Bean's New Dip {PROJECT ZR2}

[beandip]

As much time/masking i put into this, i might as well have used a gun oh well. guess im here to prove that all rattle can isnt bad, its all in the prep work. it isnt as durable over the long term vs real paint....but i bet it would be if you wax it and take care of it.


so, tired, woke up at 8 am after going to bed last night at 2 am. opened the garage.




metallic sucks of course with the central spray pattern of the rustolium i had to make sure i did not get any stripes while painting. the passenger flare shows little of this... though last night i was painting with a led shop light for extra visibility.




scuff on tire- caught a pothole in this parking area, it was as wide as the truck! apparently i was a tad too far right..yes it was THAT deep.


that stupid tape! as soon as i felt it, i knew it would leave some glue behind and i was right! even though the package says it doesnt. which it doesnt, unless you try and slide the tape on the surface, then the glue separates from the backing....so still gotta get that off, i used a pick to get rid of any tape parts that ripped off from in between the flare gasket.

the white spots you see between the flare and gasket is tape glue, i wiped most of it off on the gasket, but it rolled like boogers into the corner. once the paint safely cures the truck will get a good wash.


overall, it is a HUGE improvement over the faded flares. the color is a tad darker with a heavier flake than stock, but still compliments the stock color.


so with the stock grille shell faded, should i do the same night black metallic? or should i color match to indigo blue?

[deeznutz]

Looks good! I'd color match the grille to the truck, but that may just be me.

[greatdane68]

Too many people have done that. That's why I'm keeping my Grey.

[deathphoenix99]

I repainted my s10's grille black, looked 100 times better afterwards.

[sas10]

flares look great! i say the grill should match the flares.

[-YumYum97s10-]

color match to the truck, would look sharp.

[Wicked Mayhem]

Grill should match the body color.

Maybe I missed it, but why didnt you remove the flares to paint them?

[tytotheler92]

+4 color matched grille! Its the way they all should have come.

though, on a ZR2, maybe the flares should match.

[ocblaze1]

The flares look awesome! I have been wanting to do this to my grille for awhile now and have yet to see a good spray bomb job until now. What exact clear and paint did you use for your grille? I need to do my roof rack, grille, and wiper arms at the same time. Do you think the same process would work for all of them?

[beandip]

^ I hope you meant flares, because my grille looks like poo and is faded.

Process wise I don't see why it wouldn't work for those parts. Clear I used duplicolor. Just make sure you do 2 light coats and 1 heavy.

[CleanFreak]

i say match the flares. Did it to a buddies Tacoma and it looked sharp

[beandip]

The only thing that is keeping me from color matching the grille is how close duplicolor paint can match to it. I don't want it to be way off. I can get the actual paint and spray it from a gun, but again I'm not sure how close the match will be. Suppose I will buy a can and give it a test on a piece of plastic.

Quote: Originally Posted by Wicked Mayhem

Grill should match the body color.

Maybe I missed it, but why didnt you remove the flares to paint them?

Missed your post, but the way the bolts stick in the inner fender, they collect dust/dirt and then rust. Even a southern truck.

Generally if you attempt to remove the 10mm bolts holding the flares on you just end up snapping the studs that hold the flare to the body. Though from what I've seen it looks like its very possible to grind off, and weld new studs on.

I tested a bolt out and felt like I was going to snap it if I kept trying to turn it. So I didn't want to risk it. Especially how expensive the flares are. Removing the flares would have been ideal, but the end result the same. Just would have saved time from masking everything, which it would probably take longer to to get the flares off than to just mask it. The front flares require you to basically reach your hand inside the inner fender, so removal of the battery would probably be needed, and the windshield washer for the driver side.

Took me 45 minutes to mask the truck off.

[nigglewiggle60]

I used the dupicolor from gm back in the day for that indoglo blue color. It was really close to looking the same. I just sprayed the whole air dam of my xtreme though so it wouldn't have any weird lines. I did it after I fixed the normal air dam crack in the middle with fiber glass.

[deathphoenix99]

Paint the grille black, leave the chrome.....or match the grille to the flares......color matched grilles look horrible.

[motobruce]

Very nice!

[sas10]

bump, because bean dips back burner truck thread some how made to the top. lol

[beandip]

*facepalm* my bad, keep forgetting to update

and hey! project backburner! well...no.

last week i had to do some work....a/c finally died, but i stopped using it before it grenaded. it did however spray oil on the firewall
i did clean the compressor when i bought the truck...but yup, its leaking.


goodies.


orifice tube...only a few shavings, not bad really. other side is clean.


pulling vac.


got creative holding it at 1500 RPM. *forever alone*


a/c




also just got back from some mild wheeling. damn this grass...its TALL around the lake. couldnt get any good pics.
tuckin' 31s


scary...




other than that the flare paint has been holding up great so far. i dont see any rock chips on the flares, but i'm sure they will appear eventually.

[BlazerZR5]

Interesting way to charge your A/C,lol..I'm spoiled and,got an A/C machine at work

[beandip]

well **** YOU!!! lol. i figured that is how you would do it? yeah would be nice to have a recovery machine.....other than that. whats different?

[BlazerZR5]

Everything,lol. First off gauges are completely useless on veritable output systems like your 4banger compressors,except for diagnosing but,thats only after the correct charge is put in the system. My trucks have the exact factory charge too everything is measured.also the vehicle is off when I charge it.....I'm not going to try to turn this into a A/C class,lol

You did good for what equipment you had at your disposal

I'm spoiled,lol. There are things I just won't do at home because I hate working on my back.the minute I get a truck running and drivable I take it to work to fine tune it and,go over stuff on a lift.

Every job should have some perks I'm sure I can go in your refrigerator and find bottles of Coke.not saying you took them,saying you get employee discounts,unsellable product that would normally be discarded....

My perks are lift/equipment usage(by the book tho!),friends with vendors(deals&free parts),Goodyear tires for awesome prices....

[beandip]

haha gotcha. and minus the coke product, we dont get shit discounted....

anyways, yeah i dont have a fancy digital machine to measure, and cool how you can fill it with the truck off.

i know how many variables there is regarding a/c system and their high/low pressure. but i do have a PDF document showing what the high/low pressure reading should show @ specified temps/humidity, as well as the output temp at the vent. so i dont think the gauges are as useless as you might think. then again there might be more to it than it seems. i do know however the 10 vehicles we did an a/c overhaul last year still work, so i must be doing something right lol.

as far as correct charge, i used a scale to add the last 2 oz in the system from the 3rd can lol.

but feel free to PM me further on this discussion. sounds like you "pros" have it easy with that fancy a/c equipment . i never really looked into how the pro's do it, but i have a good idea what your equipment consists of.

[prupnurp]

Damn I love your truck...I want those rims for my blazer2 so bad!

[beandip]

get them! they are pretty cheap at $95 each with center caps....


still indecisive on grille shell color...probably do night black metallic like the flares, but polish it to a shine maybe?

thing is the bumper needs to be repainted....and i think it would look odd with the flares, grille, and bumper the same color?

from what i can see, its black metallic on both front and rear bumpers.

[01BlueZQ8]

I thought the bumpers and flares on a ZR2 were that metallic black from the factory?

Nice truck beandip

[00bravadaplatinum]

great project, nice to see your enjoying it rather then letting it go to waste.

[beandip]

waste? like never off-road it? me???


and

scored some bumpstops from the salvage yard. went up to the counter, asked how much for the bumpstops and the ext cab window clip...things. he said merry Christmas


"new" left, stock right.



Scored these babies for $50. when he said $25 for the fan i said two please! 92 sable and 94 taurus.


using the high speed on the taurus fan. which draws some serious amps.... excuse my buddies messy shop, in the middle of a project so you know how that is its crazy how it spikes that much, but assuming the gauge is right, it settles to ~20 amps on high.

Taurus electric fan current draw - YouTube

Taurus electric fan current draw - YouTube

moar pics later. I'll let this exciting update sink in first.

[TokoDragon]

Looking good! But that's why I hate coming to this thread, It makes my indigo zr2 look even more beat up.


But, I'd match the grille to the flares.

My plan is to paint my flares black, and that's what color my grille will be too, then color-match the front bowtie emblem indigo to tie it in to the truck.

Make sure you also paint the chrome headlight trim.

I want color-matched bumpers, to much black will start to look like a two-tone job not an 'accenting' color.


From what I've seen, the duplicolor indigo is close to the right shade, but the metallic flake doesn't match very well. With a black grille there will be a lot of space between the original and duplicolor indigo to hide the differences.

[Onimun]

How many miles do you have on the trick now
Jon?

Looks good.

