Hello everyone,


My name is Rick, located in Virginia Beach, VA. I have been scrolling around on these forums for a little while now researching the 05 TL. I am taking delivery of an 05 next weekend, I purchased it from a friend whom a few years ago I bought my wifes TSX from. He keeps his cars immaculate and is well respected in the local community so it'll be nice to have such a well taken care of 05, him and I are on the same level of pickiness when it comes to having clean vehicles. This is a car I'm very much looking forward too as I've been mostly into subarus for the past few years and have built some fun cars, but with my age and beat up body its time for something comfortable. I would just like to thank all the knowledgeable people on this forum who have contributed their input and experiences with these cars. It is truly a great source of information.


I just plan on putting some wheels on it, tinting the windows and enjoying the ride.













I have been a firefighter and medic for the last 12 years and have also worked in the automotive body/collision/paint industry for that long as well. I have just in the last 7 months started my own small shop where I specialize in restorations and high quality paint work. I have a wealth of information and advice that I can contribute to the forum with so you will probably see me posting a lot in the Problems and Fixes forum when there is something that has to do with bodywork/paint/paint correction. Looking forward to being able to come onto this site if and when I have a problem that needs fixing. Thanks a lot.






here are just a few things I have done.

 

Very Nice! Welcome to Azine!

Appreciate any and all help you can provide with paint/bodywork info!



Is the TL your lookin at an MT or auto?

 

huge resto project.

 

It is an automatic sir, I have 2 very badly beat up knees which make it quite uncomfortable for me to sit in traffic and shift nowadays. The TL will be my daily so I chose to go with an auto, maybe one day ill have another fun little racecar to put in the garage and drive on the weekends which can be manual, but for now im sticking with the auto.

 

Nice rides/work man. Welcome to the forum. We all have an abundance of knowledge with Acura's. If there's anything you need im sure someone can help you out, but we expect the favor in return!

 

Can vouch heavily for Rick's knowledge and excellent work. Rick, this is Matt(check the s/n) from that VA based forum we're both on...

 

wow! very awesome craftsmanship in your work!!!!

I want a full color change, how much!?

 

nnnuunnnnnyyaaa hahaha. Thanks man, looking forward to getting the tl next weekend, just need to find me some wheels and then ill be done with it.









from past experience I can be certain that the powers that be will not allow me to post prices or what not since I am not a forum or site sponsor so ill refrain, Id like to be one day and ill need to get a cost breakdown cause I am looking at several different sites to become a vendor. Each job is different I'm sure you know, and I don't do low grade b.s work so while I'm not the most expensive in the country or anything, I'm certainly not the cheapest either. You can pm me if you are really interested and we can at least start the process of pricing the job.

 

Congratulations; the TL is a road warrior that rides smooth and has the power on demand.

Beautiful paint work; i'm impressed.

Welcome to the forums; i've found it to be a great source of information related to our rides and humor in the ramblings forum.

 

Same here. Just picked up this '03 Type S that's on Teins, going to roll all the corners and get wheels.



You into rolling fenders/quarters yet, or suggest anybody good in our area?

 

Welcome to the board, Rick! I love the white STi! Always love seeing someone who does body work on the side too. Makes it easier to accomplish the little things that shops charge an arm and a leg for.

I might be up in VA Beach this summer. Check out the regional forum to see if any meets are happening so you can meet some members in person.

 

Rick! Welcome!

Your paintwork is superb!

 

well have to coordinate, I am going to need to roll all 4 of mine as well as Im gonna go with an 18x8.75 +20 wheel and drop the car a little more. I am going to order a fender roller cause I need one for the shop anyway. Jarrod in our area is a real cool guy and does it on the side, does a good job as well but he shattered his ankle so hes out of commission for a little while from what I was told. Im gonna get ahold of him and see if I can borrow his roller if I don't order one in the next few days.









Thanks man, it broke my heart to sell those 3 subarus, but the white sti the most after all the work I put into it, but I sold it to buy the paint booth and all the other stuff that I needed to get the shop up and running. It was sad but was a smarter thing to do for my future and for the family. Unfortunately for my body, its not a part time gig, ha..I work at the shop at least 40 hours a week as well as working my fire/ems job which is 2 days a week ( a 24 hr and an 18 hr shift). Im looking to transition out of the department because well frankly, I hate EMS along with almost every other person who started out doing fire and then had to transition into ems as well. I am overly dedicated to my craft of body and paint and I am trying to set myself into the niche of custom high end jobs. I have spent years building my reputation as a quality work guy.I have had good luck so far, staying busy and getting some good exposure and working on some pretty expensive cars. That silver Porsche is worth upwards of 175k now that its all done so that was scary and cool at the same time. I see you are in Asheville, I pass by there at least 3 times a year, my in laws live in Hendersonville and I love that area in the fall, I was just down there twice in the last 2 months and had great weather. They have my favorite donut shop there as well ha.


Thanks guys on the compliments of my work, I try to put out a top end product but I bust my butt and get things done. I have learned a lot from other body shops about how NOT to run a business. I keep my work load to a minimum and actually use a schedule to keep on track.Im not greedy so I don't say yes yes yes to everyone and just take their deposit money and let their cars sit. I cant stand places that bring a car in, let it sit for 2 years and then finally get it back to the owner 4 years later, that just doesn't make sense to me and drives me crazy. I like to get it in, do it right, under promise and over deliver, make a new friend in a customer, get paid and move on to the next one.

 

Yep. I'm currently in Asheville. Such a beautiful city but I am almost certain I'm moving to Charlotte within the next two months but I'll still be relatively close. Be sure to shoot me a PM (or get my # from there) next time you come through and we will be sure to meet up for a quick meet and greet. Maybe I'll do some business with you if / when I come up to VA this summer. I could use a respray of the rear bumper as I have a WDP and it's a little off but the ASPEC kit covers half of it.

Again, welcome and keep those pics coming of work you do and the progress you make with the TL!

 

Congrats on your impending purchase, Rick. Welcome to AcuraZine.

 

wow welcome dude and u gotta hook me up in touching up my rear bumper lol....parallel parking sucks in the city

 

That subby looks sweet.

 

[QUOTE=MORE IMPATIENT;15013875] a buddy and myself need front end resprayed. Maybe we can work something out.

 

took delivery yesterday morning, very happy. Such a ridiculous upgrade from the 91 civic ive been driving every day for the last 2 years. I will probably keep it though for the daily commute to the shop, drive the tl once or twice during the week but the gas mileage in the civic is just insanely good.









[QUOTE=Eastwick;15016215]
just shoot me a message and we can talk.

 

Congrats on the purchase, Rick. Welcome to the site! Great work with the other cars. Hoping to get a garage in the next couple years where I can start getting some work in myself. Cheers!

 

Congrats on the TL. Looks clean. Welcome to AZ! Some nice talent with the body work. I used to live in Norfolk myself. Like the VA beach area better. We used to have a pretty active group in your area. Not sure what they are doing these days.