RE: Changing my appearance...........
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RE: Changing my appearance........... - 7/13/2007 7:36:34 AM
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HummerGuy
Posts: 6684
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I thought about that but I'm going to keep those. Basically, I'm going to put a coat of high-gloss paint on the bars, and TRY to put a layer of chrome on the plastic steps themselves. This way, the bars will hopefully be high gloss and reflective and since nobody really uses the steps, the chrome accents of the plastic steps should look nice with the chrome. The bars have absolutely no rust and are powder-coated, so that should make a nice base coat for the gloss black. The chrome is another story. I know they sell spray-paint chrome, but I hear it's very hard to work with, ie, if you don't spray it perfectly even, it will not look right. I'm going to apply a thin layer of silver paint as a base coat and then spray the chrome on it. Hopefully it won't look TOO bad. If it does, then just go with a flat-black for the steps, but I at least want to try.
For the rear tire cover, I'm going to put a coat of this on as a base coat:
http://www.duplicolor.com/products/effex.html
Then, I'm going to use this as a clear coat:
http://www.duplicolor.com/products/nitelites.html
I'm getting a custom-made Criss Angel decal made for that area, so in theory, the rear tire cover should illuminate at night when light hits it and make the Criss Angel logo appear as light is glowing around it. The decal will also have a "special" coating on it that should look awsome at night.
I already painted the exhaust, skid plate and rear axle with a semi-gloss black, so it looks dark under there when you see it. Everything from the front and rear of the truck looks blacked out which is what I was going for and it actually worked (to my surprise). I haven't painted the leaf springs yet but will probably do that tonight or tomorrow morning since I won't be driving the car at all until tomorrow night at the earliest.
As for the windows, I was going to put a layer of tint on them, but I have some other ideas I want to try.
My friend I work with has a new technique he has where he sandblasts a VERY small, almost microscopic layer of glass off of your windows and can create images from it. You'd have to see pictures of his work but it's awsome. Nobody as far as I know has ever done anything like it because I have never seen it, but the images are etched directly into the glass, so I'm probably going to have the HUMMER lettering etched into the front windshield right at the top. After some of this talk about the windshields cracking though, I may rethink it. The stuff this guy has done to his Vette is awsome. I'll get some pics and post it if you guys want to see, but it's definitely something no other Hummer has out there. He has it down to an art and is very good at it.
I already customized the hub caps but that was just to make them stand out a little more. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do with the off-road lights. As much as people don't seem to care for them, they make the truck unique, and they are VERY functional in the dark. Unfortunately I have only needed them a couple of times, but I was very grateful I had them. For those, I may either remove the bar completely, or paint it flat black and keep the lights chromed. I'm still trying to decide what I want to do with them.
I'm also thinking about painting the black roof rails/plastic a high-gloss black. I want to have a nice mix of gloss black, red and chrome. As far as the windows go, well I'm still toying around with some ideas for those.
The whole point is you dont have to spend alot of money to make something look unique and give it your own personal touch. I am a very visual person, where I can see
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RE: Changing my appearance........... - 7/13/2007 4:55:59 PM
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Northerner
Posts: 36
Joined: 4/8/2007
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HummerGuy thanks for the reply. I am in the market and just haven't brought myself to paying the bucks for a set of chrome nerfs.
Actually after reading your post and the others who have ditched the chrome, I am not sure which way I should go anymore..
Looking forward to your new look!
Mark
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RE: Changing my appearance........... - 7/14/2007 1:44:36 AM
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HummBob
Posts: 16117
Joined: 5/6/2006
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Northerner
HummerGuy thanks for the reply. I am in the market and just haven't brought myself to paying the bucks for a set of chrome nerfs.
Actually after reading your post and the others who have ditched the chrome, I am not sure which way I should go anymore..
Looking forward to your new look!
Mark
Uhm....CHROME!!! 
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2004 Black Hummer H2
2007 Black Escalade
 
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RE: Changing my appearance........... - 7/14/2007 10:07:22 AM
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HummerGuy
Posts: 6684
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shut up bob
I'm still going back and forth ; "To Chrome, or NOT to Chrome? That is the question.."
I'm still debating it to be honest. After having a change of heart about getting rid of the nerf bars, I actually started painting them gloss-black this morning. I got one done and hopefully I'll get the other done sometime today once the humidity goes down a bit. It turned out pretty good, but not as glossy as I wanted them to. I bought a can of REAL chrome paint to paint the plastic steps on the bars, but I saw something there I may do, which was RED Chrome. Apparently they have Red and Blue chrome paints as well as silver. I may paint the steps red chrome instead of silver but I'm not sure. I'm thinking about it.
What I might do is paint the front chrome grill the red chrome to match the body, but I'm not sure how that would look. I wish I could see what red chrome would look like on there but I can't.
I decided not to do the Criss Angel logo on the tire cover, but instead cleaned it up and put a coat of this glossy reflective silver topcoat that basically spakles silver/chrome when light hits it, but since it's a topcoat, it can be applied to pretty much anything. It takes hours for it to dry so it's hard to tell right now how the full effect of it will be, but hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to see it in the sun. I'll try to snap some pictures of it.
I'm probably going to apply a coat of high-gloss clear coat to the nerf bars after the steps are painted. It says on the can it takes 7 days for the paint to cure, so I'll wait until next weekend to apply that. Hopefully that will prevent the bars from chipping or fading with all the road dirt and grime. Again, I'm not sure how the red chrome will look on those so I'm not sure if i'm going with that or silver, but nobody has gloss black with chrome steps, so it should look different (I hope in a good way)
I'm still thinking about what to do with the windows and the light bar, but I'll figure it out. I MIGHT put a coat of this reflective silver leaf flake stuff on the three back windows, but I'm not sure. I did it on one of my other cars and it actually looked pretty cool at night. Everybody thought I was crazy until they saw it and it's a pretty unique look.
I do know that I'm going to buy one of those brakelight trailor hitch chrome steps they have. I AM going buy the third row of seats this winter. I wish I had the money to do it now, but I may just buy the plate and install it and get the seats one by one. My wife's family is full of short people so they would fit back there believe it or not It would be awsome to have a third row with 2 more seats, and that step can be used to get in and out. We all go out alot and we can rarely use the hummer because we don't have enough room. I never use the back for anything so it would nice to do. That will be the last part though, but I will get that step (Although I'm going to drill new holes so it can go further in and doesn't stick out far.
I have no idea why I'm keeping such a big diary of crap I'm doing here, but I guess it just helps me figure out what I'm looking for. Hopefully when it's all done, it will not look like any other H3 out there, but it won't look like I just bought 2454 eBay parts to throw on it either.
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RE: Changing my appearance........... - 7/14/2007 12:36:31 PM
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HummerGuy
Posts: 6684
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Here are some pics of what I've done so far:
 Attachment (3)
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RE: Changing my appearance........... - 7/14/2007 12:37:35 PM
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HummerGuy
Posts: 6684
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Here's another pic of the reflective metallic coating I put on the tire cover, but it's hard to see the affect in a picture:
Attachment (1)
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RE: Changing my appearance........... - 7/14/2007 1:27:24 PM
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HummBob
Posts: 16117
Joined: 5/6/2006
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WOW!!! Mike, looks pretty SWEET Actually!!!
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2004 Black Hummer H2
2007 Black Escalade
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RE: Changing my appearance........... - 7/14/2007 1:27:30 PM
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HummerGuy
Posts: 6684
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Funny you say that, because in my other paint post I said I'm going to do that next weekend once the 7-day cure period of the paint is over with. Thanks for the info though!
Do you think adding a glossy clear-coat will enhance the reflective properties? I'm going to clear-coat the bars once the chrome is on the steps so I can do it all in one shot.
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RE: Changing my appearance........... - 7/14/2007 2:21:56 PM
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blackstangs281
Posts: 6826
Joined: 11/13/2005
From: Pittsburgh PA
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Good job Mike!
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RE: Changing my appearance........... - 7/15/2007 6:53:07 AM
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HummerGuy
Posts: 6684
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Here are a few pics that are better that kinda show the effect a little better:
And, I painted the second side step nerf bar this morning. I think it turned out pretty good considering what I'm working with:
The other one has been drying for 24 hours and it seems it's smoother and a little more reflective. We'll see what happens whey they are cured for 7 days as recommended by the directions.
