Grim.

Hey everyone the name is Grim, I have been a motorcycle enthusiast for a pretty long time up until a very very close call a few weeks ago, and with a 3 YO daughter i decided it was time to hang up the helmets for awhile and get a 4wheeled toy.

I found myself picking up a 2004 Acura TL I have never had an Acura or a Honda for that matter, ive always had Ford and Jeep, I must say i love this car. I got the Manual front wheel drive and love every minute of driving, plus the kid gets to go with me when we go goof around so thats always good too.

I look forward to learning about these cars as i do all my maint, i came to find out this car does not have a trans fluid dip stick and it was fun as hell trying to find something that does not exist lol.

Luketic

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/transmission-fluid-dipstick-location-758007/

Grim.

:lol: Yup that is how i discovered this forum and that there is not dip stick.

Go go gadget Google

Grim.

So a little background, I like to customize any and every vehicle I own. Ive painted bikes, cars all kinds of stuff.

I love the color of the TL with the dark Charcoal Grey but it needs just a little more pep. I will be updating this thread with before during and after all my dip jobs.

If anyone has questions on how to dip, prep, anything feel free to ask I used to paint airplanes and cars and i have a few years under my belt on painting. This plasti dip is literally a beginners dream and experienced painters wet dream, its easy, forgiving and you can do some cool stuff with it.

Enjoy!!

Started with the Grill and hood trim, got the black done and will be doing some more tonight with the emblem and the internal grill slots.

This portion took me 30 minutes to do and cost me $4.00 for the can of black.

before:


Prep:


During:


After:

Nick216

Blacked out headlights next?

Grim.

The thought crossed my mind, I might do a tint but i don't think i will go with a full black out.

Nick216

Paint the inside chrome pieces black. Like the type s ones.

LoveMyTL-S

Welcome to AZ! Check out the 3G garage for tons of info on how to maintain your new to you TL. Also, register her at www.myacura.com. Save her radio and navi codes there for safe keeping.

GKinColo08TL

Welcome to AZ neighbor!

GKinColo08TL

Nice job...dipping the TL grill is pretty common, everyone does it a little differently though..

GRAF-FITI

ohai

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Welcome Grim-enjoy your new ride. Your two threads are now merged together. Since you are talking about the same car, we just need one thread.


Cheers!

klene259

Welcome, great find!

Grim.

Thanks, that's not the final outcome, I actually just finished it, going to bed now but I'll post up the final dip job when I'm at the office.

Stephen Jackson

i def. need to do that on my cl…welcome to the team! one thing you could do as far as maintenance, is clean out the egr ports. after a while, they get clogged, and eventually you will get a surging idle. that's the first thing i did when i got mine. good luck with the new wheels!

Grim.

Success!!! Spent about another 30MIn on this, ironically I was not planning on doing this last night but my Passenger side front turn signal was acting up, the light would not stay on when the running lights were on but it would blink when the turn signal was on so i pulled it out and found the plug had a bunch of crap in it, cleaned it out tested it and figured what the hell I am already in the garage might as well do this.

MarcoNorthPolo

Welcome. Are you going to do the lower grills red as well?

GKinColo08TL

That is definitely different...like I said, everyone has different tastes and dips their grill to that taste...

Grim.

Yup I wanted to do them this weekend but the temps here in CO dropped and I can't get my garage warm enjoying to paint properly.

GRAF-FITI

the colored grille thing is not for me- but you did a good job on it

Scottwax

Properly claying and polishing the paint would help, makes a huge difference in how the paint looks. Set off the grill even more.

Grim.

Rims rims rims..now finished had to do one at a time, keep the heater right on the rims, and run the can under hot water in between coats to keep the paint from getting cold and clumping as it sprayed causing a nasty texture on the rims.

Before:


After

Grim.

Thanks, yea I know it won't be everyone's cup of tea and that's cool I like the customization part of it I plan to paint the whole car and once it's done the black and red will look a lot more uniform and match.

bluetl04

iTrader: (4)

Welcome, car looks great so far. My girl has the same colored TL. Keep up the great work....

Nick216

peel the dip off the lug nuts and get some center caps. needs contrast

Grim.

I'm leaving the lugs black but the caps are drying they got painted a different color.

Nick216

If you ever need to remove a wheel, its gonna suck.

Grim.

Not sure how many wheels you've dipped but this isn't my first rodeo, the wheels cone right off and the dip does not interfere with the lugs in any way.

GKinColo08TL

Nice job dipping the wheels, I agree with Nick...peel the lugs back to chrome, that contrast would look good. That being said it is your car and either way the wheels look good. And yeah man it was really cold the last couple days.

Grim.

Thanks, unfortunately the lugs are not exactly chrome any longer underneath the dip besides you know as well as i do this is the worst time of year for anything chrome when they lay down the mag chloride.

GKinColo08TL

True that. Protecting them with dip is a good idea. Hey I see you have the Acura caliper covers, were they on the car when you got it? If not, where'd you get them. There's a guy on here claiming to sell them but has been out of stock forever and I'd really like to get a set.

Grim.

I was plenty pissed of when i woke up this morning to see snow too when i kept the car off the roads and in the garage all weekend to keep it clean!! lol

GKinColo08TL

Yeah, I bet. No snow down here, just fog this AM. Fortunately I have another vehicle that I drive when it snows or the roads are crappy. What about those caliper covers?

Grim.

They are a little seasoned, I was thinking of hitting em with some red, would def look good with the back and match the grill.

GKinColo08TL

I agree...not bright red though, red to match your grill.

Grim.

Yeeeeaaaa buddy, anything that will be red will be the same red as the front.

dklein05

the red looks tough on the grille. i would try to match that else where on the car though. (calipers, back emblems, and/or wheels but thats a stretch)

Grim.

I've got a little,something something in store.

Grim.

Just noticed your caliper question cover, they were on the car when I got it, the rear doesn't have them though only the front so if you find em let me know!

Grim.

Never mind, mine doesn't have covers they are Brembo brakes.