Custom Painted Engine Covers
 

Very soon I will be selling these Custom Painted Engine Covers.

They will be sold using the Exchange Program due to the fact that these stock engine covers run about $250 for a replacement from the dealer, and we will be selling these covers including shipping both ways.

We're in the process of working with Omicron to get set ourselves up as an RX8Club.com vendor, and cannot quote prices until this is arranged.

The way the Program will work:
Buyer will mail, at their expense, their existing engine cover to us.
**Your engine cover must be in mint, to near mint condition in order for the sale to be honored at stated pricing. The engine cover must have the Mazda Wing Badge and the Rubber Mount Grommets.
**After we receive, inspect and approve your engine cover, we will ship out the painted one within 24hrs of receipt of your reusable cover and payment via Money Order or PayPal. **We will ship the engine cover via UPS for tracking purposes and email you the Tracking Number.

As we are just testing the waters with this program we will provide all information required to complete the transaction via Private Messages only.
We will provide a cell phone number so any additional questions can be answered directly.

Thanks for looking and if you have any comments please leave them for us.

** These are just sample photos taken indoors before the clear coat has cured to a safe point. Soon I will post the Final Product with the Wings Badge in place. The 2nd photo is what the Engine Cover on the left labeled "My Sample Cover" looks like in natural lighting on the vehicle.**

Nice work, very impressive.

I love you!

Thanks,
Soon we will run an estimate for all (5) covers to painted as well.
Main Engine Cover, Fuse Cover, Airbox Cover, Battery Cover and Condenser Cover.
This will obviously cost more.

Those are some great looking paint jobs! Any other designs or just the flames?

those are sick, i definatly want one one with red flames

question, how does the paints hold up against the heat, i deal with 115-120degrees in vegas all the time plus engine temp, will it hol dup?

Nice. Very cool looking.

crazy cuh!

Looks Hot!

I like it but kinda expensive

Respectfully... you may want to do a little more homework before you claim this is too expensive, but I do appreciate your input.
a.) A stock factory replacement cost $250.
b.) Carbon Fiber Engine Covers run anywhere from $300-$800 + shipping. (Granted they do not use the Exchange Program)
http://www.cftype.com/carbon_fiber/?...product_id=313
http://www.mazdaparts.com/ProductDet...001-1118185941
c.) Go to any local professional Custom Paint shop and ask them how much to duplicate. I doubt they could/would duplicate for less than $300 plus there is a special process required to ensure paint adhesion to the rather dimply and oily surface of the cover. If you were to walk into our shop we would do this CUSTOM paint for no less than $350-$500.
d.) We feel this pricing and exchange program is a great value for those looking for a unique cosmetic enhancement to their engine compartment. It is obviously not for everyone. Some may feel the cost does not justify the product, and we understand that, but I ask that you not hi-jack this thread with negative opinions please. Not saying your suggestion that price is too high is negative, but too many times we see one off color comment turn into insulting and flaming.
Our offer is firm and we stand behind our craftsmanship.
Thank you

For now we are just doing the Real Fire as the standard due to the fact that it is a universal design and each one no matter what will always be a one of a kind piece. Custom Design Orders are Welcome as well as other pieces. We can also do Custom Murals.. say A City Scape, Custom Logos or maybe a Dragon Seen, but that would obviously cost more and require a custom quote.
I do not want to break away from the pre-set guidelines of RX8Club.com. We are testing the market and not set up as a Vendor yet, so we must be careful how we conduct our behavior.

As an 8 owner myself, we used my stock cover to perfect the process and to ensure that the paint would not peel, chip, crack or break down due to our lovely hot little rotary.
The cover is painted the same way the sheet metal is... Base coat, Mid coat & Clear Coat. The Sample Cover we did has been on my 8 for over 2000 miles Ran in 90+ degree weather with much Redline driving and high speed interstate driving. Absolutely no degradation as of yet. It has held up for almost 2 months now.
We will Warranty and Guarantee our craftsman ship for 1 year to help ensure your piece of mind and to show our total belief in the quality of our product.

Looks like a fantastic addition vice! I will await the pics of full engine coverage (5 pcs.) Do you have an idea of what will be on the other covers? I'm thinking full flames on all 5 might be a little much. Maybe a blending of smaller flames growing to the largest cover w/full flames...? Also, I'm curious to how the colors match up to the Velocity Red? Winning Blue cars will look great w/your example! The red/orange flames look to lean toward really orange!

