28 replies to this topic

[E-Tizzle]

these are the arches i bought from hebay.
they cost me 99p plus £10 P+P.

i already have chrome/stainless arches on my at the moment, they are quite thin and dont really cover the wheels. i really like the group 5 sportpack arches, but these are not quite that big, a bit more subtle and will match the car colour. my car is a bit 'busy' atm what with the bonnet strips, union jack roof, white wing mirrors, stainless arches and side skirt/ running board thingy.
these arches should help to tone it down a touch...

the paint on most of them wasnt bad, although some had long drips and runs, and others were cracking away in areas.

to start with i had to rub them down to get them as flat and smooth as possible and remove any flaking paint. once that was done i filled any large holes with body filler, let that dry and rubbed them down.
then gave them a coat of primer. then, you guessed it, rubbed them down again!
i am at the stage now where they need their second coat of primer. after this coat i will make sure there arnt any large marks or dents still clear. then go onto top coat. which will be flame red. then another rub down and top coat, then a bit of lacquer to make it shiny as hell.

here they are before and halfway through...


















ill post some more when i get there. shouldn't be to long hopefully.

Edited by E-Tizzle, 29 June 2010 - 07:54 AM.

[GW]

They're coming along nicely. A reet Bargain too...once you have rubbed down all the filer, some Topstop would help with any pinholes or small dips you may have.

[E-Tizzle]

after another two layers of paint and yet more rubbing down, this is where i am at the moment.
they are staring to look quite good now, they are seriously smooth and have only minuscule marks in some areas.

thanks for suggesting that top coat stuff, but i looked on ebay and it was about £20 for a litre. i cant afford that and secondly im not planning on doing to much more when the arches are finished so i would never use a litre.

another layer is paint is drying on them as we speak. the flame red top coat should be here on monday and it will be ready for that. although it will be about 1 cm thinker than when they started because of the amount of paint layers i put into them.

im gonna do at least 2 layers of red plus at least 2 layers of lacquer. and maybe one more layer of undercoat?

Edited by E-Tizzle, 29 June 2010 - 07:56 AM.

[miniman retford]

Looking really good ! the same arches that i have on my mini

[E-Tizzle]

Looking really good ! the same arches that i have on my mini

cheers. do mind whacking up a quick picture of them please.
and also...
what are they called? (there proper official name) bloke put on ebay ad - group 4 or 5.
where did u get em from?
and how much are they new?

thanks
elliot

[miniman retford]

Looking really good ! the same arches that i have on my mini

cheers. do mind whacking up a quick picture of them please.
and also...
what are they called? (there proper official name) bloke put on ebay ad - group 4 or 5.
where did u get em from?
and how much are they new?

thanks
elliot

Not got any pictures on here at the moment,

I thought they were W&P replicas, i bought them second hand from another TMF member.

[leaky]

I have one from Riv Run.

[E-Tizzle]

what are the chances!!

how are yours attached. are they glued on with the rubber seal bit?

[coopermpi]

hey. im the one you bought the arches off (miniman retford). I think they are W+P replicas. If i remember right, are they riveted on by the lip, or screwed?

[miniman retford]

Thanks Mini-jon

And coopermpi is correct they are held on with screws underneath into the arch lip, the rubber seal is just sandwiiched between the arch & wings

Edited by miniman retford, 18 June 2010 - 08:33 AM.

[E-Tizzle]

just an update.
here they are after 1 more (i think) coats of primer and now 1 coat of top coat

although i only managed to get one coat of top coat before the paint ran out so now i got to buy some more.
hopefully be here thursday.

so now my bargain arches have cost me and extra £10 plus hours of work.



eagle eyed viewers may have noticed from this picture that there are only 3 arches shown, if so, well done.

[miniman retford]

Will be worth it though

[Jet_black]

Looking good so far.

[E-Tizzle]

here it is with the old arches taken off



and here it is with one of the new ones put on.
the paint still needs a top coat and gloss, so thats why it looks a bit plasticy.
and also it will obviously look better when the wheel is up in the arch properly.
what do you guys think of the shape and style.

Edited by E-Tizzle, 29 June 2010 - 07:57 AM.

[E-Tizzle]

I have one from Riv Run.

how have you covered the rail on your car.
the bit between the 2 arches.
on mine i used to have a big chrome strip, but if i have red arches is gonna look a bit stupid.
do they do rubber strips that can be pushed on to protect it.
thanks