HamzaAlSadr

Hey everyone,

I'm new here and also working on the car is new to me, so i decided to come here and post this in order to get help from professional people like you!

I have the 2003 Civic Lxi, dark blue.

Previous owner have done things to the car and i just want to clean it up and make it look good.

Here's a list of things I wrote down and just needed you guys (along with DIY's) and atleast link me to the things I need. Anyway here's the list:

1) Previous owner painted the rims white and the paint is wearing off. I want to repaint it black and have a nice finish on it. Is Duplicolor a good idea? Any DIYs?

2) My headlights are hazy. I tried the toothpaste and didnt take it off completely. However, i've decided to buy a new pair of headlights except Halo "angel lights" with a black background. Any idea where from and a good price? i've seen price ranging in a crazy way! Also foglights.

3) The car lost its shine and has a little scratch here and there. Paint or polish? and how much will it be?

4) The belt retracts, but very slow. How can i fix it?

5) I wanted to change the **** with a manual looking **** (the leather and everything). Any idea?

6) The gauge led is quite boring. I wanted to get it all blue. I haven't seen the right DIY to fit this

7) Any idea where can i get floor mats that's similar to the stock ones?

8) I want to add a spoiler, is there a price range?

9) Finally the ugly looking antenna. Is there anything shorter or better looking? Looks like a radio on wheels!



I will be posting pictures tomorrow hopefully so you can get a perfect idea of the car.

I really wanna go on and perfect the image i have in my head because it's look awesome!

Thanks for your help

HamzaAlSadr

Oh also i'm located in DUBAI, UAE.

I'm guessing not everything will be available here so it would require shipping.

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

Hi, and welcome to the forums, lets take this 1 at a time:

1. Spray cans can give you a decent looking rim, but not quality ones. Best bet is to have it powdercoated professionally.
2. Buy a headlight restoring kit, meguiars works great.
3. Meguiar's ultimate compound will remove minor imperfections on the paint, use a buffer, then completely wax the car.
4. someone else can chime in on that
5. with an automatic, I wouldnt really mess with the look of it. There are some cheap ***** you can use from autostores, but I wouldn't get any of it. Instead, I would probably create a good looking trim around the area.
6. Theres guides out there to completely change your dash/cluster to LED's.
7. Lots of places, search online
8. Spoilers can go anywhere from $50~triple digits, depending on what you want. OEM spoilers cost around 100~200 I believe
9. You can get aftermarket antennas

MindBomber

Welcome to the site.

HamzaAlSadr

Hey thanks for answering all my questions.

If we could go more into details, i really needed links to help me out if any of you guys would bother.

Also i want that halo headlight "angel lights" but i need some advices on it and where to get it.

Is powedercoating going to be expensive? will the wax and the kit give me a great shine?

if you could link me to the antenna and LED guides that would be good

also what do you mean by the trim? i wouldnt know how to create any

MindBomber

You have a trim, the little piece around you shifter is one.
Get your headlights online, search google or ebay.
I have no idea how much powder coating would cost in Dubai, in Canada it would be around $150 a wheel.
You can find the links by searching LED, under the 7th gen forum.
There isn`t a DIY for the antenna unfortunately, North American Civics don`t have antennas.

HamzaAlSadr

Thanks mindbomber but i need some advices about the headlights, whats the best quality and everything else..

I've seen some videos of people painting their rims with Duplicolor.. cause i dont think i'll be able to afford something more than 150$/wheel .. Also what about the trim?

MindBomber

You can paint rims you just need to take your time. Its not a quick one coat thing, it take a lot of sanding and multiple coats of paint, but you will end up with a great finish. Theres a DIY buried somewhere, I`ll try to find it.

Best headlights you can get are TYC, all the other brands are lower quality. Sometimes people have problems with the headlights fogging up, because they weren`t sealed well from the factory.. Basically, just get a cheap ebay set and you`ll probably be fine.

Mad Dog Tannen

If you really want to pimp your ride you need to put monitors in your bumpers so that people driving next to you can watch music videos while they are driving. lol

HamzaAlSadr

Here are some pictures to help clarify what im saying.


Here's the entire car:









These are the scratches and paint quality ATM:





















Here's the rim:

HamzaAlSadr

Funny man

mac25

if you want to use spray can paint for the wheels

~buy quality heat enamel paint, it self levels and drys hard and thick, covers well
~don't spray it, you'll always get bumps if you spray
~put a glove on or just a plastic bag on your hand then spray the paint into a can
~use a large paint brush, like 1 or two inch and paint one layer at a time

you'll need to ether ruff the serfuce up with a fine sandpaper or use a primer coat.

