My Tailgate Project

02csnow · Post by **02csnow** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 5:03 am

I was getting bored with just the bolt on aftermarket parts for our cars. So I decided to start a project. It took a few weeks ( only due to being busy with other things ) but it can be done quicker and is not that pricey. With just a little bumper filler or body filler, a little elbow grease, and a good paint job. It can be done. I will get some more pics up this weekend when I install it.Now for the picsSemi-before, you all know what it looks like, just look at your tailgate.Final productDo not attempt to duplicate, highly dangerous. LOL

ajflan · Post by **ajflan** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 5:12 am

Cool! I like that. It looks great.

Kamikaze · Post by **Kamikaze** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 5:20 am

Damn you... I've been thinking about doing this, now I'm not sure if I want to... I hate doing the same thing as everyone else.. although there really isn't a lot that we can do since they don't offer all that much for aftermarket stuff...LOOKS AWESOME!!! I might still do it...

kevera · Post by **kevera** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 5:28 am

Told you it would look good,turned out better than I expected.

~MRVIBE2006~ · Post by **~MRVIBE2006~** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 5:38 am

Extremely cool looking! I would be happy with my handle being the body color (Abyss). How did you get it off in the first place? Plus, would it be better for me to find an abyss tailgate handle and replace it that way or paint it myself?

altimar · Post by **altimar** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 6:05 am

That looks awesome. I've actually thought about doing that myself, but I wasn't sure about the painting. Did you do it yourself or take it to a shop? If DIY, what paint did you use? My vibe is platinum also.

keithvibe · Post by **keithvibe** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 6:13 am

looks good buddy

WaveAction · Post by **WaveAction** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 7:04 am

that looks sweet Mike, very well done too is it back on the car?

lovemyraffe · Post by **lovemyraffe** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 7:35 am

That looks awesome!

02csnow · Post by **02csnow** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 8:07 am

It is not on the car yet. I will be doing that this weekend.To remove it, you need to take the big plastic piece on the inside of the hatch off. There is 6 bolts holding it on.I did not paint it myself, wanted it to look real good. I got it done by a local shop and it was $40 to paint.

WaveAction · Post by **WaveAction** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 8:43 am

looks amazing none the less..cant wait to see it when it's on..one thing i would have done was to shave the lock on it..i've yet to use my lock for the hatch

02csnow · Post by **02csnow** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 8:49 am

Quote, originally posted by WaveAction Â»looks amazing none the less..cant wait to see it when it's on..one thing i would have done was to shave the lock on it..i've yet to use my lock for the hatchI thought about it, but ended up just leaving it just in case.

~MRVIBE2006~ · Post by **~MRVIBE2006~** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 11:11 am

Besides filling in the Pontiac logo, did you have to do any other prep work to the handle (sanding or cleaning)? Or did the shop that painted it do that?

02csnow · Post by **02csnow** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 6:30 pm

I did all the prep work my self. From filling in with the filler, to the 3 stage sanding and the final cleaning. The shop did clean it up a little before painting.

Toasted7 · Post by **Toasted7** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 12:09 am

That looks sweet... can't wait to see how it looks on the back of the car.

02csnow · Post by **02csnow** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 9:25 am

Well, I took the old one off and put the new one on. And it looks goooooood. I will get some pics up tomorrow and post them in my garage. Its starting to get dark.

hambox · Post by **hambox** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 11:09 pm

I've been wanting to do this since I debadged the Vibe. Looks great, get some on car pics up ASAP!Anyone have any idea where you could get this trim piece? I'd like to do this mod myself, but I don't want to mess up the one on the car now.

CountryVibe · Post by **CountryVibe** » Sat Jun 14, 2008 1:38 am

Looks great

02csnow · Post by **02csnow** » Sat Jun 14, 2008 6:03 am

Installed

hambox · Post by **hambox** » Sat Jun 14, 2008 6:31 am

Super clean!

altimar · Post by **altimar** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 11:08 pm

Looks *really* nice. I got rid of the dealer sticker and pink pontiac arrow within the first week or two, but I keep procrastinating pulling my vibe badges off.It would be perfect if you could get the keyhole covered. There was a thread here about keyhole covers for the doors, but apparently as of February no covers for the hatch keyhole. Maybe we need to bug the guy and he'll have them made for us... PS. Is the genvibe search broken? It would not find 'keyhole covers'. I had to use google to find that thread: 'site:forums.genvibe.com keyhole covers'

UptownVibe · Post by **UptownVibe** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 11:59 am

HAs anyone else gotten around to doing this? How much work is it to get to the pre-paint stages (I'd have a pro paint it)?I think covering it with body color adhesive wrap migh be easier, cheaper and achier the same visual affect, while not being permanant or as strong of a finish.Anyone have some thoughts?

cptnsolo77 · Post by **cptnsolo77** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 9:55 am

Wow, looks great. Cheap way of cleaning up the body!

vibolista · Post by **vibolista** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 10:38 am

Looks really good. Clean. What did you use to fill the lettering?

A Psycho Martyr · Post by **A Psycho Martyr** » Sun Aug 28, 2011 9:02 am

mine didn't come out this smooth

My Tailgate Project

My Tailgate Project

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