ok since we're talkin about cheap and fun upgrades, please tell me the process of getting off the stock grill and putting the mesh in...im talking the bumper and grill. cause the black s**t seems hard to get out clean. thx guyz
Cheap Things to do to your 96-00 Civic
- Thread starter tye
- Start date
Goof off works good but you have to make sure you get it off the paint fast and clean it all off. The best way I found to get a molding off is using a fiber stick peel it off ( and you can usually save the emblems) and then roll the rest of the tape off with your finger by pushing it with the tip of your finger. If there is still some left use some cleaner and then compound the area real good.
Another cheap thing you can do is if you take the Civic and EX or DX or whatever emblems off the back of your car, you can mount the Civic emblem on your grille (looks good on SI grilles) very easily by plastic welding little studs on the back of the emblem and making a backing behind the grille and using speed nuts to hold it down. kind of complicated but it looks damn good.
Another cheap thing you can do is if you take the Civic and EX or DX or whatever emblems off the back of your car, you can mount the Civic emblem on your grille (looks good on SI grilles) very easily by plastic welding little studs on the back of the emblem and making a backing behind the grille and using speed nuts to hold it down. kind of complicated but it looks damn good.
The black stuff in the grille if you want to remove it you will have to cut it out with an air saw or saw blade really carefully, then just eurothane the grille in from behind the bumper/grille so that you cant see. Alot of people use grille for there cars that is actually tiling grit. You can pick it up at a tile store for like $3.99 for a sheet as long as your car. It is the same grille that APC uses for there grilles and they charge almost $30 for a small piece. Here is a close up of it in a bumper that I installed it on....
im sry whats DIY?
haha stage 1 intake.....remove airbox and snorkel, slap on cone filter on ur manifold. haha doesnt hurt it, might not get the best air in the world, but will be alot louder.
Do It Yourself = DIYFartCanMan said:
Removing Emblems, stickers, and sticky trimFartCanMan said:
Hair dryer (cheapy heat gun alternative) and some kind of mild adhesive remover. I used Goo-Gone. Heat up the emblem and peel it off with your fingers. Put Goo-Gone on a cotton cloth and rub to remove adhesive. The heat can sometimes help remove the adhesive. You should not need any compound. I would recommend following up with a quick polish of the area and then some wax for protection.
This also works on removing the rubber wheel well trim and the door guard trim too.
Exterior
Wash, clay bar, polish and wax. This should get your paint mostly looking like new (giving that it's in average condition). I've posted more detailed instuctions on the site, look around and you'll see them. Look for a thread asking about glazing techniques, I'm a few posts down in there. Spray wheel cleaner on before you even wet the car (the acidic cleaner works better and harder dry) and use a nice tire shine (Meguiar's High Endurance, it's the stuff that smells like grapes, helps to keep your tires from even turning brown). You shouldn't need a heavy coat of tire shine. Too much and it might spit. Any black trim can be made to look new by applying a thin coat of Meguiar's NXT Tech Protectant with a cloth. (That's why Eran's looks new in some of his pics!)
Interior
Steam clean the interior. If you ever spill soda in your car clean it with a wash cloth and some kind of oxy-cleaner. Oxy-cleaners remove a lot of natural stains and it's a good idea to keep some around the house in case.
Glass Spots
Very fine steel wool can remove water spots from glass. DO NOT USE ON THE INSIDE OF THE REAR GLASS! It will remove or damage the defroster lines. Also do not use on tint (the tint's on the inside of the glass in case you need to know) or on stickers. Generally you should only need to remove water spots from the outside but I'm sure there are some cars that oddly enough have them on the inside.
Leaky Hatch/Trunk
Leaking trunks or hatches: Remove the taillights and clean the seals VERY well (dirt may accumulate in there). Also clean off the inside of where the lights mount. This will tighen the seal. If there is still a leak and you don't mind doing so, line the seal with silicone. Remember this might make removal of the taillight and seal difficult later! Also, in the bottom of the hatches there is a small piece of cardboard covering a drain hole. Remove that if you wish.
If you have a car with a moonroof, peel away the carpetting on the side (or remove the speakers and panels underneath in the hatch). There is a drain that shoudl be on either side of the rear coming from your moonroof. Make sure the pipe from the top is plugged into the piece on the bottom. If not reconnect it.
It is rare for the trunk/hatch seal to go bad, and even rarer for there to be cracks or holes in the actual car. Keep all your seals clean though and they will work much better. (I'm not kidding when I say a clean car performs better!)
