HELP! broke sport spoiler "my wife is gonna be pissed" PICS inside
 

Hey Guys,

Long story short, I had a couple deep chips in my spoiler that went all the way through the paint on one corner. After a week of using touch up paint, wetsanding, and expanding the damage more and more, I ended up having to paint it.

I painted it black initially to see what it would look like. Didn't like it so painted it body color which is Monterey bluce. Needed some spray touching up on the sides from poor prep work, so I decided to sand and spot paint today.

Needless to say it became such a mess that I made a rash decision to just take it off. This is after messing with it all day today, and many other days throughout the last weeks.

I read about the couple bolts holding the spoiler on, and even saw the diagram. I could not figure out how to access those bolts under the plastic covering of the hatch. I decided to take it off anyway and pray it was only taped on. Everything went well for a while using a heat gun and making small headway. I just went ahead and broke it off in frustration and now I am left with the pics below (I took them with my camera phone in the dark garage, sorry).

It looks like I will just purchase the painted spoiler from carid for 200$. How do I access these bolts to remove them? I will be removing all bolts and clips and installing the spoiler with just double sided tape (how this spoiler should have been installed originally, that tape was crazy strong, no need for bolts and clips). I will probably end up replacing the wing in the future. Any help on how to clean all this up and remove the clips and bolts would be greatly appreciated.

I am finished painting anything on my car ever again.

Thank you

You have to take off the trim panel inside the hatch!!!

:facepalm:

I know I was thinking the same thing but at this point he really needs help.:icon14:

:koolaidwall:

I don't know if you read the service manual, free download on this site. It shows you a picture of how to take apart the entire z.

Wow, good luck with the repair

When the mods come in to close this thread, and they will come in to close this thread, I'd like it noted I had nothing to do with it ;]

By the looks of it? He probably didn't, and didn't ask how to? before attempting something so simple.

I might add that I taped all around mine when I Painted my spoiler. I saw it didn't need to be removed just to paint it.

Op, learned an expensive lesson.

I Hope :ugh2:

edit: just saw there was an attempt to read the bolts locations but still failed

Op- don't touch the car, send it in for professional care. Nevermind the mistakes u already did just take it in. Some people are just not good working on cars. Just realize it and give it up.

I don't know how to replace a ejector pump in the basement. I paid a pro to do it. Nothing wrong with that. Things were done quickly and painlessly.

thespoilercompany sells painted for $139 on eBay. We have owners here that had purchased and very satisfied. Just a cheaper suggestion than Do-it-yourself way lol.

Go to Harbor Freight, get some cheap body panel tools. Use the to pop the trim piece from off of the lift gate. It's held on my clips. Don't try to get the piece off all at once. Just work your way across popping out all of the clips.

Once you get the trim piece off, then you'll see the holes to get to the spoiler bolts.

This picture shows the inside of the trim piece. The little "horseshoe" areas are where the clips are. Ignore the oval, that is from a DIY that I did on something else.

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...p/IMG_2704.jpg]

oh yeahhhh

more like a ohhh ye...ohhh noo. :bowrofl:

i personally find it a little ironic that you were willing to rip the spoiler off the exterior of the car... because the plastic panel that is covering the bolts to easily and properly remove the spoiler is actually intended to just pull off. it just snaps out. pull on it.

So with a title like that I have only one question to ask...how long have you been married?

Pics of the wife?

I like you guys, this is a great forum. I expected the worst flamming possible and the responses were extremely reasonable. I will try to respond to all comments in one post. Believe me, I am not freaked out, this is now really for all of our entertainment. I wish I had a picture of the two little chip marks that I accidentally made with my watch while closing the hatch about the 2nd day I got the Z.

I have learned a lot being in the tuner and car hobby for a long time now, the most important thing is, everything can be fixed. Once I went to far and ruined the paint, I wanted to see what it would look like satin black to match the valences (looking at other member pics). I had the paint and materials already so I was like what the heck. I also knew it would cost me like 50$ for the supplies to repaint it body color.

Again long story shorter, After multiple layers of primer and paint I at least sanded down the the black base color and began my paint job to body color. For the poor prep, it being on the car and doing it in a poorly lit garage, it came out very well (the neighbors and kids always come up and ask questions/start conversations when I am doing car projects so I decided to suck it up and do it in the garage. Another brilliant decision.

Anyway, there were just a couple of spots on the side portion of the wing that bugged me and I decided to spot paint them. It was a lot of pressure as I only had minimal paint from the last project and did not want to pay another 30$ for more oem paint from sherwin williams. A big part that bothered me was missing just a small portion in the crack of the wing that connects to the hatch you could see some white.

Nobody else would have noticed but me. Same with the touchup job. If I had just let well enough alone, it would not have turned into such a project. I had to look at the two little nicks everyday while putting my gym bag in my trunk and it bugged me so I thought why not. 30,000 dollar car, barely had it a month, lets do some paint work with a jagged edge spoiler while it is still on the car with some tough masking curves, and it is very difficult to remove without breaking it. More entertaining back story didn't want you guys to miss.

