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Custom Paint & Upholstery

Discussion in 'Mini Lounge' started by subaru-mimi, Jul 12, 2017.

  1. subaru-mimi

    subaru-mimi New Member

    Hey all, I'm new to the community & kei trucks! bought my sambar last week and I'm so psyched to get started working on it. I have a lot of ideas, but not a whole lot of knowledge so any light you can shine my way would be appreciated. I split this post in two parts with relevant questions beneath.

    1. I want to do a custom paint job on my sambar just cause I want it to kick ass. I went by a couple shops and got quoted around $3500. Also received a lot of comments on how tiny dents in the body will stand out with any color darker than white. Now, unpopular opinion, but cars from the '90s will never look new again (unless an unholy amount of effort goes into them) so I don't really see how that will be an issue. It's not like I'm going for show-quality paint, certainly not from any of the shops I went to anyway...I just want my truck to look awesome and less utilitarian. One of the guys I went to suggested to stripe it instead of full body paint...But i'm not sure how that's any less expensive or revealing to dents in the body?

    Have any of ya'll had your trucks painted? If so, any tips? I've already considered painting it myself but the overall cost of materials would outweigh having it done by a professional.

    2. The seats in my Sambar are kinda ripped up in the drivers side so I want to get them replaced. Upholstery place quoted me $1500 but I find that absurdly high. I'm thinking that the seats in a sambar...are actually not too much bigger than boat seats. I'm thinking about just removing the old seats, and replacing them both with a couple of new boat seats. It would run me about $200 for the both of them so I'm thinking it's worth it.

    Am I an idiot or a genius for thinking of this?
     
  2. Tuskano

    Tuskano Member

    Hia! Welcome to the kei world!

    I have had my Hijet painted by Maaco (misspelled I think). They had also fixed much of the dents it had. It is actually getting repainted while in the shop (black frame and white body) after having many scratches and stuff over time from not being properly protected. Have also had my seats reupholstered. I think mine was under 500 since the seats have no real curves in them. Just squares.

    I'll have to get pictures back when mine was just painted. It was a matte white with no clear coat with a black interior. Was really nice and hopefully will be that when I come back to it.

    Will have to get pictures on the seats too I think. It was a local shop in Oak Harbor that did them. But yea, if you find better seats go for it. Would be pretty nifty if you find something good. I am wanting to try to do a bench seat in mine... have actually slept in the cab before during cross country trips and sleeping on the brake lever is no fun! LOL
     
  3. subaru-mimi

    subaru-mimi New Member

    Did you get the seats and repaint done from the same spot? If so, I'm impressed. One of my friends told me to never got to maaco, said I'd make a huge mistake if I got my repaint done there.
    Also a bench seat in a kei truck would be amaazing! Totally want to test fitting a bench seat in my truck now.
     
  4. matt167

    matt167 Active Member

    Maaco can be great, Maaco can suck.. The only way with them to ensure your going to get a good job is do the prep yourself. If you do that, then their painters are pretty good with a gun.
     
  5. subaru-mimi

    subaru-mimi New Member

    how much prep are we talkin about here?
     
  6. Tuskano

    Tuskano Member

    No, Maaco was over near Lemoore, Ca. Seats were like a year later up in Oak Harbor, WA. So two different places. My Maaco experience could have been better, but didn't really prep it. So I lost my sticker emblems in the back. But luckily I fixed that later. There was also overspray on the rear window but I have enough stickers on the back for that not to be noticeable.

    I also added rhino liner after wards so that was another prep fail since it started coming off after a year or so. So I might just go back to the matte white or something.
     

    Attached Files:

  7. subaru-mimi

    subaru-mimi New Member

    Oh ok, thanks for clearing that up.
    The truck looks great though!
     
    Tuskano likes this.
  8. Tuskano

    Tuskano Member

    Thank you! Its gone a long way since I first bought it!
     
  9. Pasta

    Pasta Member

    What kind of rims are those? I like them.

    As for the upholstery, I haven't bought my Sambar yet and it's been 20 years since I've seen one in person so I might be thinking it's more simple that it really is. But from photos and my memory of how flat and basic the seats are I was thinking I might be able to just buy a roll of soft leather, wrap it over the front, and tack it down in the back. Think that would work?
     
  10. Tuskano

    Tuskano Member

    They are 4x110 Toyo Kogyo rims from a 1st gen RX7. Yes, they are a big plus for my truck!

    I found I had a picture of my interior work... but give me a day or two to post it lol. They are pretty much flat and square. Although mine has stitching in the middle to give them a two tone look/feel.

    Doing that would be a fast job, but it might work. I know as I had a cut in my driver's seat when I first got my truck, I had just used a old beat towel and folded it over and around.
     

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