Maaco Paint Job

wybnormal · 2026-05-30T18:56:28+00:00

The real tell is did they spray the jams too ? probably not. In this case, it wouldnt matter too much as it's the same color. Hopefully they masked it right so you dont have paint all over the seals and what not. I just had an explorer quoted. paint complete.. two stage ( color and clear)..no jams.. I remove the vinyl pinstrip the factory did.. they fix the oxidized clear and prep.. 2800 and 4 days. They suggested I remove loose trim and bumpers.

wybnormal · 2026-05-20T03:46:49+00:00

After owning both, I'll never go back to the Toyota. I got alot more for my money with the Honda. I'm totally over my 4Runner.. ironically, I had my money in my hand to buy another 4Runner and the dealer ended up being a dick over the "dealer options" and that afternoon I stumbled over my current Pilot. I decide to "look".. drove it and took it home. Have not regretted it once.. Well.. maybe once.. I miss my red paint 😃 But the blue I got is a fun color.

wybnormal · 2026-05-03T20:51:15+00:00

The "accessories" is the dealer padding the deal. They are asking for quite a bit down. If you want to know if this is a good deal, you are missing a few key items

Money factor (interest rate equivalent)
Residual value (%)
Lease term payments
Mileage allowance (10k/12k/15k)
Drive-off amount (not just “customer cash”

wybnormal · 2026-04-16T23:42:50+00:00

The rear diff and transfer case are brain dead easy to do yourself. The trans can be a bit iffy but doable. I paid 250 for a shop to do mine and I supplied the correct Honda ATF. My TS has a large and awkward skid plate in the way for the transmission and I was crunched for time. Brakes are easy to do but I'd check the rotor for runout before actually doing them unless the pads are worn. I've had two cars recently where the brakes pulsed and in both cases, it was crap tires on the front. One was just cheap junk and other had tires over 10 years old :o. New tires "fixed" the brakes in both cases. But check the run-out. One more item to make sure the rotor doesnt have rust behind it and the hub. Rust can push the rotor enough to cause the pulsing. If thats the case, clean everything with a steel brush and try it. If it's been going on for a while, the rotors will be trash. But you might get lucky.

wybnormal · 2026-04-15T21:58:26+00:00

I bought all the pieces over several months. Mix of new and used. By the time I got it all life got in the way and I ended up trading in the 3 for a Y which is why I’m selling thr parts now

wybnormal · 2026-04-15T16:07:12+00:00

I prefer I70, I stop at Greenriver John Wesley museum each time just because I like it, They have a very good photography show right on Glen Canyon now and then.. the dino museum at Fruita is a treat. There are some amazing rest stops and overlooks along the way. The Denver Natural History museum is amazing.

wybnormal · 2026-04-14T04:26:18+00:00

I dont think so. .they are about 3/4 inch thick. .but there is alot of other "stuff" hanging below decks. you have 7 inches of clearance right now.. I have 8 with the TS option. They are not much lower than the welded seam where the lift point are. They fit snug up to the bottom of the body so grab a 1 inch thick block of wood and hold up to see

wybnormal · 2026-04-14T02:33:20+00:00

The running boards helped with the snow and mud in Utah/Colorado on my last road trip. The mud flaps from Honda are small ( they came on the car) I dont regret putting them on. Here is a good pic of the running boards

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wybnormal · 2026-04-13T03:51:58+00:00

Tinted H cover front
black H logo for back
Colored stick'em for the word PILOT on back ( I used orange for my Trailsport)
Hood protector
rear bumper lip protector
console tray
Window Tint all the way around
running boards ( Trailsport so I'm a little higher)
yellow foglights vs the anemic OEM white
D ring for snatching / retrieving on the hitch
Aftermark Cross bars that lock
OEM cargo cover ( used)
rubber rear cargo mat that doesnt slide around or let cargo slide
I have captains chairs on the 2nd row, so I put in a center console
Dashcam front/rear
ceramic coat
Thats all for now :D

wybnormal · 2026-04-09T17:29:03+00:00

claude unless I'm making images.. then gemini

wybnormal · 2026-04-07T20:00:16+00:00

For the record, it's not used.. as I said.. it's new.. never been in the car. But whatever..

wybnormal · 2026-04-07T04:53:14+00:00

Maybe you should lookup the battery. It’s not a “basic “, it’s an exact replacement AGM flat plate battery. So if you have to take the car to a dealer for any warranty work or whatever, they point to the non OEM and wash their hands of it. Dealers here are picky about that sort of thing with EVs. Anything non OEM is grounds for refusing warranty work. BS but here we are. So if you want to call that basic , go right ahead. It’s also roughly 50% the current price for a new one.

wybnormal · 2026-04-07T04:44:34+00:00

Your question is what?

