

the dark hubcaps do look pretty good but i hoenstly wouldnt take it any further then that. ya might as well paint the whole car some cheap flat black and call it a day if your gonna do most of the things ya have suggested. BUT its your car, do what you feel is best.

[tjdean01]

Originally Posted by heartdisease

What would it look like if you Blacked the bumper just inside the lights up to the hood, kind of like a stripe to tie into the hood? Any way have fun with it, it will be a stand out car for sure. People will remember this Beige Camry

Thanks for the idea! I'm not too concerned about it looking stupid. It's going to be better than the rust and touch-up spray paint that's on it now! And, I tried what I thought you meant by the black stripe. Interesting! Is this what you meant? Kind of looks like a raccoon panda with 16 year old girl makeup on! You're right: unforgettable! v

Originally Posted by bigbird

1. unless its a cf hood...dont paint it black unless you two tone the whole car. you can get vinyls to do that too so you dont have to paint it.

2. dont paint the door handles, gas cap OR the lower part of teh grill like you have shown. thats just cheap and silly.

the dark hubcaps do look pretty good but i hoenstly wouldnt take it any further then that. ya might as well paint the whole car some cheap flat black and call it a day if your gonna do most of the things ya have suggested. BUT its your car, do what you feel is best.

The object is to make me happier driving it without spending much money on it (I initially bought the car as a stepping stone while I save money, move, and take care of some other things in my life). CF is not an option (worth more than the car). I did get lucky finding this car, however, as the engine is super smooth, quiet, and runs like a champ. Exterior looks kind of crappy now. Interior was horrible when I bought it but now it's terrific. I replaced all the burnt out bulbs, pulled out seats and cleaned carpet, custom fitted black carpet mats (I'm all about black and beige!), replaced center console, etc.). I should take a photo of the interior and show you what I've done. I'm sure it's not as nice as some of your cars, if you'd seen it before I got it you'd know that she's come a long way!

Anyway, I'm sure the black hood will be better than rust. And yeah, the handles were just a trashy afterthought after I photoshopped the nose. I got the idea from a 2011 Kia Forte Coupe. What do you mean by 2-tone the whole car? I can paint, but I don't want to buy anything expensive!

[RichieRichJP]

I think BigBird is right on point on this one.
Painting the hood black is wannabe CF ricer stuff. Can't afford a CF hood so they use rattle can to create that appearance from far away.
Just leave it all one color.

[heartdisease]

I was thinking right next to the grill up to the hood, actual stripes. Again I don't like the hoods like that but its your car, would like to see it no matter what you end up doing