Got My Rollbar, Now the Fun Stuff

snshami · Postby **snshami** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 1:20 pm

Hi Everyone, my rollbar came yesterday. As you can see in this topic viewtopic.php?f=28&t=45995 I ended up being convinced of the need to have decent rollover protection. Given that I do very much want to keep the car looking good I opted for the twin hoop version of the MX5 Plus TB rollbar.

I bought the uncoated version which cost me $735 delivered to Melbourne. With $30 of paint I will have saved mysefl $150.

Anyway the rollbar arrived yesterday morning just two days after they received the funds, which is pretty good going (thank you to the sales team at MX5 Plus).

Yesterday night the bar was prepped ready for painting and got a coat of paint on the underside. Today it will get its first coat on the visible parts of the bar. I have opted for black on the torque box and structure and bright silver for the hoops. I am undecided whether I leave the braces black or make them silver.

The plan was then to get foam padding that sticks on the forward edge of the hoops so the from the back one can see silver and the front is soft. I have seen foam in C section. I was planning on finding some means of getting stitched vinyl in tan or black to cover the foam. Anyway I'll post images and update more as I progress. Wish me luck..

lee · Postby **lee** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 1:42 pm

You should probably make a garage thread to keep everything together

deviant · Postby **deviant** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 4:33 pm

Oooo I like the idea of getting it trimmed to match the interior of your LE. If you look around various online race shops and ebay you will see that you can get roll cage padding in various thickness and density. You can get some thin stuff which is high density so would not 'bulk up' the roll bar to much. It would look very classy and stock if it was then trimmed over that in tan leather. Might cost a bit so get practising with the sowing machine!!

I think this thread should be left where it is so it is easier for other people to find looking for install help.

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 5:52 pm

are you getting the bar powder coated?

snshami · Postby **snshami** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 8:41 pm

No I am painting it with VHT rollbar paint.

Hot Rodders · Postby **Hot Rodders** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 9:38 pm

Pics or Ban! :lol:

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 12:46 pm

Painting a roll bar is not nearly as simple as it looks. Every surface has to be coated and runs are easy to get with then the need to rub down and repeat. Powder coating results in a hard even coat appearance and this is the process used for this type of product eg bull bars. There are plenty of powder coaters around eg Bayswater.

Hjt · Postby **Hjt** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 12:59 pm

If your still after stitched vinyl to cover your padding my old man is motor trimmer and it wouldnt cost much to get it done.

deviant · Postby **deviant** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 2:24 pm

I reckon padding and then covering in vinyl would look very nice, I have never seen an mx5 with it done. Functional and stylish and knowing that the owner is fussy about changes to his car it would look like it is supposed to be there.

snshami · Postby **snshami** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 9:16 pm

Mr Morlock wrote:Painting a roll bar is not nearly as simple as it looks. Every surface has to be coated and runs are easy to get with then the need to rub down and repeat. Powder coating results in a hard even coat appearance and this is the process used for this type of product eg bull bars. There are plenty of powder coaters around eg Bayswater.

You are right painting is very very challenging but if done well one can get as good a job as powder coating that can be more chip resistant. The reason I went for paint is that I want the section that are the tubes to be silver and the rest to be black. From my many many many past blunders I have learned that the most important ingredient is patience. Patience lets you spend enough time to prepare and it also lets you put on enough coats and allows you to wait for them all to dry.

So far I have managed to get everything uniformly black with no runs (am quite amazed and proud of myself, actually). Now for the really hard bit, which is to mask and spray the silver

snshami · Postby **snshami** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 9:28 pm

Hjt wrote:If your still after stitched vinyl to cover your padding my old man is motor trimmer and it wouldnt cost much to get it done.

Hi, I would love to find out how much he would charge. I am planning to buy some C section padding foam and then covering that in vinyl or leather in the same tan colour as the seat.