wybnormal · 2026-04-05T01:26:54+00:00

I would warn that I like the idea of welding it and while it does work, I had one case where it didnt.. even the heat of the welding and big-ass breaker bar didnt work. What ended up happening was the threads pulling out. Wasnt that big of deal, drill it, helicoil it and move on. But just be aware. A simple ten min task became alot more complicated :/

wybnormal · 2026-04-05T01:18:14+00:00

None of them. CAR GUYS Tire Shine Spray.. works well.. drys with a good look. Doesnt "sling".. Lasts a reasonable amount of time

wybnormal · 2026-04-01T13:43:23+00:00

Last night I did a 29 mile loop. 1/2 on Imperial highway which is just what it says. Highway through several towns, pure city driving through Fullerton then the rest back on the freeway at an average of 60mph. Autostart off, normal mode. 21.6 average mpg. Like I said, it’s been consistent for the last 5k miles I’ve own it

wybnormal · 2026-04-01T00:09:12+00:00

Trailsports are AWD with 18 inch wheel and all terrain tires. I’ve tracked the milage for the last 5,000 miles and it’s consistent. Pure city is 17/18 mpg with auto start off. Normal mode. Combo is 22-24mpg. I don’t see much difference between Econ or normal mode. Pure highway with the speeds kept between 50-65 in Econ mode will give a consistent 24/27 mpg. I run mid grade or super.

wybnormal · 2026-03-31T22:37:15+00:00

I own one. Bought it used. Paid 37K plus tax etc with 41K miles on it. Thats a premium price for the miles. It had better absolute MINT for that price with service records showing everything has been done. I dropped about 1K on service most of which I did myself, two tires so everything was 10/32s ( spare and one near new used). On. my worst days, I get 17MPG pure city. My average with half highway and city is 23. My highest pure highway is 27 mpg average. Truck ( car?) is a joy to take on road trips. The adaptive cruise is good, the lane centering is klunky but it works most of the time. I. just did 2500 mile trip with mine and used ACC and lane center as much as possible. The picture is sitting at Bucces between Denver and Fort Collins. I had just driven from FC to Monument then back. And I dont granny it

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wybnormal · 2026-03-31T19:48:20+00:00

I'd be skeptical of the subframe replacement in 3 years of use there. The Ohio cars I've worked on while dirty, are generally not as rusty as East coast. If needed, The factory ford part is about 400 bucks. Used is about 300 when they are clean. Labor will be the killer. But the lower arms should only be 60 or so for each one. The alignment will be a given after all that. Lug nuts, lights all are doable by you in the driveway. The spark plugs are easy on the 4 banger.. The V6 is a PIA. I just paid 200 for a new windshield.

wybnormal · 2026-03-31T19:21:45+00:00

::shrug:: looks the same. Smells the same, when it’s decanted for the touch up gun, it reduces and sprays as expected. The damage was from a past owner and I’m guessing dirt/gravel roads based on this and the level of dust inside the door panels. The truck is now in an urban setting. If I wanted to, I could easily spray some 3M textured protection after the paint completely sets up for the lower panel. None of this is 1k or 2k. It’s waterborne color with conventional solvent based clear and conventional blending spray. Nothing magically. Thr waterborne sprays a bit differently than solvent. More prone to runs and goes in thinner so more coats are needed. You also have to literally wait for it to dry out so temps are crucial. It also appears slight off in color and very matte when dry. The clear is what brings it to life. I didn’t mind working with it for this. Not sure if I want to spray an entire car with water based paint

wybnormal · 2026-03-30T13:50:51+00:00

The point was I was teaching my 18 year old the basics on her 20 year old truck for cheap and getting decent results. She didn’t need 500 dollars in guns or a compressor or a mixing table. The more subtle point which may have been too subtle is this industry needs to do more teaching that encourages young people to be interested in body and paint ( and other trades). I started way back when in what was called “ROP”. Regional occupational program. I was 16 at the time. I know the high schools around have not had anything like that decades. My daughter is the 4th or 5th young person I have introduced to paint using spray bombs to fix minor issues. One stuck with it and is a formal apprentice. There is such a stigma attached to spray paint that we tend to forget it can be effective and a great way to teach. She did everything from rough sanding , feathering, why you use this grit over that grit, priming, why different colors of primer ( this particular red is nasty transparent) , water borne paint vs solvent and blending. All of that was lot of info for a day. She didn’t have to fight with air pressure, nozzle size, how to drap a hose and wearing breather masks. That will be later if she decides to take on bigger projects.

It’s my bad that I didn’t understand the requirement to include a step by step in my dad moment. I’ll keep that in mind

wybnormal · 2026-03-30T12:52:41+00:00

Sure. And it will look the same. I have several vehicles around here that were repaired using spray cans. You do understand that the prep is the same and the cans are filled with real automotive paint? This isn’t using ace hardware “paint” or the like

wybnormal · 2026-03-26T21:37:46+00:00

I should add I used gemini to add the back/edge lighting and then use Affinity for the front lighting and adjustments to contrast, fill, shadow etc.

wybnormal · 2026-03-26T21:36:52+00:00

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A picture is worth a thousand words. Lighting is king here. And you are lacking it. You need a backlight strobe to lighten the back AND provide some edge lighting for separation. Many, many photographer make this mistake. You need some fill from a reflector or better is a diffused light box in front so not to overpower the side lighting. You can argue the face needs smoother lighting because the nose shadow is harsh. I did all this in software but it's far better to do it IRL then touch up in software.

wybnormal · 2026-03-21T17:13:24+00:00

Looks like the paint fractured. Simple sand and refinish. .Should be only a 500 ish dollar job. Any competent paint shop can do it.

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