[beandip]

damn, i have like 146,3xx on the truck now. **** my job


still on the fence on what color to paint the grille. i guess it all depends on how good duplicolor matches the paint.....

anyways.
got one one of these...same one as i used on the noma. adjustable.


the plan is to use the high speed on the Taurus fan...but since it draws serious amps i had to beef up the wiring for safe measures.
8 gauge to 10. no fuse but the run is VERY short and a direct shot to the battery. shorter than the OEM battery + cable to the fuse under the battery tray.


trigger wire for the relays.


this part took some time to make, mostly planning. the relays are tied to work together, and share the load of the fan running.


somewhat cleaned it up.


water proof relays with dielectric grease in all the spades. all soldered and heat shrink of course....**** crimps.


installed.


mounted relays. i super glued the machine screw nuts on the backside, then now i dont have to cut the fan zip ties to hold the bolt on the backside if i want to remove the relays though not sure how superglue will hold (put a shit ton on) with heat and vibration. did clean the surface real good so it should hold. the screws are just snug and currently the idea works. worst case, when i go remove the relays the nut on the backside breaks free and spins.


now i wanted to make this efan setup serviceable. on my 2.2 noma i HATE how i made the harness too good....if i want to remove the fan i have to cut then re-solder. basically the harness is "tied" in too well and its a pain if it requires you to remove stuff.

the zr2 i wanted to make it where i can have a flexible relay system. so now, i can pop the hood, and simply switch between high, and low speed settings. (summer and winter). currently the high speed works both a/c and regular cooling, but if i want to i can switch speeds around very easily. for the fan controller i "tapped" into the fuse box...yeah i know not the "right" thing to do, but i will be damned if i am going to cut into the stock wiring and solder in a $35 controller...maybe if it were OEM but not an aftermarket. i used the 30 amp AUX stud in the fuse box, then just tied the ignition, and a/c trigger in. but they are tied in on the fused side of the fuse (as the other side is constant run to battery)

so now the fan controller just runs and triggers the relay harness i built, so no "real" load or strain on it. if all else fails i have a small jumper wire to essentially hardwire the fans to the battery to make it out of a trail or whatever.

[layinbody31]

I just finally got my Taurus fan all hooked up and working this weekend. I'm using the Flex A Lite controller and it starts the fans out at 60% to avoid such a high amperage spike on startup. Although when it kicked on to 100% (when the 60% was failing to cool the truck) I did fry the supplied 30A fuse and had to throw in a 40A. It was a little screwy after that but I dialed down the temp setting and it's worked fine ever since! Nice fan setup for sure, and fits nearly perfect on my Corvette radiator


Post a vid of yours running if you get some time

[beandip]

Anything specific while running? And I would worry about the high current spike. Not sure how that controller does it, If it's by voltage or pulsed signals.

I need the AD244 alt. damn fan draws some current.

[layinbody31]

Yeah I've been wanting to do the AD244 for a while now too.

Nah, nothing specific on running, just cool to see it workin. Does the controller you have start it up the instant it gets an ignition signal? The Flex A Lite one has a 6 second delay built in so it's not drawing current while the starter is running

[98lowerednewproje]

I thought my 2000 camaro fans were a little close to the front of the accessory stuff, but that fan looks to be even closer.

[beandip]

^ meh, it has about 1.5" or so of clearance. i could have offset the fan to the driver's side and would have gave me more clearance, but then it would look weird. now its just centered in the radiator. the Taurus fan definitely fits the 2.2 radiator like a glove though...4.3, not so much. but still kicks ass. i was considering doing camaro fans....

Quote: Originally Posted by TokoDragon

Looking good! But that's why I hate coming to this thread, It makes my indigo zr2 look even more beat up.

maybe you should wash and wax it just this one time ?

Quote: Originally Posted by layinbody31

Yeah I've been wanting to do the AD244 for a while now too.

Nah, nothing specific on running, just cool to see it workin. Does the controller you have start it up the instant it gets an ignition signal? The Flex A Lite one has a 6 second delay built in so it's not drawing current while the starter is running

the controller starts up on anytime the ignition is on. so essentially it will work if i am starting the truck, if i like it or not lol. but generally the only time the fan runs when starting the truck is when its really hot out and i just turn the truck off, then back on after 10 minutes or so. not a big deal though.

[98lowerednewproje]

I only have about 2", but the dual motors makes getting your hand in there possible. The Taurus fan looks good, the harness looks great too.