HamzaAlSadr

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Thanks!
what bout the flaking and scratches on the body?

iridehonda

There's a guide on how to make your auto shifter look like a manual on 7th gen honda but I don't know if I'm allowed to link directly so I won't.

MindBomber

Lots of people spray them, the secret is you need to wet sand them as well.
Spray+Wet Sand > Brush On.

The only way to repair those flakes and scratches is to respray the paint, sorry, but thats an expensive body shop job.

Off Topic/ I spent a few days in Dubai while I was traveling last year, its a very beautiful city!

mac25

scratchs, the honda tuchup paint works good if you use it lightly

but you really will need a body shop to sand, prime, paint and clear coat the major chips.
unless you want to do it your self.

meaning you'll need

a compressor
paint gun
and the paint plus primer and clearcoat
plus a large place with no dust to let it sit and dry, meaning days.


it's not cheap and i'd only do it if you have time, money and want to paint the whole car, that's the only way it would be cheaper then a body shop.

lowlife9

you should do this its pimp vip style http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=1481757

HamzaAlSadr

Thanks this is all so new to me

You've been to dubai? have you seen the cars? haha you should know what i go through

Well i guess i'll just have to save up and give it to a professional, do you have a clue about the average price would be?



THAT CAR IS SICK!!!! but honestly i'd rather keep the money and buy a new car. i wonder how much did the guy spend

MindBomber

I don't want to even think about how much someone spent on that interior, I can't imagine what would motivate someone to do a custom interior that elaborate in a civic. I'd say he spent at least 10k

lowlife9

no way 10 grand the panals look painted and the headliner and leater trim are easily done id say maybe 3-4 grand if professionally done you can do that yourself for 2 grand.

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

Yep, it looks like just vinyl paint, + fake leather, but it's still a good job nontheless.

I swear that car would look nice with rear suicide doors :P

MindBomber

I can't see someone using vinyl and paint if they're willing to spend that much on labour, I didn't look at the picture all that carefully, but I think its all leather covered. Remember pricing is regional, in BC it could cost over $1000 just to just to cover the front seats. In california it might be possible to do for 5 grand, but not here lol

Brian1037

am i the only one who cant the antenna in his pics?

DarkSouljur

I dunno if it's just me but I didn't understand what you said Brian lol.

If you want nice headlights you'll have to retrofit but it's kinda a lot of work and sometimes requires modifying your housing, then you can get ccfl halo rings and install th yourself.

Next beat bet is eBay. If you're like me and your looking to get halos tree are 3 types for 7th gen. There are the eagle eyes (2 rings) an the other too are shitty quality. One of them only has one halo and the other one which has an led brow and se ther lights is crap too. So make sure u don't buy shitty headlights.

AND GET EYELIDS FOR YOUR Headlights! I think they look sexy on civics

Edit: Sorry for shitty typing i was on my iphone :P

HamzaAlSadr

Really helpful btw!

i found some double-ring halo lights, with black housing, which is exactly what i need, but price range was so huge.

if you could tell me whats an average good price for it?

also do you have some pics of your headlights? that would be good

HamzaAlSadr

Also guys can you tell me what kind of paint do i need in order to paint the trims in the car?

like the trim around the gear panel? and the temperature control/radio panel?

any tips on how to change the gauge into something better looking?

boosted01civic

iTrader: (2)

they sell interior paint at auto part stores. Also about the condition of the paint you are definitely going to have the car repainted, there isn't any touching that up. sorry.
also about the wheels you can strip the old paint off and repaint them with a high quality paint and clear.

DarkSouljur

Well price depends on where you live... I'll be paying about $200 for both headlights after shipping.

Here are some pics of the lights i'm talking about (THIS ISN'T MY CAR):

Halo's off:



Halo's on:



Here are pictures of the three halo headlights i'm talking about:

BAD





GOOD



Get eyelids and they look like this:

HamzaAlSadr

Man you are something!

I'll keep you guys posted with pictures for everything im gonna do.

However this is what im getting tomorrow. LG head unit (LCF800OR) that has AUX, BLUETOOTH H/F, iPod, CD, and a recording option, many other stuff. 4 speakers as well, Kenwood, 2 infront, 160W, and 2 back, 350W. cost around $150 (Pretty decent as i didnt wnat some heavy sound system, no amp or sub)

Leave comments please

mac25

why did you post the first pic as bad? i have them from ebay and they work great plus don't fog on cold nights and came with a grille shipped for $200.

should have cleaned the glass before i shop but i was cold and tired, lol