OldManJed

Nice taillights! I've looked at those 3rd break lights a few times. I'm curious about the amount of light they produce. The manufacturers pictures make the cargo lights seem weak, what's your opinion?

The carbon fiber bowtie is pretty sick. Weren't these a group buy of 5? Did anyone put them on a black SS? Did you paint your grille inserts?

The tails look like smoked factory lights, is the 3rd smoked factory as well? I came really close to smoking my factory taillights before they were stolen. Yours look sharp.

As stated in another thread, I'm having my black 03 SSS repainted. I'm also thinking about adding a few subtle custom touches. FYI, I've dug through tons of threads before posting. Grille bowtie: I think I would like the front grille bowtie color to match the silver SS emblem / brake ducts. If anyone has done it, please post a pic. I know the shopman bowties are popular, but not exactly what I'm looking for. Of course, all others are welcome to show off, but I'm mainly interested in silver bowtie on black truck (possibly could be persuaded to a black bowtie with silver trim). Another member painted theirs and it looks really good, I'm hoping for an after market piece. Front Bowtie to match the brake ducts 3rd brake light: I'm also interested in a LED 3rd brake light to compliment my LED taillights. I was forced to swap out my taillights (twice) because someone else liked them so much they took them. Again, show them off! Thoughts? recon link

I'll check into the paint name brand. To be honest, I'm not sure what name brands are quality. I assumed at $1300 for material that the paint quality would be solid. What paint does GM use? I did ask about the price and the manager said he dropped labor rates to bring price down. Turns out our kids play little league together and he is trying to help bring price down some.

Very interested. Did you have any body work done?

I've asked around a good bit, and checked out a previous paint job. Seems like a square deal, and I'm going to go for it. It's going to be a few weeks before it's done, hopefully I'll be back on with some better pics. Thanks to all for helping with the decision. The only down side to the fresh paint is it takes $ away from the "go fast" upgrades.

Thanks for the responses so far. I've done some research and asked around. The paint shop is well respected, and provide a lifetime guaranty on their work (as long as it stays in the family). I guess I have a bit of sticker shock, having never painted a vehicle before. Out of curiosity, anyone know how much people pay for fancy flame jobs?

So I've been around for quite some time, but have only managed to accumulate a massive 8 posts. I guess you'd call me a lurker... so thanks for all the info over the years, and I apologize for not giving back to the community. Anyway, I've got a paint question. My original 2003 Onyx Black paint job looks awful, and it pains me to see it that way. The clear coat on the hood is coming off, and the roof (which has had repair around the 3rd brake light) is bubbling once again. I stopped by a local paint shop asked what it would take to get the deep black factory look it used to have. The quote came in at approx $4300. It breaks down ~33 hrs of body work (~1k), ~60 hrs paint (~2k), and 1.3k in materials. I believe the plan is to take everything off the truck, paint metal, refinish the cladding, and put everything back on. For those of you who have experience in this area, does this seem to be on the mark? To be honest, I expected something in the $2500-$3000 range. For what it is worth, it is pretty embarrassing for me to share these pictures.

Thanks guys... those silver ones are exactly what I'm loking for, I'll just crop the backgrounds out of the pics

I'm looking for a SS logo. I did a quick search and came up empty handed. A high quality metalic grey logo with a transparent background would be ideal. I'm looking to add it to a wallpaper I am working on. so... post 'em if you got 'em Thanks in advance

Just to add to the saga... I finally got the cladding fixed (again) on both sides this past wednesday. Hopefully everything will stay on this time. The dealership special ordered some 3M tape (#06396 or #5390), it is supposed to have crazy high specs (something like 29 lbs of holding power @ temps below 100 F, and 57 lbs of holding power @ temps above 100 F).

Not to discourage you or anything, but I've been dealing with the same cladding problem for about 3 years now. (Cladding Issues) I just had the problem fixed again this past wednesday, hopefully for good this time. The dealership special ordered some 3M tape that has higher specs than the tape that comes on the cladding. Good luck with the dealership.

You may want to check out the following site, I haven't personally ordered from them, but it seems to be the price to beat. http://www.hubcaps.org/chevtruck.html Just do a search for part number #CHVC86 - $40

I wash the truck mostly by hand, but on occassion I run it through a "touchless" carwash (the kind that just sprays water on it), why do you ask? I've had it happen in cooler weather too, but it seems to be worse in the heat. Anyway, did the dealership do anything dif to fix the problem - or - what did they do to fix? I've had the sticky tape come off of both the door and the cladding, sometimes both at the same time. Thanks to everyone for the comments... keep the suggestions coming, hopefully I can find something to get these panels on for good.