removing/refinishing side sills?

[obaa996]

Hey all,
As a corollary to refinishing the front fascia, I'm going to have my side sills repainted as well; I was told it wouldn't cost that much more to get them done at the same time, so why not, right?
Mine are in good shape, except at the lower leading edges, where they've been rocked by kicked up debris. I also just noticed that there are some bubbles here and there (paint bubbling from heat?), so I'm likely to have them completely repainted, rather than just the leading edges.
My understanding is that the sidesills are formed from aluminum. Are there any special tips or tricks to painting aluminum that I need to make sure the painter follows?
Also, (more basic), what's the secret to getting the sidesills off? I've removed all the bolts/screws I can find, but they still won't budge. I see some rivets; do these need to be drilled out? The shop manual doesn't say anything about doing this, and thus far, I've been leery of drilling them out in case they attach something else internally that I can't see....

Thanks!

 

[Newport Viper]

make sure you get the plastic overlay, mine were sand blasted in weeks with out it

 

[Jeff Torrey]

Don't know how many you found. Open the doors. There are plastic caps on the step plates. Remove the caps with a putty knife and the screws along the top of the sills are directly below each cap.

 

[Ulysses]

plastic putty knife

Remove the caps with a putty knife

 

[Jerry Scott[CO]]

Take a look at my post on replacing the sheet metal screws with machine screws and nut serts. After you have taken of the side sills a few times, the screws will strip out. You might want to try this procedure to fix the problem. If you get the sills repainted, as another mentioned, get the 3M film applied to the lower half of the sill to keep rocks from damaging the paint. See: http://vca2.viperclub.org/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=upgrades&Number=238855&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

No, you do not want to drill out the rivets, since they hold the cover together and have nothing to do with holding the cover to the car.

Jerry Scott
303-697-1556

 

[KenH]

There are 10 screws that need to be removed. The pic below shows the basic locations. 6 on top, 4 on bottom. The most likely one to miss is the one conveniently located under the door jam. I also plan to do Jerry's mod the next time I have to take the side sills off as the stock setup is pretty poor.

--- Ken

 

[dansauto]

you have corresion if you have bubbles. The sills need to be stripped and the bad spots ground out and spray tig welded with clean al. Make sure your painter does this or the bubbles will be back in a month. I have been charging $500-1000 per set to strip, repair and refinish.

 

[picflight]

you have corresion if you have bubbles. The sills need to be stripped and the bad spots ground out and spray tig welded with clean al. Make sure your painter does this or the bubbles will be back in a month. I have been charging $500-1000 per set to strip, repair and refinish.

That is an excellent advice. Do it right the first time so you wont have the same problem again.

 

[genXgts]

My local body shop (Viper owner) cleaned mine up good, and rehit base clear in SBE on my Blue car for $300, which is $225 your funny money! Thought that was a good deal......

2 months later they look great, perfect match, take the odd chip from the front Kumhos, but no big deal, I'll paint them every few years if need be.

On the install I tossed the stock wimpy sheet metal screws and used Moroso Rim Screws, these nice heavy duty jobs that are used to screw thru a race rim into the slick to stop it from spinning on hard launching cars. They work perfect and bite nice, cheap easy, quick fix for $30.

After several off and ons perhaps these enlarged holes will loosen off and at that point I'll consider the rivet method, which no doubt is the best way to go about it.

My exhaust mods are done, the sills should be in place for a while is the hope......

 

[obaa996]

Hey, thanks for all the tips! Yes, I missed those screws,
and I am d*mn glad I didn't drill out those rivets!

Dan, about grinding out the bad spots.... Is it sufficient
to grind the bubbles down smooth? What does the spray tig
welding do, and how do I find someone qualified to do it?
I'm in Portland, OR, so unfortunately no where close to you...