# 200sx SE-R sideskirts



## g200sx (Apr 18, 2003)

I bought some used side skirts and was going to get them repainted match my car. i took it to one shop so far and they said it would be 250 to repaint them and install them. they also said they would need my car for two days. Does this sound like a good deal? I don't see why they would need my car for two days just to put them on. 

I was going to try other shops and see what they would estimate. What questions should i ask them?

If that is the average price to paint and install them should i just attempt to do it myself? The sideskirts need to be stripped for one. What should I use to take off the old paint? Would they need to be primed?


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## JustMe (Jan 24, 2003)

Hmm 250 don't sound bad to me at all. The 2 days seems a little long but maybe they are busy or something. As for doing it your self, I suppose you could prep it yourself, strip sand and prime, but I would suggest having a shop do the color matching and spraying since they are equipped for that kind of stuff.


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## g200sx (Apr 18, 2003)

should i use some sort of chemical paint remover or should i just sand the old paint off?
what grit of sand paper should i use?


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## Katana200sx (May 13, 2002)

2 days sounds right. surprised its not 3 though. whenever my friend paints on my car he lets the clearcoat set and dry for a day or 2


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## dry (Oct 21, 2002)

g200, what color is your car, if you have black a color match with spray paint (from autozone) really isnt too difficult you could do it yourself, any other nissan color I would steer away from (maybe white) anyway 250 isnt bad, and if you strip the paint they may do it for cheaper... find out. to strip I think mineral spirits is a good paint thinner with lots of elbow grease, but I dunno what is better, probably something.


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## OmegaManEX (Oct 4, 2002)

the price sounds right ...

.. but .. what me and my friend always do when we get something painted , is we just leave a part with them (grille /gas door) and they color match to that , when the shop has the paint ready we bring our car over for the final match lookover , then they spray and i mount the parts myself .. and the finished product is always perfect with about only about 2 1/2 days of actual work . ... and all the while i have my car to use.

..but that may be because the paint shop is a really good one in the first place.


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## Equivocal (Sep 6, 2002)

how much is it for them just to paint it? would the price go down without installation? If thats the case then maybe just have it painted and then put them on yourself i dont think its that hard.


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## Katana200sx (May 13, 2002)

when i got my gtr bumper painted i just dropped off the bumper, they pulled the paint code, and i left. after the bumper was painted and ready i came back and was only w/out my car for a couple hours. 250 sounds alright for everything if you arent getting a hook up.


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## holy200sx (Jan 8, 2003)

i was quoted 150 for 2 fenders.. they are alot bigger than some sideskirts.. that was uninstalled.. i was instructed to put htem on the car, then take it to them, and they would fix me up.


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## OmegaManEX (Oct 4, 2002)

i think the high cost come from that fact that the skirts , bumper , and grille , on our cars are plastic/urethane? and they have to add that "special" stuff to the paint because it is flexible

..i think , correct me if im wrong ..


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## g200sx (Apr 18, 2003)

ok almost a year later and i still haven't got them painted. i went to the same shop to get an estimate on painting the sideskirts, spoiler, and honeycomb grille. this time they said 125 not installed. i asked about getting the sideskirts and spoiler stripped and the guy said that you don't strip them you just paint over them. if you strip them he said you might damage the rubber (urethane im guessing is what he meant). can someone please tell me if this is true? Also does this price seem reasonable or is it a "you get what you pay for?" deal
Another shop quoted me 650 uninstalled to strip them and paint them.


One last question what would be needed to install the spoiler and sideskirts? (i know you need the clips for the sideskirts and i will probably need to extend the wires for the brake light.)


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## g200sx (Apr 18, 2003)

can anybody help me out?


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## Sethticlees (May 30, 2002)

That’s true about painting over old paint. Some people say the original paint gives a smooth easier to work with base without all the sanding and prep involved. As say opposed to prepping bare raw metal that is.

As for pricing structure, i haven't a clue. 

But I can tell you why they mount the parts to your car before they paint em.
See, color matching is a next to impossible art. A paint job is like a snowflake; no paint job is exactly identical to another. Lots of factors play part in this... room temp, color amount, brands of paint, clear coats, the sun, and so on.
This is why paint shops blend! To blend a paintjob they color match your paint as best they can. Then they paint your parts plus a little of the surrounding area around the part. 
Then they thin the color and paint again, this time a little more of the surrounding area. Then they thin the color again and again using a fine mist of spray to finish. The idea is to blend your original color into the freshly painted new color. Side by side the colors are noticeably different, but by blending it deceives your eyes into thinking the two body panels are of the same color when in fact they are not.

You want to know more about painting a car look here: www.autobodystore.com 
This site has helped me a lot. 

Good Luck on your quest.
BTW, I’m in the same boat as you. I’m slowly learning how to paint my car. 
:cheers:


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## Bach42T (Nov 7, 2002)

g200sx said:


> ok almost a year later and i still haven't got them painted. i went to the same shop to get an estimate on painting the sideskirts, spoiler, and honeycomb grille. this time they said 125 not installed. i asked about getting the sideskirts and spoiler stripped and the guy said that you don't strip them you just paint over them. if you strip them he said you might damage the rubber (urethane im guessing is what he meant). can someone please tell me if this is true? Also does this price seem reasonable or is it a "you get what you pay for?" deal
> Another shop quoted me 650 uninstalled to strip them and paint them.
> 
> 
> One last question what would be needed to install the spoiler and sideskirts? (i know you need the clips for the sideskirts and i will probably need to extend the wires for the brake light.)


I recently had my new skirts painted. The paint was not a problem and came out excellent. Installing them can be a pain and to get a snug fit, the clips are a necessity. If you're confident with a compass or measuring tape and a drill then you should be fine installing them. If you drop them off to a shop that's never seen these kinds of skirts before, then it might take them a bit to figure out how they go on. The thing to remember is that these skirts weren't designed for our cars and the SE-R's were punched with a metal press and everything is exact. For us, we have to find a way to make it work to get our cars to have the right look and finish off the center section.


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