Great!
I am glad you asked. We have a few projects we are on now, but this weekend or early next week we are going to paint all covers in the real fire effect as well as the hood, bumper, fenders, eyelids and hood dampers. I will, of coarse, post those images when she is done. as far as my sample cover it is a bit on the Orange side by choice as I wanted it to be very rich in its color snap. All in all it does not really seem to stray so far from the Factory VR. I will post more images for you to judge.

The Red one for sale is more on the VR red side... Not so much Yellow or Orange. I will have photos of those 2 pieces finalized in a few hours.

I personally think these are pretty cool, I just would think they are so unique in the look it is cool when you would open your hood at a car show or meet and another guy has the same installed. I know this can happen with any mod but these are so unique in the painting and design I personally would want something I couldn't see elsewhere if I was having custom paint work done. They are very well done by the way.

Just my opinion

I completely buy what you are saying. As with the CF Covers there really is no guarantee that would not happen.
I have not done my homework to see how many 8's have been sold in the US, minus the silvers that are already totaled :) LOL, and the flooded 8's from the hurricane, but I still bet it will be very rare that you would run into too many of these covers. Each one is hand painted so it is inherently going to be unique. Also as stated earlier we can paint ANYTHING upon request. Portrait, Skulls, Demons, Kitties, Tokyo Skyline anything!

Also, Thanks for the kind words from all so far!

Dang that is some impressive work! You should consider doing all the other covers too... fuse box, ECU/PCM, and battery - I know I'd sure rather have a complete set, and am sure others would too. :)

Dan is indeed working out vendorship with me, so please hold your orders until we get this settled.

vice
I respect your response to my comment

it makes sense
thanks for taking the time to answer

I like the cover with the Mazda wing badge as on the cover installed on your car.

Will they all have that?

These in the sample pics don't, but they may not be finished.

I like the idea of having the custom work done. I just have to decide what I want done on mine. I have an extra cover laying around the place I get my oil changed gave it to me. Someone in Orlando is driving around without thiers.

What would be the pricing on doing custom work? I know it will probally depend on the size and colors etc but can I get an idea?

OK, here are the photos of the Final pieces. It is really sunny here today so I am having a bit of an issue with them looking a bit more washed out than they normally look, but they still are a close enough match to show and the color of monitors are not all the same anyway.

7andan8 asked about color matching... I am including a backed-off photo of the Newer more Red version to show it closeness. Once again over exposed photo, but as before... you be the judge.

Also, want to thank Omicron for getting my Thread back up. I was a bit concerned that it being yanked would cause us to lose our credibility. You know the EBay scams... there on second and gone the next!!! LOL. With this in mind we can not, at this moment, offer any price quotes. I will answer any question ASAP and accept private messages for quotes, but be aware we will offer no quote until we are square with rx8club. The Blue Finished & Red Finished are for sale, but cannot be moved until I have Omicron's OK.
If you would like to place a lock on either one of these covers please PM me and I will hold in the 1st come, 1st serve, 1st reject manner. Obviously because we cannot list a price yet, the 1st in will have the option to back out if they feel the price is more than they expected it to be.

The picture above.. the one for your sample cover looks better than the middle sample pic. It looks like the one for your car has orange color tinge into the scheme... looks more like fire. Was that deliberate? Or will they appear more solid scheme.

Also if you were to paint the rest of the covers, are you considering doing it so that all the pieces flow as one .. instead of just having scattered paints, appearing as if you got the pieces seperately?

Definitely interested... looks good.

Paint that Red hood like that... :)

Thats Crazy PM me when u become vendor im intrested!

My Cover was meant to be more orange/yellow. I wanted it to really pop out of the engine bay. So far locally, we have had nothing but "Oh my god dude... that is sick"!
If an order is put in for the Real Fire offer. We will drill you to find out how you want it to look both colorwise and flame depthwise. Depth means how tight and detailed the flames are. It is all a matter of taste. Nothing is wrong or right.

Full cover sets will be done as murals... so yes! They will look like one huge piece of art on seprate components. This weekend or early next week we are going to paint all covers in the real fire effect as well as the hood, bumper, fenders, eyelids and hood dampers of my 8. You will probably notice that some items are not installed yet and there is a reason for that. I will, of coarse, post those images when she is done.

