Honda Civic Si Color Change

Almost Everything's Car of the Day is a 1999 Honda Civic SI. This car came to us with lots of peeling, delaminating and chipping paint making the whole car look pretty bad. This is a very common problem found on cars of this era! To fix this problem we started out by removing all of the delaminating paint with our dual action sanders, which "feather" all of the peeling hard edges so they will lay smooth and not cause a problem beneath the new paint. Once the sanding had been completed the car moved into the paint booth where we applied a primer sealer so that the new paint has a solid surface to stick to. We refinished the car with one of our Base Coat - Clear Coat paints! The car was originally grey when we began our work. Instead of repainting the car with the non-factory grey color again the owner decided to have us apply a Honda original color called "Electron Blue Pearl".

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

1995 Mazda Miata Restored!

Almost Everything's Car of the Day is a 1995 Mazda Miata. When this sporty little roadster first came to Almost Everything it was in very unsightly condition. Its paint had been semi-prepped and sanded by its owner and there were lots of faded/delaminated spots all over! We began with our basic prep that is included with all of our paint packages; A chemical cleaning to remove stubborn road contaminants, a thourough scuffing with an abrasive pad and masking of all windows and trim pieces. Once our prep work was complete we rolled it into our paint booth to be refinished with our Enamel + UV Protectant paint in the car's original color, a rich metallic merlot! The paint was then cured in our oven and the car was returned to its owner looking glossy and new again!

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Ferrari 458 Italia Wrecked in Cape Town, South Africa

Almost Everything's Wreck of the Day is a brand new Ferrari 458 Italia. Frank Buyanga,  a wealthy property developer from Zimbabwe, lost control in the rain and crashed while driving in Cape Town, South Africa. Buyanga was not hurt in the crash.

Thanks to WreckedExotics.com for the photos and alerting us, as always, to the destruction of another exotic car. Thanks also to www.autoevolution.com for additional details and photos.

Almost Everything Autobody's Masking Process

Earlier this month we published a post giving you a look into how we sand and prepare cars for new paint at Almost Everything Auto Body. What was not described in that post is the next step between preparation and the actual painting of the car. Some body shops require the complete dis-assembly of a vehicle before they can apply paint. We agree that it is the best way to paint a car. But it adds labor and cost which isn't helpful for many people and their cars. At our shop, one way of keeping costs down and the flow of cars moving quickly is to "Mask Off" all of the trim and windows instead of completely removing them. This method keeps the overall price of refinishing your car down considerably since we don't have to charge you to remove and install every little trim piece and panel! Ultimately your wallet will thank you, your car will look great and you will get your car back faster!

Dual Action Sander used by Almost Everything Professionals

Heres an interesting look into how our shop works, this sander (and the person that uses it)  is one of the key factors in producing a great looking paint job that lasts. In order for paint to stick to something, the surface must be first cleaned of all dirt, dry, and oil free but most importantly the surface must be abraded or sanded to intentionally cause extremely fine scratches.  The reason we purposefully inflict these fine scratches is so that the new paint can flow into them and "bite" onto the surface. Without these scratches the new paint would not be able to stick and would simply fall off over time!  We have many types of sanding procedures and methods. Some cars benefit from repairing chips & scratches. Cars that have had rough lives or have been vandalized with key scratches may need a little more work. In California we also see a lot of cars with sun and environmental damage that causes paint to peel or "delaminate." Basically the cars clear coat has failed and is coming off of its color coat. The process of removing this type of paint issue involves an in-depth sanding procedure starting with rough sand paper to remove the majority of the problematic paint, and gradually moving on with finer and finer grades of sandpaper to completely smooth out the edges of the old paint. Once that has been completed, the car is completely smooth free of all the old peeling paint and is ready for it new coat of paint. With the proper surface repairs and sanding, we can transform your car back to looking like new again!

1986 Volkswagen Rabbit Color Change

Almost Everything's Car of the Day is a 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit Convertible. When this "Peoples Car" came to Almost Everything it had lots of "wear and tear" type damage on the body sides such as; dings, dents, scratches and gouges. All of these are to be expected from a paint job of this cars era. We began by removing certain dings and dents and sanding the entire outside of the car to remove any rock chips and scratches. We then masked off all trim pieces and areas that were not to be painted such as the convertible top and windows. Once the prep work had all been completed we applied a primer sealer so the new paint has a solid surface to "bite" onto, and finally we refinished the entire exterior with our Enamel + UV protectant paint in a very rich non-metallic red that the owner picked right out of our color book!

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Camry of the day

Almost Everything's Car of the Day is this 1995 Toyota Camry. This car had many of the common problems commonly found on this generation of camrys, such as the peeling "delaminating" paint, some microchecking (a condition where the primer beneath the paint fails creating a "checked" looking surface), and some minor dents and surface scratches.  We repaired / removed the paint in these areas, worked out a few dings, primed and repainted the car with its original black color.

Before:After:Before:After:Before:After:Before:After:Before:After:Before:After:

1994 Chevrolet C1500 Color Restoration!

Almost Everything's Car of the Day is a 1994 Chevrolet C1500 Pickup. When this classic step-side truck came to Almost Everything, its original white paint had seen better days. The clear coat was delaminating or "peeling." It had lots of rock chips and scratches. And it was simply in need of new paint! We began by removing certain items that we were to be either replaced or reinstalled after the paint had been completed, repaired and smoothed some dings and dents in the body sides, and removed the peeling paint by machine sanding the surface until it was smooth. Once the body work was complete, we masked off all remaining trim pieces and the windows, sealing the smooth surface with a primer and finally refinishing the entire exterior of the vehicle with our premium Base Coat / Clear Coat paint! We re-assembled and replaced the items that were taken off prior to paint, detailed the interior and exterior, and finished off the truck's new look with some menacing looking black housing taillights!

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After: