Off to be painted!

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Finally, after considerable planning and saving, I've sent the Miata off to the local body/ paint shop for a complete repaint. Stripped all the running lights except headlights, removed all trim, door panels, handles, frankenstein bolts, weatherstripping, mirrors and removed the top. Had talked with the owner of the shop and he agreed that the less he had to tape the better the final edge would be around lights, trim and the like. Bagged and tagged everything for re-install in several weeks and photographed component removal so that re-assembly would go as smooth as possible. The only thing missing is the replacement rear finish panel on order from mmmiata since August 10th. Seems its on back order from the manufacturer. Anyone have a decent one laying around that they're not using? I guess it's hurry-up and wait. It'll get here... eventually!

Maybe you should post on the wanted section, if you already havent.

Did you see this post above yours by Wireless Sales:
ebay rear finish panel
ebaymotors/90-97...d=p3911.c0.m14
what you guys think about this panel?

hope he gave you a better cost since you saved him a lot of prep  

Colin,
Congrats on having it done - great to have fresh paint on a nearly 20 year old car!!
Are you going for a single stage or a base/clear paint job?
Also, do you have time to remove the bumpers and fender liners? Should only take and hour or two and will make a world of difference on the final results.
Time to pick up some Krylon semi-flat black and paint the head light trim, cowl trim and wiper arms while they are off, maybe new door beltline trim too if they look weathered.

Putting the car back together will take at least one full day.  It did for me.  I had to soak, scrub, clean and treat every bit before putting it back on the car.  I never realized how faded the wipers or the black trim piece at the top of the doors looked.  New paint makes everything else look old!  I sanded and painted the wipers and opted to apply a coat of black Kiwi shoe polish to the black trim pieces before coating them in 3M protective gel.  I also painted the seat so they look black again.  I didn't take off my soft top though.  It was easier to wrap it in plastic to protect the top and the inside of the car!Can't wait to see your pics!

I got my rear panel off the bay for $150, the dealership said it came in the color I ordered for my car and they were close to $400 and that was several years ago when an oil truck bumped into it..I am getting it done this year back to original...Rog

The finish panel from MMMiata is a pretty good deal at $229, and it's supposed to be heavier than the original, which I had epoxied back together. It actually looked pretty good, but was quite brittle, and would have cracked again. I have all new weatherseals on hand that will be installed when the car comes back. New beltline molding will be installed, just about anything that can be replaced is going to be replaced. Upon removing the quot;Frankensteinquot; bolts I discovered that the chrome fitting that screws down on the forward stud has an o-ring in it. Also, the chrome trim that sits flush with the body has a gasket underneath it. If either the gasket or o-ring are damaged water can leak into the trunk. So, if you have water intrusion in your trunk area and can't track it down, that is a good area to check out. A word of caution.... both the screw and the chrome quot;nutquot; are secured with what appears to be Loc-tite 242 (blue) and can be difficult to remove.
        The paint job its self is basecoat-clearcoat, original color (SilverStone) and is being done by a small shop here in the Fort walton area. He's done several Miatas that look pretty good. Also gets business from the folks in Destin that can afford to go anywhere. As far as cost.... somewhere between $1200 to $1700.

Check with rSpeed and Moss for the rear panel - $30 less than mmm.


Originally Posted by Nice91
Check with rSpeed and Moss for the rear panel - $30 less than mmm.

Thanks for the tip. I'll check them out today.

Just checked with Moss and Rspeed for the rear finish panel... They're ordering from the same manufacturer as mmm.... all on back order. Also, you can add an average of $29 for special handling and packing for the finish panel because of size. I'm just gonna have to wait it out. However, thanks for the tip.

Might want to check craigslist as well.  If I find one, i might pick one up to have as a spare.
had finish panels in stock when I was there a few weeks ago. Most of them are already painted.
Not affiliated.