[BlazerZR5]

Man,you are insane with your trucks!! I can't put that much time into one vehicle I have a short attention span,lol.your detail is off the chart! I found a place around here that makes anything from plastic.theyll work with design and everything.I thought about having them make a shroud that fits our trucks like factory but accepts the Taurus motor&fan. It would make it look stock.the bad thing is they'd have to make around 20 of them to make it worth while

[beandip]

^ OOOOOooo that would be sweet! I'm sure a group buy is possible... i'd want one for sure depends on the pricing though.

and nah, i dont spend enough time on the Z. i dont even detail the engine bay. outside though yeah i like to keep clean...lately its been mall crawler clean.

sucks its so hot here, or else i would go mudding. but the mud holes take only a day before they dry up with all this heat

[BlazerZR5]

They would be affordable,basically I go up there with both shrouds they scan them or whatever and make a hybrid.sure we could find a few members that would want one but,honestly I wouldn't wanna go through talking to 10 members through back and forth PM's just to have one serious member,lol.if you where closer or how much is shipping?(like im the effing post office?)only to never hear back.That's the #1 reason I don't list anything on the classifieds on here anymore.

[TokoDragon]

haha, it rains whenever I wax it, but I did get it waxed twice this summer- the most it's ever been done. I was able to buff out a lot of the latest sagebrush damage but it's still really scratched up. - but I think your's has worse dents

I also think you could use clear corners.

[beandip]

ok, small update, but e-fan setup has been working pretty good keeping the truck cool.

i got tired of feeling like i was sitting in a hole....so i fixed my driver's side seat. the lumbar broke in 3 spots. and the cross bar at the bottom fell off.


welded it up and re-welded the one that wasnt broken.


seat was missing a bolt... NO idea how this happens. but would explain the spongy/springy feeling when leaning back. so found a spare GM bolt that fits and that is good to go. feels like a new seat and the lumbar works!


posted this outside the project thread and forgot to update it again. i got tired of looking at ALL THESE ****ING ROCK CHIPS!!


shadow casted to find a straight line.


plasti-dip does not float in the air like i thought. so no plastic was needed. any overspray just wipes off!










also got it almost high centered today climbing a big dirt hill. oh and i gotta redo the spot where the driver's door and the 3rd door meet. but at least i can easily back tape against the body line i already have, so that will cut down respray time greatly.


poor 3M undercoating didnt stand a chance . oh well, a quick touch up spray is all thats needed.

[sas10]

im still iffy about bed linering on the bottom. buuuuuuuuuuuut if you do when you mask it off on the body line, use the body like below the one you used. that way the edge that has the tape line peeled away wont be sticking out for every one to look down on. but that some what rough edge wont be as noticeable when its in that "valley" of a body line. hope that makes sense lol

[beandip]

i get what you are saying, i used the "underside" of that body line. so you dont see the edge at all since it angles up, and out, and you cant see the edge unless you are eye level.

but even so, plasti-dip seems to be a good alternative.....bedline yeah, i want to...but dont want to....so why not plasti-dip?

[sas10]

the bed liner is a big step. no turning back lol. idk much about plasti-dip if its working then that's all that matters.

[beandip]

Big step indeed, but mostly my concern is not if I should bedline or not. But wether or not I like the blue/matte black 2 tone.

Rock chips are going to happen, it comes with having a lifted truck and aggressive tires. I just don't want it to look like complete shit lol.

[BlazerZR5]

^not if it's a pavement princess

[CleanFreak]

I use plasti dip all the time. had it on my wheels for somewhere around 2-3 months and it will still peel off. Being rubber it gets dirty easily, but stays much cleaner over bead liner and is MUCH easier to clean! since i know you like to keep your truck clean haha

[TokoDragon]

the plasti-dip thread said you can paint over the plasti-dip. Maybe you could put some cheap dupli-color indigo over it and see how you like it? it'll still be peelable/reversible.

I've seen an indigo Zr2 with truck liner paint matched along the bottom. The glossy/matte and smooth/textured finishes still made it look like a two tone truck.

here is a picture of that ZR2:


I have chassis saver on my flares right now, I started sanding them down, I'm going to try and get shopline glossy black and just do my flares, tailgate, and grille with it.

[90blueS10]

ifs is so ugly.

[sas10]

yes, that big pile of crap under that zr2 kills it.

[mattmac2007]

I'm sure it rides much better than a sfa though lol.