the plastic(?) front, back, and sides

shawnothaninja · Post by **shawnothaninja** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 7:32 am

So on my 2004 vibe base model it has the carbon fiber (I think... im not sure what its made of, but its very plastic-ee..haha) on the front and back bumpers and along the sides.I prefer the full painted look, and was wondering if anyone can tell me if I could get those painted and possibly where and what cost..Anyone else ever done that? I guess I want it to look a little more sport and a little less utility...

WaveAction · Post by **WaveAction** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 7:41 am

it's the plastic cladding, which your vibe is a two-tone. mono-tone which is what i have, are painted the body color and it is possibly to paint. i believe theirs one or 2 members that have painted their cladding

shawnothaninja · Post by **shawnothaninja** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 8:03 am

awesome to hear! i really want to do that, and i guess i will look around at local automotive painting places to see if they'd be willing to do that and at what cost.i think monotone looks the best

WaveAction · Post by **WaveAction** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 8:31 am

yep, i agree, i was never a fan of the two-tone, unless it was actually painted..but hate the plastic cladding, like the azteks...*shudders*

shawnothaninja · Post by **shawnothaninja** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 8:33 am

haha.. oh yeah, i mean the car is awesome.. but that is the only thing that bothers me about it.. im hoping it will be cheaper to paint than a whole car.

darcmater · Post by **darcmater** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 8:39 am

probably an idiotic question, but why do peopel buy the vibes with plastic cladding if they dislike how it looks? Maybe it just me but when I went shopping for mine there was a ton with and without and i chose without.

shawnothaninja · Post by **shawnothaninja** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 8:45 am

i didnt have a choice, and i was in desperate need of a car. the place i went to had a good deal on it and it was the only vibe.now that i am a true vibe enthusiast i am starting to want to make this car my own..so thats why for me. i first got it because the interior and gas mileage and storage options were exceptional. Now, I want to make it hot!

WaveAction · Post by **WaveAction** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 8:46 am

i made sure to get the mono-tone, it was either the wave blue or the frosty i was gonna get..no other color

Whelan · Post by **Whelan** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 4:26 pm

Painting cladding has plus and minuses.You get to have it somewhat match your car's color, which is nice.But the downsides are many. Your cladding is not smooth as glass, so it would require sanding to a smoother finish to get the paint to look better. It will still look like plastic cladding afterwards.The paint has the ability to chip, crack, fade and given its location on the body could face a lot from road debris and weather. Painting will not be cheap unless you do it yourself. I saw one kid on here who had a silver Vibe like yours and painted the cladding a black, that two tone looked good.It's really really hard to match plastic paint to your metal body paint. So finding one that works will be tough.

lovemyraffe · Post by **lovemyraffe** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 1:56 am

I think the two-tone looks good with some colors but not others. I don't like the two-tone on the Lava like mine, which is why I opted for the monotone coloring.

shawnothaninja · Post by **shawnothaninja** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 2:05 pm

yeah, i heard that you cant really get it the same exact color as the car.wow, black sounds pretty awesome! i mean, it would still have that two tone look but it would be pretty unique looking and i think the contrast would also look good

northvibe · Post by **northvibe** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 2:23 pm

yup my vibe was two tone and thats the only way hertz car sales sold them, so i got the dark gray and the cladding didnt contrast the car much at all. The two tone painted plastic (like the black) was sweet looking! even if you look at the monotone painted plastic it looks funny up close. let us know what you decide though!

audiovibe · Post by **audiovibe** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 3:02 am

You could always try to find a couple wrecked vibes of the same color and grab som panels from them.Aron

kevera · Post by **kevera** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 3:09 am

It's the same part number for the cladding if it's painted or not.Most body shops can match the paint pretty close.The expensive part will be replacing the clips,at $3-$4 each and 10 per panel.Do it!!!

ramenboy... · Post by **ramenboy...** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 6:40 am

hey shawnthe vibes were sold in japan as the toyota voltz. all of their 2-tone cars had painted cladding as opposed to just the plain, flat ones that our vibes have.they are pretty sweet looking. try a quick search for voltzes on the forum. there's at least a couple of overseas members here. you'll be able to see some pics.

shawnothaninja · Post by **shawnothaninja** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 7:46 am

awesome! thanks ramenboy.. i think it will be helpful to see some pictures that would give me an idea of what it would look like before i try anything..i also like the idea to check from some crashed vibes..hehe

ramenboy... · Post by **ramenboy...** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 1:54 am

no problem.i've thought of doing this too, just a gloss gray, but like others have posted, it would be a pain to get the paint to not chip off.keep us posted

the plastic(?) front, back, and sides

the plastic(?) front, back, and sides

Re: (WaveAction)

Re: (WaveAction)

Re: (shawnothaninja)

Re: (darcmater)

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Re: (Whelan)

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