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348: How do you take the rocker panels off?

Discussion in '348/355' started by Husker, May 19, 2004.

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  1. Husker

    Husker F1 World Champ

    Dec 31, 2003
    11,792
    western hemisphere
    #1 Husker, May 19, 2004
    I am going to paint my rockers and bumpers to match the rest of the car (red). Does anyone know how the rockers attach to the car? Are they easy to remove? Thanks in advance for your help.
     
  2. ernie

    ernie Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Nov 19, 2001
    22,612
    The Brickyard
    Full Name:
    The Bad Guy
    #2 ernie, May 20, 2004
    Hey Husk,

    I got your pm, but your mail box is full so I couldn't send my reply.

    The rockers are easy to take off. First you have to remove the kick plate that is on the top. Here's what you do:

    1) Open the door, and lift up the rubber trim on the bottom of the door

    2) Remove the screws that hold the kick plate to the body (you don't have to remove the rubber 'Ferrari' strip that is on the top).

    3) Slide the kick plate off. You may need the help of some adhesive remover. There is double sided tape on the bottom of the kick plates. Be careful not to bend the kick plates.

    4) Remove the screws that hold the rocker pannels on the body. They are on the top and underneith. Don't forget the one that is in the front fender well.

    5) Take off the rocker pannel, and your done.


    As for your pm about the laquer thinner. It is worth a try. All you would be doing is removing the black finish with the thinner. Try it out on the bottom of the rocker. Don't worry about messing it up. Even if you did, whoopty flippin do, you would just get them repainted like you were going to anyway. I would try using the laquer thinner at first, and then 2000 grit WET sandpaper it finish it off.
     
  3. Husker

    Husker F1 World Champ

    Dec 31, 2003
    11,792
    western hemisphere
    #3 Husker, May 20, 2004
    Ernie, thanks. I need to hire you as my personal 348 consultant with all of your help! Ernie, I experimented with the laquer thinner on the very bottom of my black rear bumper and sure enough, I got down to "red". However, the red isn't particularly good even after some buffing. It's red but it's not finished out like the remainder of the car's finish. So I'm probably going to go the re-spray route anyway. You may laugh, but I'm considering doing the re-spray myself. I have an exact paint match and if I remove all of the stuff and "do it right", I don't see much how I could screw anything up too bad.

    By the way, my mailbox is now "empty"!

    Thanks so much, Ernie.
     
  4. ernie

    ernie Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Nov 19, 2001
    22,612
    The Brickyard
    Full Name:
    The Bad Guy
    #4 ernie, May 20, 2004
    Hey bro my pleasure. I am more than happy to share the little information I know. All I ask is that you pass it on to the next guy.

    The paint underneith is the same as the rest of the body. What you need to do to make it shiney is wet sand it. Get some 1,500 grit, and some 2,000 grit wet sand paper. Make sure that it is for wet sanding, otherwise the paper will get destroyed when it gets wet. All you have to do is get the paper wet and then sand, using light pressure. What you are doing is smoothing out the orange peel on the paint. Start with the 1,500 and then finish with the 2,000. Use plenty of water too. Be careful not to wet sand too much cause you will go through to the primer. All you want to do is take just enough paint of to get rid of the bumps/orange peel. Anyway once you have the orange peel off, get some buffing compound and, THEN, buff it out. If you don't get the orange peel off all you are doing is shining up bumpy paint.
     

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