New Looking Taillights
Taillights looking a bit dull? Almost any Civic can at least benefit from this a little bit. All it does is make things a little newer looking and maybe help hide a few scratches. Using a detial cloth again (I prefer microfiber for product application and removal), rub a metal polish in circles over your lights. Use enough pressure to remove the haze. Remove with a clean cloth or clean section of cloth.
I prefer to use Mothers metal polishes: Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish shodul work fine. 3M also has a plastic polish that works very well.New Looking Exhaust
Exhast not quite looking as nice as it once did? This is particularly for aftermarket exhaust systems. The last time I did this the axel back was off the car, but you'll probably need to get under the car. I know my small hands might serve me better here than it might work for many of you. Get under the car and polish your exhaust up. The Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish is fine for a normal cleaning. If you want it to look better than when it was new, Mothers Billet Polish is for you. Its' not cheap! (Like $15 for a little tub smaller than the M&A polish), but damn if it's not a perfect product.
oh snap here we go!
Ebay intake with K&N 2.5"
Grab some Metal tape and some copper gasket crap and seal all exhaust leaks!
Get some 0/1 gage wire from an audio shop and get some gold terminals. And replace all ground wires
Sand down all stock grounding spots for a better contact.
Make a trip to jo-ann fabrics and buy some nice cloth or leather and wrap some of the easy interior pieces in your car
On chrome trimed cars, buy some electrical tape and cover that ugly chrome.
Coat intake with ceramic paint. Then wrap with aluminum heat foil buble wrap from homedepot.
Grab a large duct pipe and rout it from the bottom of your intake side bumper- to your intake to bring in cold air at high speeds.
Make trips to junkyards for nice things
Remove A/C power steering and C/C and all other useless s**t from the ve-hicle
sometimes getting those bolt on window visors make 4drs look nicer
adjust valve lash
Maintain car like your maintaining your soul
Beg your car to look nicer?
Strip all interior and paint with bedliner to provide that nice empty look.
Get some great stuff and spray foam in door panels to deaden sound and stop gay rattles
Somehow weld on the front bumper support beam to the chassis for some xtreme handing.
remove some more weight
I removed the undermesh from my hood for better cooling and weight reduction.
Wrap your header with heat wrap to keep exhaust velocity high
Insulate your whole exhaust so it gets real hot and keeps exhaust velocity high.
index plugs
remove emblems and other garbage off the ve-hicle
install fuel cut off switch
Route a 2 gauge wire from your +batter terminal to your fuel pump, (with a cut off switch) and a 4 gauge ground wire to the shortest ground spot possible. more fuel delivery and more efficient pump.
im running out of s**t, i must run outside and see what else
Ebay intake with K&N 2.5"
Grab some Metal tape and some copper gasket crap and seal all exhaust leaks!
Get some 0/1 gage wire from an audio shop and get some gold terminals. And replace all ground wires
Sand down all stock grounding spots for a better contact.
Make a trip to jo-ann fabrics and buy some nice cloth or leather and wrap some of the easy interior pieces in your car
On chrome trimed cars, buy some electrical tape and cover that ugly chrome.
Coat intake with ceramic paint. Then wrap with aluminum heat foil buble wrap from homedepot.
Grab a large duct pipe and rout it from the bottom of your intake side bumper- to your intake to bring in cold air at high speeds.
Make trips to junkyards for nice things
Remove A/C power steering and C/C and all other useless s**t from the ve-hicle
sometimes getting those bolt on window visors make 4drs look nicer
adjust valve lash
Maintain car like your maintaining your soul
Beg your car to look nicer?
Strip all interior and paint with bedliner to provide that nice empty look.
Get some great stuff and spray foam in door panels to deaden sound and stop gay rattles
Somehow weld on the front bumper support beam to the chassis for some xtreme handing.
remove some more weight
I removed the undermesh from my hood for better cooling and weight reduction.
Wrap your header with heat wrap to keep exhaust velocity high
Insulate your whole exhaust so it gets real hot and keeps exhaust velocity high.
index plugs
remove emblems and other garbage off the ve-hicle
install fuel cut off switch
Route a 2 gauge wire from your +batter terminal to your fuel pump, (with a cut off switch) and a 4 gauge ground wire to the shortest ground spot possible. more fuel delivery and more efficient pump.
im running out of s**t, i must run outside and see what else
back to mounting the mesh.... when i cut out the stock grille...how do i cover it? eurathane? and id mount the mesh towards the back ...idk i feel like the cutting out of stock grille would look crappy
http://www.clubcivic.com/board/showthread.php?t=57767FartCanMan said:
^^^
A perfect DIY for you. Follow it, read it carefully, and do it slowly, and it will turn out fine.Eurothane or silicon. Make sure it dries.