If anybody has a recomendation for a nice high-gloss clear coat, please let me know. Thanks!
p.s. the light bar is no more..........
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RE: Changing my appearance........... - 7/16/2007 10:22:11 AM
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HummerGuy
Posts: 6684
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Well, I was contemplating painting the plastic steps chrome, and realized, that isn't going to go very well with my whole blacked-out look. I keep thinking I can add some chrome body molding, pin striping, etc. but then it's going to look like it did before. I'm just going to leave the nerf bars black and put a nice glossy coat of clear coat on the entire bar(s).
The light bar is GONE. I'm going to use that power hookup for something else, but I took it off. I like it better that way.
Anyway, how many coats of clearcoat does one typically put on a body panel/part to make it somewhat chip/mark resistant? That's what the purpose of it is correct? Do I put just one, or two, and how long do I wait before I re-apply? I'd rather hear from personal experience then what the back of the can says.
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RE: Changing my appearance........... - 7/16/2007 10:38:08 AM
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Dennis
Posts: 7584
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Two to three coats would be adequate..Anymore will be over kill..
Clear Coat is "clear paint" - The primary purpose of painting a vehicle has always been to protect it from corrosion. The paint on a vehicle actually is a complex set of layers of different materials working together as a system to protect the body.
Today most all passenger vehicles sold in the United States are finished with a paint process called base coat/clear coat. This means the top layer of paint is without pigment. It is clear paint. It has to be taken care of in the very same manner as the old style " single step" enamel or lacquer paint systems.
The three paint systems:
 Conventional or single stage, which is multiple coatings of pigmented (colored) paint. The word "conventional" is used because all vehicles were painted this way before the 1980s.
Base coat/clear coat or two stage; which consists of a thin layer of pigmented paint over which a layer of clear paint is applied. Most modern vehicles are painted this way, although single stage is still used for some solid colors such as red, white, and black.
Tri-coat, pearl coat or three stage; which differs from the two stage system only in that there is a middle layer between the color and clear layers. This middle layer contains colored mica or metallic flakes. The combination of color, mica, and clear layers gives this paint system a pearlescent or iridescent effect. Treat this type of paint system like two-stage system.
The total thickness of the new clear coat paints i.e. undercoats, primers, etc. is just 4.5 mils.(one mil equals 1/1000th of and inch) about the thickness of a couple layers of cellophane on a pack of cigarettes!
Clear Coat is softer than paint.
Clear coat is free of pigment, and will often be softer (less damage resistant) than other paint systems. Therefore the waxes and cleaners are different than those made for enamel or lacquer paints.
Clear Coat is very thin.
Clear coat top coat is just two-thousandth (.002) of an inch thick. This coating will not tolerate a lot of repetitive removal of oxidation or other pollutants. The clear coat is placed on top of the base coat or color coat, a flat (non-shine) paint. Once the clear coat has deteriorated the surface will no longer shine, and it can not be restored except via a new clear coat application.
Clear Coat - Is not magic and does oxidize.
Clear paint will and does oxidize just as any other paint. It is somewhat more difficult to see the early effects and therefore most people only notice oxidation once the finish has dulled and they can feel the roughness of the oxidation build up on the surface.
Clear Coat - requires regular care to protect it.
Often people are told that clear coats do not need to be waxed or polished to protect them from the damaging effects of the environment. Clear coats will scratch, will oxidize, will spot due to "hard water" (sprinkler) or acid rain, will stain (tree sap or bird dropping) and it will dull. Regular maintenance of the clear coat is needed to protect it.
Clear Coat - Special Protection Systems
There exists no known single step application that will "seal" or "protect" or "enhance" or eliminate regular periodic care. We need to buff or polish and wax our vehicle's paint
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RE: Changing my appearance........... - 7/16/2007 12:34:06 PM
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HummerGuy
Posts: 6684
Status: offline
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Thanks Dennis. I'm going to pick some up this week and put a coat on this weekend. I won't put them back on until we come back from off-roading though. The MUD apparently dried up and fused with the black paint on my exhaust, but I can't get it off  I'll have to scrub it down.
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