I purchased this car after selling my turbo prelude for this exact reason, no more projects, especially painting.

the main regret after the obvious stupid decisions once I decided to paint the entire wing and destroying the paint over two small nicks is I should have left well enough alone after painting it back to body color. I did a pretty good job for what it was, and nobody would have known but me. I planned to purchase a pre paiinted spoiler in a few months to replace the wing altogether.

This could have been a 50$ project to bring the spoiler back to body paint and looking pretty good. Should have left well enough alone as usual.

Definitely all valid comments regarding stop messing with it, don't paint it yourself, use a body shop, etc... I think because I knew I had a safety net of a cheap replacement painted at 200$, it wasn't a huge risk to me. If the spoiler was super expensive, then I would have been more bummed or probably made a better decision from the beginning.

It would cost about 150-200$ to have it done at a body shop and from other forum members experiences, they are prone to break the spoiler as well.

Yes it is extremely ironic that I was too impatient to figure out removal of the hatch cover portion to access the two bolts which was probably the simplest of all jobs I had attempted. At that point I was emotionally spent and needed instant results or removing the spoiler.

Using a heat gun and a paint spatula type deal I was very successful in lifting all the extremely strong tape. Then deep down knowing it was not true I was like, "oh, maybe on the 2009 they only taped the wing on since it kinda seemed that way at the time." (this is knowing I probably felt the bolts as I was using the spatula to pry into the tape.

I know it seems ridiculous, but I did know in advance, and I did see the diagram of exactly how to remove it. I knew it was more than likely going to break being forced off like that, but I was so spent emotionally, I needed some sort of instant gratification.

I am not a good painter and I recognized that before starting this project. For some reason, I really enjoy the challenge of doing it myself and making it look pretty good. I did the valences in satin black with flat clear and did a great job. Every time I look at them I have the pride of knowing, hey, I did that. I guess I wanted the same affirmation from the wing.

I am a former soldier and Iraq vet so I have experience mechanically working on helicopters as well as my previous prelude. I did not however have paint experience except for the jobs I ruined on my lude and had professionally done.

I know most of you think this is crazy and what kind of numbnut would do this to such an expensive car. This was not my intention, but like I said, anything can be fixed and to me, its only money (I do well financially and I also realize you can always make more).

All in all this kept me busy and excited about the project for a few weeks now which is important to me as I don't do anything but chill with my wife and work. Playing with my car is the only other thing I do.

My wife is extremely cool and very forgiving when it comes to stuff like this. She was serious about me not messing with this car and I am sure she will be pissed, but no big deal.

All in all I learned yet another valuable lesson and I know something good will come from this experience as it always does. I am a huge positive psychology guy so I don't let the small stuff ruin my life.

Really just started the thread to get those two bolts off hoping it was a simple job which I knew it would be (wish on the DIY the removal of the plastic trim was included, as I would have done that since I would have already read it).

We are all human, and sometimes we make stupid decisions as hobbyists, but in the long run it is part of the fun. I thought I would never sell the prelude as it was a 10 year journey getting it to where I wanted it and with tons of huge bumps along the way.

The car was like my child and I loved it dearly. Once it got to the point where there was really nothing left to do, I instantly lost interest and decided to get the Z. I don't miss the lude at all after seeing it next to the z physically, and comparing it in every other aspect (I do miss the sound and spool of the turbo, but still doesn't compare to the Z's 6cyl). There is way more possibility for progression in just bolt ons for the z and exterior accents to keep me busy for a long time.

This was not part of the plan, but you live and learn.

Yes my wife is hot as I am a pretty handsome stud myself. I will post some pics in a few from my regular computer.


Thanks again for the wise thoughts and for not being dicks about it.

Thats quite the epic repair fail. Been there myself, and it's amazing how everything just goes downhill when you get frustrated.

Quite the rebuttal. Dont sweat it man, if I were you i would just order one of those oem spoilers from ebay that cost like $150 pre painted. From other members reviews on here the color match and oemness(even a word?) of it was spot on.

yeah, carid can get me one painted and ready to install by tuesday morning for 250$. I can prob fool the wife for a day. Honestly, I am not afraid or worried about my wife, its just that she is so cool and put up with so much crap with the Lude and part of the deal with this car was to not really mess with it (although bolt ons and exterior accessories were definitely a must to me). Thanks for the love, I thought it was an entertaining story. I am sure not the worst 370z fail.

anyone have a dIY removal of that panel with specific instructions. I have not used the removal tools before and I do not want to jack anything else up. I could not find the removal stuff in the service manual. I would like to do this today and clean up the rear area so it is ready to be installed when I get it.

Dude when I bought the car I made the same deal with my wife. But sometimes, deals are made to be broken and she understood that. Especially after watching me spend countless hours on this site and working on the car.

