My '93 civic has decorative lines going along the side of the car as seen in the first picture. Is this standard from the factory? I was wondering what it would take to remove it myself.



My second question is about the crease that some idiot driving a truck made while my car was parked outside. It's not a blunt dent but a crease making it hard to bend it back out.
How much would it be to fix something like this?



Lastly, has anyone heard or www.snaptint.com? I'm thinking about ordering pre-cut films from them and tint the car myself.

- I'm not looking for a super dark tint. I want something that'll shade the inside during the hot summer days and give a nice decent look. I'm thinking about 50% front and 35% back. Does anyone have pics of something similar?

- Can anyone recommend a shop that'll do it for $150 or less? I might just have a shop do it if the quality of work is good and I can get a warranty.

Thanks!

 

get a professional tint installer to do it
they will do way better of a job, and usually have a warrantee

 

yes, i understand that but can you give me more information - which shop? price?

 

Those "pin stripes" are slapped on by the dealer then a hugely marked-up amount is added to the price of the car. Eventually they fade away I don't know of any easy way to remove them. The hood can probably be made to look pretty good by someone skilled with Bondo. Or find a white Civic parts car with a good hood and swap it out.

Ask around for who is a good tint shop in your town. Then get a price quote from them. Do it yourself tinting is a headache.

 

idk what shops are where you live

most tint shops aren't chains (i can't think of a single chain) but are small local businesses. if there's an area of your town where there's a lot of local auto shops and related stores, just read all the signs when you drive by them, one of them has to have tint if there's quite a few.
alternatively, look in the yellow pages or search on yahoo local
or if you have any friends that have gotten tint ask them where they got it

it'll probably run you around $100

 

definatly depends on the shop. look in your phone book for a tint shop! and call them! id guess ruffly 150-200bucks.

definatly dont do it yourself if you care about the looks... you might be able to do it decently good BUT even a tiny bubble or wrinkle on the tint will look HORIBLE!!!
get it done by a pro so if it does have a bubble or what not make them retint it!

 

k, seems like a professional job is the consensus here. I'm in the south bay area... any possibly know of a place nearby that you've used? I'll also look in the yellow pages.

 

Maybe back in the day the pin stripes were the "sh*t" but now they look dated.
Well, mine are in very good shape still. It would be hard to take them off. I'll ask around to see if I can.

If I use bondo, I'd have to get a paint job over it right? I've never used bondo so I'm clueless as to how that works.

 

Yeah with Bondo you sand down to bare metal so it will stick, apply the Bondo, wait for it to dry, then sand it down to the proper contour approximating an undamaged body panel. Then repaint.

 

Thanks!