What Have You Done To Your 3rd Gen Today?

Not an active "did today" but managed to jostle my stage 2 plate loose... looks like I'm opening the headlights up this weekend

 

It's getting there. Front end is done.
C4 Fab Hybrid/bull bar front bumper with their frame supports, Hawse license plate holder, Baja Designs Sport fogs lights and Smittybuilt X2O Comp 10k lbs winch which needed zero modification to fit this bumper. I hear that's not always the case. I did all the prep work, primer and paint myself which came out better than expected.

Not only do I like this setup, C4 came by the house to help me remove the bumper, mount the winch and reinstall the bumper. Big cheers to Eric and Brian at C4 Fab for the outstanding customer service. The guys at Smittybuilt and BD were pretty helpful in answering all my questions too.

It's taken awhile to wrap up the project but it's been well worth the wait. Local trails open 5/15, I've loaded up the Avenza Maps and I've met the good people from the area 4x4 clubs. It won't be long now.

 

San Antonio has a couple of folks and they are coming to Irving Saturday, May 8th. I am signed up to get this done.

 

Yes the Coopers. They are 265/75-16. Really like them so far.

 

Alright guys, if you have experience with powder coat I could really use your help here. I was just able to go through all the wheels and honestly the quality seems incredibly poor. The back side of every wheel is marred like they were set on gravel, and one is even so bad the metal itself has been GOUGED.

The street-facing side of each wheel looks fine, although I'm not 100% convinced they sandblasted these because the coating seems very thick and I can easily pick out the single bronze wheel I provided from the other four gray that were provided (the color shows through a chipped area.)

Google Drive link with all images

• Bronze showing through wheel:
  • https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RAMHkNFQD8YnjLUxFA74yZW49xEJwyzz/view?usp=sharing
  • https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RW0lpZyB2jeTXYV-08sgBv4cZb4HNDMN/view?usp=sharing
    
  • Shouldn't it be bare metal and not showing the original color if it were sandblasted?

• GOUGED wheel where alloy is damaged:
  • https://drive.google.com/file/d/1S2W8kDjQrXSd6VVL5coQaDMpsXsI8D5M/view?usp=sharing

These were BRAND NEW when brought for powdercoat, transported in the OEM boxes both directions, and have only been out inside my house, on carpet/cardboard to investigate.

Is this a valid complaint I've got or am I being too picky?

Want to hear from someone in the know before I go showing my ass at this shop trying to get a refund or partial refund so I can go elsewhere. But also they damaged a brand new rim --doesn't matter that it's not street facing, the thing was brand new...

 

Hit 4K miles, hit the only dirt road in Carlsbad for some pics after dropping the kids off at school, and went surfing.

 

F... those fools. You should contact your credit card company and dispute the charge. I would fight hard to get your money back. I would even file a small claims suit for the actual cost of your new wheels. Contact your credit card ASAP and get your money back.

 

If your advice is echoed I will contact tomorrow and ask for a full refund and would be willing to eat the marred rim since that is a simple cheap repair. If they refuse, I will attempt to have my bank cancel payment --however I paid via debit so I may be SOL...

 

I’m not an expert but I times that advise 10 fold. I can’t even believe they returned those to you like that.

 

I haven’t found a place in Portland yet for powder coating but the guy that I used in the Bay Area only charged me $400 for a set of wheels, albeit 4-5 years ago. I had multiple sets of wheels, Brembo brakes, and lots of suspension pieces done by him, so I’m sure he charges more now for a new customer and because of increasing costs.

if you’re in the Bay Area looking for a quality powder coater, Nick Rodoni at RMS is the man. https://www.yelp.com/biz/rms-rolling-and-coating-fremont

 

Waiting on that exact bumper.

 

They were clever enough to have them back in the boxes already and just show me the tops. Only noticed this once I got home and was inspecting each as I applied the vinyl cutouts I'd made.

Doubtful they'll refund me due to it being $2,000+, so hopefully if that's the case my bank will be cool...

 

That was some heavy duty stuff last night. The "hook" came right over our house and we had one gigantic hail stone hit on the roof... sounded like a concrete block hitting, then a sever hit on a window, which somehow didn't shatter it. Other areas close by where damaged more severely. Fortunately vehicles where in the garage. So goes the life in North Texas this time of year.

 

Geez, I can't tell you for sure but I think it may be much harder to dispute the charge for charges made on a checking/debit account vs charges made on a credit card. Either way I would also suggest you contact the company that provided the crappy service and tell them upfront that you want your money back! Be firm, tell them that they either give you your money back or you will file a small claims suit and a complaint with the better business bureau. Tell them you want to make it easy for everyone and you will give them 3 days to credit you back. Also let them know that you have dated pictures of the wheels as evidence of the poor work!

 

My covid projects . Rock lights - turned courtesy lights integrated on my cargo light switch ( key fob function opening doors and ON option) budget friendly you don't need to buy separate relay$$$ and harne$$

 

So how do wire it up with no harness or extra relay? Sounds interesting. I have some kc lites that I wanted to convert into courtesy lights too.

 

Had the fuel pump replaced today

 

Puddle lights in the doors WOULD be welcome . We have LONG winter nights, with lots of ice.

Audis have 'em, so should Tacos.

Audios Tacos.

 

Well, those chrome bumper end things didn’t last long. Day four, and I swapped them out for black.




I took the “bumper” off and performed the swap with the helpful guidance of Victory 4x4’s Strike Bumper Install Video. Many thanks to whoever pointed me to that; I can’t find your post anymore to name your name (damn this forum is huge). Anyway, with the helpful video I got the job done in just under and hour and a half. And it took me 15 minutes to find the release tab to separate the trailer plug. But nothing broken or forced. Everything back together intact. Unless you are an in utero surgeon or build ships in bottles, I highly recommend this method.

BTW, I got nothing against chrome. But my Offroad trim package was neither fish nor fowl. Just enough shiny to look out of place, like earrings on a hog.

Oh, I got the caps off of Amazon. Not quite as crisp as OEM quality probably, but not bad. $110 for the set, with exorbitant Tennessee Sales Tax. My black emblems are inbound.

Scott

 

You'll dig it. I prepped mine with scotch bright pads, wiped it down with isopropyl alcohol, several coats of etching primer and several more coats of bedliner. Don't forget to include the oil cooler relocation bracket (in the hardware bag) and the frame supports (if you plan on a winch) Shout if I can help.