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Been a slow week, so I got creative...

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by danvee, Sep 5, 2010.

  1. danvee

    danvee Blizzard Brigadier

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    I have a Blizzard White III, and wanted something other than the black front plate bracket. Touchup paint was horribly expensive at $22/can + S&H, so I had to get creative.
    A trip to my local hobby shop got me a can of Tamiya white polycarb (lexan) paint for $6 and a $6 can of pearl white. Adding a can of Krylon Triple Thick Clear Glaze for another $6 at Michael's crafts got me all I needed.
    I first wiped down the bracket with lacquer thinner which cleaned it and left it slightly tacky. 2 coats of the white "base" followed immediately.
    After drying overnight 3 coats of the pearl were applied and again allowed to dry overnight.
    Checking the color and being satisfied with the match I then did 2 coats of the clear.
    Here are the results:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    I chose the paint based on the adhesion, flexibility, and non-yellowing properties of all of them.

    I'm pretty satisfied with the appearance and the match-all done for less than the cost of 1 can of color match touchup paint.:)
    If it didn't work all I had to do was strip off the paint and mount the black bracket........
     
    4 people like this.
  2. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    Wow it really must have been a slow week!

    But it looks good. :)
     
  3. Airbalancer

    Airbalancer Active Member

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    looks really good
     
  4. phoenixgreg

    phoenixgreg Senior member

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    Looks great, in AZ we aren't required to display a front plate so I still just have the "dimples" where one should go. I did pop for a chrome one on the back. Nice work on yours though.
     
  5. dafinn

    dafinn Member

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    I went with a plain chrome frame front and back with the words "Batteries Included" in body colour vinyl below but I like your idea of the bracket in body colour.
     
  6. danvee

    danvee Blizzard Brigadier

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    Thanks, All!

    I've always found "little" ways to make my cars more personal. The body-colored plate bracket is a pretty easy thing (and cheap) to do, and I've already had a few people look at it with that "Something looks different but I don't know what..." look.
    I seem to remember that a number of manufacturers back in the day provided color matched brackets. I guess it's just too expensive now.
    The hardest part of it all was putting those two HUGE screws into my (formerly pristine) bumper:sick:
    My next project will be to find white plastic frames to color-match.....
     
  7. cproaudio

    cproaudio Speedlock Overrider

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    Front plates are required for CA.
     
  8. Airbalancer

    Airbalancer Active Member

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    So in NJ you do not need front plate but you put it on anyway :eek:
     
  9. danvee

    danvee Blizzard Brigadier

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    Sadly, AB, NJ does require them...I guess that they figure if a car is bearing down on you you'll have a better chance of getting the plate number than after you get run over.:confused:
    My thinking had been that you get a much longer look at the plate while the car is "escaping", but what do I know?:rolleyes:
    Now with the advent of the "red light cam" I guess the disfiguring front plate is much more useful.....
    Enlightened states like PA haven't caught on to that yet.
     
  10. robertk328

    robertk328 Member

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    Might have to try that! Looks great!

    FYI the front plate is also the key target for laser speed guns due to the reflective properties of the plate and the flat surface.
     
  11. stream

    stream Senior Member

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    Some manufacturers still do. I've owned several BMWs and they all had painted front plate brackets.
     
  12. almypal26

    almypal26 Member

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    Looks great...nice touch;)
     
  13. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    Excellent job! Now it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb on BP.
     
  14. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    Looks good danvee. How did you pixelate the license numbers?
     
  15. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    Pretty easy if you have photoshop, just filter-->pixelate and there are lots of options.

    If you want to do it manually, then average all the hex values in an NxN square and write that average value to each of the N^2 pixels.
     
  16. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    Thanks, I won't tell you how long I have been using PS without noticing that.:cool:

    filter-->pixelate-->mosaic gave me what danvee did.
     
  17. danvee

    danvee Blizzard Brigadier

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    Thanks for the positive comments, Guys!

    I have Photoshop as well, but when I don't want to fire up the big gun, I use paint.NET
    (Paint.NET - Free Software for Digital Photo Editing).
    It gives me 80% of what PS does, is MUCH faster, and is FREE!:eek:
    The filters are pretty much the same, and work great.
     
  18. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    danvee,

    When the next slow week hits, do the same to the black side view mirror stalks ;)
     
  19. danvee

    danvee Blizzard Brigadier

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    Actually, I don't mind those as they tie in with the window trim. I might consider it if they were as easily removable as the frame, but I don't think so.:p

    I've been hunting down sqeaks and rattles as of late, and found that a combination of craft store adhesive foam and felt sheets are very useful, especially in and around our dual glove compartment.
     
  20. KWgenIII

    KWgenIII New Member

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    WOW! I like, great job:rockon: