Cosmetic Repairs for an old car!

[PurpleShyGuy]

So, I have a 2003 Toyota Camry that I purchased used (first car, yay!). It came with some minor cosmetic damage, which is fine because I just need a reliable car to get me to college and work. I want to start making repairs now that I have some spare money and I would like to avoid any expensive labor costs for someone else to do it, though I will if the job requires it.

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^ The headliner is peeling off, but only on this part, the rest of the liner is perfectly fine. I've been looking for solutions to this, but people seem to warn against using adhesive spray/pins as it looks bad.

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^ I'm clueless on this lol. I tested all the speakers before hand when I was buying the car, so everything works and sounds good. But it is rather unsightly.

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^ I have these rust spots on a couple of spots on my car. I did wash and wax the car already so the rest of the paint is protected for now, but I would love to cover these up. From what I found, a lot of people use touch up paint which is fine for most situations, but I'm not sure how to judge this one as I'm not sure if this is considered minor, or more severe.

I am obviously new to this so lots of detail would be wonderful! I've done as much research as I could, but I would like some personal advice from some people here!

 

[A5TR4L]

Hey congratulations on the new car!!!

To be honest all of those things are minor and shouldn't be an issue to sort out.

1. Yes spray adhesive is bad....only because there's so many poor quality adhesives out there. From the picture you posted it can only be done using an adhesive. Use something of high quality like 3M 90 or carpet cement. The key is to spray adhesive on both surfaces, wait for the stated time on the can then roll the lining with a plastic fabric roller (looks like a paint roller but smaller and made of plastic). Start from the Center of the roof and roll the lining towards the glass, never the other way....you only have one shot because this stuff sticks and sticks hard! By using a roller you remove and trapped air and actually spread the adhesive evenly at the same time to avoid lumpy spots which can cause sagging later on. Once you have rolled as close as you can to the window, where the lining ends you have to kind of tuck it into the crack where the glass and roof meets, ensure that side edge of the lining has adhesive on it then kind of stroke the lining like you would a pet, with a flat hand and the edge of your little little finger and hand you push the fabric into the edge, tuck it in good and strong. Once you've done that this step is where people flop, don't just leave it to dry like that, for the main lining you'll need something to push up against it like a large tray or anything flat, and then something to hold that up there to create pressure against the roof like 2 poles on the back seats holding up the tray or something along those lines. For the end part where the gap is and the edge of the lining is tucked away get something. Small and cylindrical and long thy will fit in there snug like pens or pencils (not the one with edges but perfectly round) knock them in there gently, in a row this will cause the lining edge to stick in there tight and will never come out.

2. I laughed at this only the gods know what happened to that haha. It's only the speaker grill you can pick one of these up on ebay for next to nothing and you just take this one out and fit the new one. Or you can just remove both and leave both speakers exposed, it won't effect speaker operation at all.

3. You can use touch up paint to cover it cosmetically, however rust will spread over years underneath, but if you do not plan to keep the car that long just get touch up paint (your cars paint code will be either on an Id plate in the engine bay somewhere on on one of the door jams). Alternitavely find a replacement bonnet on ebay of same color, they aren't expensive at all.

Good luck

 

[CarClubIndia]

I was also purchased an old car in 2013 which was first car of my life even in my family. Right now there are some scratched on the body of car and like your opinion i would not like to spend much money on that which is best option to save money.