After this project is complete we should have a better idea how much the entire (5) piece set will cost.

Thanks.

can u answer this please :D:

are these wetsanded between coats for a smooth finish...I can't tell from the pic...can you post a very close up shot? thanks!

as for prepping didn't u just do a quick wet sand and use an adhesion accelerant...like the one duplicolor sells?

did u use a ceramic 'engine/caliper paint'...I feel like the covers might hold up with regular automotive paint if prepped correctly but ceramic paint would be even better

-J

I'd be interested in all the plastics. Looks sweet !!

Of course it always comes down to price... if it's above and beyond the means of the casual enthusiasts, there wouldn't be much sold. So hopefully the price wont be TOO outrageous... and within the means of the consumer. Overrall I think you got people interested in the product, now we wait on the pricing :)

Respectfully,
We spent a good amount of time perfecting the method. Nothing like Quantum Physics, but to explain the process would only enable another professional paint shop to cheat, rather than coming up with their own process. More than likely using lower grade paints or clear.

The surface is not as smooth as sheet metal. So it does have that kind orange peel look, but we feel the texture, as subtle as it is, adds to the depth of the fire.

I can tell you that we only used normal professional pigments, and clear... no High Temp caliper style paint. Also the reason we tested for almost 2 moths to make sure we could back our quality and durability.

Thanks for snooping though! I admit… I am the same way too. :eek:

no thank you for the info...I was just fleshing you out to see if you were some guy with a bucket of hobby paint and an cheap airbrusher kit from walmart

I think your product looks great and hope to purchase from you in the future...depending on what kind of graphics are eventually offered

thanks

-J

Ahhhh I see.
We are not a fly-by-night operation. The work is not performed out of our garages if that is what you mean. Our Company, which shall remain nameless until were are properly set up as a vendor, does a lot of custom sheet metal for motorcycles. We also do insurance paint, as well helmets and damn near anything that is paintable and someone is will to pay for. Recently a Mailbox, toilet seat and clock that was painted in the real fire garnished $875 in a silent auction benefit for the downed/lost Army and Seals families. The ones shot down in Iraq a few months back.

Thanks for asking though. These types of questions only help to answer others questions about the quality and the operation. We have begun working on a site to help show our work and the operation so possible clients can see we aren’t a bunch of talented TAG Kids with our $1.96 cans of Wal-Mart spray-paint!!! :)
Dan

vice, that cover is tight!

i'll keep an eye on this thread. good luck in your effort to get the vendor thing up here in the forum.

can't wait to see all of em painted.

Sorry everyone. We need to get up with Omicron as he has yet to send me the Vendor info. We promise we are working on it, but there is nothing I can do until we get the info and determine if we can become a paid vendor. I gave Omicron our word that we would not conduct any shady business or try to slip things under the radar, and I shall keep my word. I will PM him again to see if he cannot expedite the info. I am not sure if this is something a committee has to evaluate and maybe this is why it is taking longer than expected. Maybe I can contact Matt at MazdaParts.com and see if we cannot distribute via him, but that seems underminded and sneaky.

On a side note... Tuesday the 6th we will probably be starting on the full engine cover and body paint. I will have photos a few days after that.
Thanks for your patience.

The first one you presented was nearly perfect however, I felt it didn't match the special Velocity Red. It would be a perfect match for all other colors of the 8.

Now the second version is perfect for the VR. I wish I could see both in person. Your Orange Yellow was done so well..

that wouldn't been underminded or sneaky...I'll pm you the rest as it is long and boring for everyone else :)

Thanks for answering the many, many, many questions! The covers look great! I'll keep my eye on this post.

Body paint...
All Covers will be painted tomorrow. Will post thos files once Completed.

wow.....cant wait to see it finished

Someone will break out the ole fire extinguisher when seeing that :)

Ok here is the final product.

Body...

Dude, those are smokin hot. Dayum ...

Where did you get this painted?

he's doin it himself. read the first post, itll give you all the info

love your paint job

sweet !

dang, nice work! I'm surprised nobody else has gone all mural crazy under our hood as all those pieces put together leave a huge canvas to be utilized. :)

vice seems to be a bit of a pioneer

Awesome! Wonder how something like that would like on a titanium-colored RX8

with black/silver flames? :) cool