so here are the pics:
pre-paint


removed rub strips


found the rub strips seemed to trap a lot of moisture and cause rusting. in this pic there are the big chips in the paint that came off with the rub strip glue but above them you can see the mottling and blistering of the paint where the rust was beginning to set in. the big chips weren't a concern because the textured surface of the chip guard would hide all of them.



no hatch or bumper makes it look like a space ship! we couldn't figure out how to disconnect the fluid line for the rear wiper cleaner so we just cut it and used a junction to reconnect the ends afterwards. tested it out, no leaks thus far.

mad sanding.


my buddy's step dad took issue with my fram oil filter.

you can see the encroaching rust in the usual areas here, which was the excuse i gave myself to paint the SOB.


painted the trim pieces:

after 3rd coat, pre-chip guard:

finished and back home:



i had been looking into getting a hood deflector or even a car bra to protect the new paint but then i decided to just chip guard the hood as well as the lower portions. i really like the way it turned out.

there are a few areas that will need touching up once the paint has hardened in a month but overall i'm really happy with it.