I have just a few questions/ideas about my Protege exterior....

[Canadian Bear]

I have a 2002 Mazda Protege ES-GT. My car is Millennium Red Mica in colour and I am unsure of what colour accents to add to my car. To be more specific, what is a good colour for my brake calipers, valve cover, ignition wires, etc? I was thinking red, but with my paint colour, I am not sure what the best colour scheme is. By the way, I have never done any of this before, so please pardon my ignorance.

Also, I want to make my headlights clear (without the amber lens), is there a way I can do that without buying clear headlights, i.e. breaking the amber lens inside the light fixture?
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Here is my car. Please disregard the snow/dirt on my Protege. Even though it is April, Winter continues to hinder us, and it becomes more of a hassle every time I wash my car.

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/6928/img3786br5.jpg
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/792/img3787sp4.jpg

[Prodigy]

Red + Black make a good contrast.
But Red + Silver/gray end up looking the best.

I'd paint the calipers silver.

[Canadian Bear]

I'd paint the calipers silver.


Almost like my stock rims?

[Prodigy]

I have a feeling that they won't be stock forever..

Red will look slightly out of place if it doesn't match the paint.
Yellow, blue, green, w/e is out of the question.
Black is a another good option.


Black will match the headlight housing, grille, wind deflector on the hood, and tint(future?)

[Canadian Bear]

I have a feeling that they won't be stock forever..

Red will look slightly out of place if it doesn't match the paint.
Yellow, blue, green, w/e is out of the question.
Black is a another good option.


Black will match the headlight housing, grille, wind deflector on the hood, and tint(future?)

You are correct. The stock rims will become my Winter rims in the future, and the colours that you mentioned are out of the question, except for black or grey. And, tint will be added in a few months. Maybe I will go with 35% tint or something close to that.

[99 Pro]

I say go with black paint on the calipers.

[mountjonas]

as for the headlights, you can bake them and take the amber out. there's instructions somewhere here. it's not that hard.

[BlueWolfCry]

i have the same color car. I have black calipers. I think it's just cleaner. If I was to do valve cover and engine accents and what not, I would prob do polished silver and black.

[Canadian Bear]

i have the same color car. I have black calipers. I think it's just cleaner. If I was to do valve cover and engine accents and what not, I would prob do polished silver and black.

Nice. Thanks for the info. Do you have a pic (s) of your wheels?

[Canadian Bear]

Upon doing some research, I will be removing my mud guards and side moldings. Removing these items make for a much cleaner appearance.

[BlueWolfCry]

heres a pic


Nice. Thanks for the info. Do you have a pic (s) of your wheels?

[mazda protege 2]

blue wolf, what did you do to get rid of that huge antenna, i dont listen to the radio ne ways lol

[Canadian Bear]

heres a pic

WOW! I like those rims a lot! Nice set up.



blue wolf, what did you do to get rid of that huge antenna, i dont listen to the radio ne ways lol

You can manually push the antenna until you only see the the little black knob sticking out. Just slide it toward the front of the car. Hopefully this explanation helps.

[Canadian Bear]

Upon removing my mud guards, I noticed that the edge of the mud guard, that sits on the paint, has made made a permanent scratch. Sadly, I am unsure of how to fix this besides painting, or a temporary fix of putting the mud guards back on. Does anyone have any suggestions?

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/3842/img3791aq2.jpg


Now, as much as the scratches suck (the four areas are like this), I really like the "non mud guard" look.

[SIBalla23]

Go to an auto store and get a rubbing compound.

[99 Pro]

Go to an auto store and get a rubbing compound.

Exactly. Or maybe a good wax would get that off?

[Canadian Bear]

And now the "ES 2.0" is gone from both sides. The clean look just gets better.

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/3553/img3815jn1.jpg

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/3332/img3816vq2.jpg

http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/4349/img3814yi7.jpg

[BlueWolfCry]

It's actually just retracted. I never keep it out, it's just too ugly lol


blue wolf, what did you do to get rid of that huge antenna, i dont listen to the radio ne ways lol


Canadian Bear: that looks good!

[Canadian Bear]

It's actually just retracted. I never keep it out, it's just too ugly lol




Canadian Bear: that looks good!

Thanks man, and I keep my antenna retracted as well.

[mazda protege 2]

yeah i found out that pushing it down it goes away , im a dumbass for not knowing that!!i found it out before i read it just now lol, but thanks ne ways

[Canadian Bear]

yeah i found out that pushing it down it goes away , im a dumbass for not knowing that!!i found it out before i read it just now lol, but thanks ne ways

Hey man, no problem. I owned my Protege for a few months before I realized the antenna was manual, not automatic. I don't listen to the radio (just MP3s), so I had no idea until I read in the forum that it can be pushed down. I am glad that it is retracted, because it is really long and takes away from the "clean" look.

Mazda should have made the antenna about 4 or 5 inches long, and black, of course. My 2006 Ford Freestar SEL has the antenna hidden in the back right window. There is a few lines for the reception, and it looks clean.

[nate0123]

I say go with black paint on the calipers.+1

[Canadian Bear]

+1


I agree as well. Right now, my calipers need paint, and glossy black would be nice and clean. I am going to do the same for the rotors as per the "how-to".