DIY: Custom Fitting of C-One Side Skirts

[TinyGiant]

I traded for a pair of c-one skirts yesterday and decided to tackle them today :)

I did some brainstorming yesterday on how i wanted to attack it.

The skirts were made for the 5D yaris so they needed to be cut to fit. the previous owner started the cutting by doing the drivers side. and he did a really good job. I did the other side yesterday and found that i trimmed a little more off than i needed to. but it helped with the process i wanted to try:

First off I taped the car with blue masking tape.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG_5246.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG_5247.jpg

Next I put the skirt in place and taped it down to the door jam and clamped the rear to the wheel well.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG_5248.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG_5249.jpg

Here is what i brainstormed the night before. using Great Stuff expanding foam to get the perfect fit to the car. basically I wanted it to provide support for a thin layer of bondo that would be a perfect fit to the car.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG_5250.jpg

use the Foam
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG_5251.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG_5252.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG_5253.jpg

The can said to wait 1 hour for drying and expanding.... So i waited like 70 min.

next i cut the excess foam off. I made sure to lightly pull the foam back a little and slowly and lightly cut the foam to make sure not to hit the car at all and scratch it
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG_5254.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG_5255.jpg

What resulted was pretty good. I had a fairly good idea of what i needed to make it a perfect fit.

Removing the dried skirts wasnt easy. I unclamped the skirt and slowly pulled the tape back to give me enough room between the skirt and the car to get a knife in there to cut the tape. in retro spec i would say tape wax paper to the car. i would think it would pull right off.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG_5256.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG_5257.jpg

(forgot to take pics beyond this point)

Next i brought the skirts in the house and put a thin coat of bondo on the top of the foam to get a nice smooth paintable surface to work with. I had hoped that would have been the last step. and it was for the drivers side.. for the most part.



i decided to try to get it exact fit to the car on the passenger side. I decided to tape up the car again and used a little rubber tool used to make grout corners smooth when doing caulking. I filled the gap between the skirts and the car(blue tape) and then let that dry. when i removed the excess and sanded everything it literally looks like its part of the car. The two surfaces have a perfect match. I'm stoked about it.

I forgot to snap a picture after getting it perfect. I brought the skirts to the basement and put on a coat of white primer.

i'm dead broke at the moment so i dont think i'll have the funds to get a couple rattle cans made up of the blazing blue color i need for them. If i can get them cheap enough i might do it . for now they will stay in the basement until i can give them the color coat.

i'll try to bring them up and test fit again so i can take a picture of my handy work :)

hope you enjoyed the Tutorial :)

[birdman]

Be great to see them on and painted. Very nice job!

[yarisugi]

Looks good, but I couldn't really tell where the gap was - probably because of the off-white foam and white skirt. Did you have to foam up the part attached to the front fender as well?

[TinyGiant]

Looks good, but I couldn't really tell where the gap was - probably because of the off-white foam and white skirt. Did you have to foam up the part attached to the front fender as well?

the part that attatches to the fender sits pretty good on the rear corner. the front corner doesnt fit as well. I ended up filling it with bondo so its flush. that way i can stick some 3m tape there to help secure it:)

i might go price out a can of paint tomorrow since i just had some ebay buyers make some payments. if the paint isnt too expensive.

i cant wait to get them on. i gotta say its gonna look kinda weird not having the front and rear on there since they stick out a little more than the current bumpers .. but oh well.


i have a question too. how well to these generally stay on? should i avoid the touchless car washes with the underwash thing?

[mr.white_hb]

nice job TNYGYNT fitting a C-One side skirts to your Yaris !

[TinyGiant]

nice job TNYGYNT fitting a C-One side skirts to your Yaris !

thx man. i hope i can score the paint cheap tomorrow. i'd be stoked to get these on tomorrow :)

[YarisSedan]

Have you considred bondoing it to the car itself so it looks seemless and part of the body.

[yarisugi]

I don't know about car washes messing up your sides. I guess if you secure them well
enough you shouldn't have to worry. But some automated car washes can tear your car
apart! About the 3M tape you plan to use - make sure you're using the VHB tape. It's
a bit pricey and be careful though, once it sticks - it'll be hard to remove.
You should check out this Modern Marvels video on youtube. VHB TAPE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OtrDvDvF5I)

[TinyGiant]

Have you considred bondoing it to the car itself so it looks seemless and part of the body.

i dont want to have to repaint the car. i dont have the money for that

[Tamago]

why did you use great stuff instead of fiberglass? the great stuff is gonna cause problems down the road

[ROCKLAND TOYOTA]

thx man. i hope i can score the paint cheap tomorrow. i'd be stoked to get these on tomorrow :)

my Blazin Blue rattle can cost me 25 bucks each from paint shop. clear coat was another 8 bucks....

[TinyGiant]

yeah i just got back from the shop they said 20 per. i'll have my father inlaws friend get me it cheaper . whats the paint code for it?

[TinyGiant]

here are the pics of the good edge:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG_5261.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG_5262.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG_5263.jpg

[ROCKLAND TOYOTA]

8T0

[TinyGiant]

thanks man!

[TinyGiant]

first coat of paint is drying :)

[TinyGiant]

had enough in one can to do a nice heavy first coat

[TinyGiant]

the basement is a cloud at the moment. very stinky

[yarisugi]

Why are you doing it in the basement? Unless, getting high was an added incentive...

[TinyGiant]

windy and cold outside. no wind and warm inside :) controlled surroundings.. better painting.

[TinyGiant]

it was/is pretty smelly down there. i'll h ave to open a window lol

[TinyGiant]

seems they came out a little darker than the car. we'll see tomorrow when its light out

[TinyGiant]

think its worth using some 0000 steel wool on them then doing another coat? or just clear coat them?

[counterfiend]

What color primer did you use? You can use the same exact paint code, but if you use a different color primer then what they painted on originally, then they can change the color.
If you used grey, they may have used white.
If you used black, they may have used grey.

[TinyGiant]

I used white primer. I had a couple scratches on the car and it seemed white below the paint.


Here are a couple pics of them clamped to the car
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG_5279.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG_5280.jpg

[TinyGiant]

maybe they used grey primer? i guess that would make sense. the inside of the car is like a blue/grey color i'd hate to sand a prime over what i've painted already. but its do able

[TinyGiant]

i was thinking about painting the part that meets with the car the same satin black as the other black stuff on the car .. idk why but it might add some dimension to it