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I am a little frustrated trying to find a reasonable approach to address a paint problem on my TR7 and would like to tap the decorative ideas of the Forum. About 15 years ago I had the car painted Lexus Diamond Pearl White after totally stripping the orange from the body. A few winters back, water penetrated one of the top body seams and made its way to rust under the skim coat (I was unaware they had applied). The result, a section of paint lifted and will cost more than I want to spend to repaint as Diamond Pearl White takes a 3 stage paint approach.



During that same period, I created a fiberglass top cover that I had intended to paint the body Pearl color. I subsequently lost interest in completing the cover and only recently decided to complete the project when my vinyl tonneau shrank and became a problem. At this point, I would like to include the cover in the alteration ideas.

Below are a couple of pictures of the car for reference and clarification.







I had thoughts of painting the boot top, top cover and top of the doors the same dark blue color of the interior, however, my wife feels that would not look good. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Ray (79 TR7 / 64 BJ8 P1)

I think it would look good. Many custom cars feature two-tone paint, it's very common right now. Personally I'd even consider painting the hood the same blue....but maybe incorporate some metallic into the blue to somewhat mimmic the pearl effect [;)]

Ron.

Ray, I love the car. Doesn't it bug you when so called good tradesmen stuff the job? A nice finish on paint is great, but adhesion is more important. I would get some plastic single side stick vinyl sheet. It's used to cover chipboard here, & we make our racing numbers from it.

Get a similar colour, & cut it to size& shape, & stick it on where you ware thinking of painting. You could experiment with the size & shape to paint this way.

If you do, don't leave it on too long, if the paint is damaged, as it may pull it off. If in doubt, warm the stuff with a hair drier a little before removal, as it comes off easily when warm.

Lots of pictures of any experiment, & the finished product please.

Hasbeen

If you're handy with photoshop, you could experiment with just about any combination you can think of! My first thought after reading your idea is that it might look like its wearing a cape. Which part exactly needs to be repainted? Also, I noticed the TR7 logo on the back, is that a ghost sticker? Looks cool on the white. Are all your emblems like that?

Randy

1980 TR7 <font color="red">Spider!</font id="red">
http://rgstr7spider.tumblr.com/

Hi All and thanks for responding.

Ron, my main problem is color match. The Lexus Diamond Pearl is a 3 stage paint and very hard to match. According to some, the top of the door through the top of the boot would have to be refinished and would not be an inexpensive task. I am looking for ideas to cover the problem or change the look with something I could do and the blue metallic would be a nice transition from the interior blue to the Pearl.

Hasbeen, the vinyl you’re describing seems like a good material to cover the tonneau with as it will allow the slight amount of flex that I expect the cover will get when moving on and off. The only issue is finding it in a close-enough color to the body. I will start looking on the internet.

Randy, of all the pictures, that one seems to have had a problem.



The logo on the back is a creation of an old friend and is the only sign on the car. It is a ghost emblem.

Have you considered making the fiberglass top blue like the interior? I think it would look pretty cool to have all the emblems but in the ghost look! Also, i know there are paint programs for iOS that would allow you to play with different looks too.

Randy

1980 TR7 <font color="red">Spider!</font id="red">
http://rgstr7spider.tumblr.com/

I like the idea of a hard top cover for the hood. I can't see it any other colour than body colour as it would stand out too much as an add on as opposed to an integrated part of the car (the afore mentioned "cape" effect) unless you do a radical two tone paint job that Ron mentioned.

Can't see that being cheaper than repainting the top of rear fender and rear part.

- - -TR7 Spider - - - 1978 Spitfire- - - - 1976 Spitfire - - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra - Yellow TCT

Another thing you might consider is talking with the local Lexus dealer. Show them what you've got and ask if they could repaint those panels the next time they get a job in for that same color. That could save some money since they would already be spraying that color. Also, if you could do the prep work yourself that could save some cash. Just a thought.

Randy

1980 TR7 <font color="red">Spider!</font id="red">
http://rgstr7spider.tumblr.com/

Ray,

It looks like who ever did the body work tried to blend that quarter panel to match the fuel filler panel with a plastic filler of some sort. That's a flex point of the car, and though they were poorly welded at times and the seams didn't always match up proper, that's a bad place to try to do that. While I understand what they were trying to accomplish, whomever did the work wasn't aware of where the cars flex. You might make it stick, but you'd have a time of it.

The three stage isn't the hard part of the blend, it's blending the pearl. I'd talk to a different shop and see if they can try to fix the blend and use a different paint. There are less expensive paint products from some smaller companies in the states that are the same quality as the big brands. I know, I've used them, and you can't tell the difference between the cars side by side, and I've actually sprayed that Lexus three stage pearl white. Blended the top of a roof with another brand of paint into the existing paint. Yes it is three stage, but it's not impossible to blend, and shouldn't cost a fortune.



<b>Dave Elsberry</b>
<b>Secretary & Editor Triumph Wedge Owners Association</b>