One thing thats always kept my wife happy, is that she knows everytime I buy a mod for my car, she also gets a gift of equal value. For instance, when I bought my exhaust, I bought her diamond earrings. Ya that one hurt, but I got the exhaust :tup:

You are so funny. I bet we all make deals like that, and I bet all of our wives know they will be broken. I do the same thing except my wife is easily pleased. All I do is spend more time with her, do something with her, and I am usually off the hook. Mind you I work with her, and see her all day, I am already very affectionate, I treat her great and compliment her all day long. These things give me a lot of room to mess up. I am very surprised she seemed to calm down about the car thing. At first if she saw me looking up stuff, or on this forum she would freak out. I think since I sold the lude for a good price 13000$ and I don't even show it when something goes wrong with the car, I am safe. What else do we really have besides our cars as solace from the rest of the world.

I got everything off and cleaned up the hatch. Spoiler will be here tues morning. No harm lot of foul. I will be focusing on accents and bolt ons for good.

Thanks again

First off..

http://www.the370z.com/diy-section-d...r-spoiler.html

you need to get the tool like other people say, ignore the shock removal part on the DIY cause you dont need to do that

you can pull the panel down with your nails to get a big enough gap for you to slide the tool in and pop the clips.

try to be more patient next time and read up on DIY or guides before starting your own project would help a lot

You hit it right on the head, patience is the key. This is not one of my strong suits which is why the mistakes were made in the first place. I did read the DIY, and as I mentioned, I tried to convince myself on my year "maybe they only used tape on the 2009."

It didn't really matter if it broke or not because it would cost the same to have a body shop paint that one, or get a pre painted one from a number of online stores.

It is not something I am proud of, but it was nice to get that wing off, clean up the mess back there and make it look like a clean car again, minus the exposed clips and holes of course.

It is prepped and ready for the install now and nobody will be any the wiser. It's funny how much more i will appreciate that clean spoiler knowing all that I went through and the various destructive looks along the way.

Every day when I open that hatch I guarantee I will think about that and smile.

I bought mine with only minor bolt ons planned, to use as a daily driver to the airport for work. Less than a year later, I decided to make it a track only car. Way different than intended! My wife just expects it from me, no deals need to be made. However, her Z4 did cost twice what my 370 did. The only deal she wants is no modding of her car.

Sorry you got into the situation you ended up in. Leave it to the pros. I would recommend taking it to a good body shop. Flowers and a nice dinner for the wife.

I apologize to the original poster. I have a off topic question? I noticed you have a Honda CRZ. We are thinking of replacing a Mini S with a CRZ as a daily driver. How do you like it and would you recommend one?

Thanks and best of luck to the original poster!

Pm sent 370zgal

wat did the op say in that long chapter post? he took it to a bodyshop and let the pro's handle it from there? hope so.

I keep checking back for the pics of the wife.

All is well. The painted spoiler from carid will be here next week.

I was able to clean up the hatch so it is ready for the new wing. It looks surprisingly good without the wing, minus the clips and holes showing.

My wife is cool, no issues. We are on vacation for the next week. 2 days we are visiting her parents, that is payment enough for me.

I will post pics as soon as I can

:bowrofl: :roflpuke2:

glad everything worked out, just be careful and think twice when you decide to rip something off your car next time. ;)

Got the replacement wing, really crappy fit, looks terrible
 

Hey guys, PICTURES BELOW

some of you will recognize me from the spoiler dilemmas I had brought upon myself. I finally decided to bite the bullet and order a replacement sport wing from carid that comes pre painted. When removing the old spoiler there is a distinct outline in the paint where the spoiler used to be. Almost like a tracing but in missing paint.


This is what brings me to my problem. The spoiler from car id does not fit even close to the oem and leaves the outline paint imperfections clearly visible. You can see from the pictures that the spoiler is significantly shorter than the original it is replacing. This leaves a large gap on the left side (at least 1"), and the right side paint outline is still not even covered. The bottom and underside of the spoiler fit just right without showing any imperfection. There is no leeway to adjust the wing up or down, side to side as this just throws it off even more.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...0/DSCF5750.jpghttp://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...0/DSCF5749.jpghttp://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...0/DSCF5716.jpghttp://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...0/DSCF5733.jpghttp://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...0/DSCF5744.jpghttp://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...0/DSCF5755.jpghttp://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...0/DSCF5754.jpg

You can also see the fitment at the top portion of the wing that sits in the decklid does not fit right as well which exposes more outline imperfections. I have emailed carid with my explanation and pics. Do I have a viable case? It does not mention the specs are different or do not replace oem spoiler because the dimensions are different yet they make a distinct remark that it will not fit the roadster.

Please check out the pics and let me know what my next move should be.

As always, thanks a lot for your help.

what's the "residue" ? damaged paint or left over adheasive?

Dude, wife pics or we don't help! sheesh! haha

Tough call... touch up? different wing? rear hatch respray?

Wife pics as requested.
 

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n.../michelle4.jpghttp://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n.../michelle3.jpghttp://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...0/michelle.jpghttp://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n.../michelle2.jpg

Now, down to the real issue.

I wish it was just residue but it is scraped off paint from the original spoiler. It does not show if I put the original spoiler back on (not an option, it is destroyed).

I figure respraying it would be expensive, and touch up would not be so great. I am looking for carid to take the hit on this due to the fact it is clearly not even close to the dimensions of the oem spoiler.