Custom aprons and bumpers NEW PICS 11-17-03!

[Inspar8r]

Okay, so like Jordan, i felt like being a bit creative.

Well, actually JOrdan got to have lots o fun, me, i had no choice....

1st Dilemma:

Plastic rear bumper on early BMW.

Solution:

Follow Jordans lead, ask Jordan many questions, get it to fit. I still have some work to do there.

2nd Dilemma:

Rear apron from BMP, which BMP refunded my money for and told me to keep. One, it fits like crap, two, it's made for aluminum bumpers i no longer have. I wanted to MAKE it fit, since it is free.

Solution:

Mod it to fit, cut like hell, fiberglass like hell, body fill like hell, etc etc.

What i did to maintain the curve of the wheel well (on the plastic bumper and the apron), was used a compass with te pencil recessed back. I used the edge of the needle to trace the curve, while the pencil drew the curve at the specified distance away from the actual end.

I then dremeled and hack-sawed until i have some rough edges. I cut the old "end caps" off the rear apron, and off the old plastic trim pieces for the AL bumpers to fiberglass as new endcaps o nthe newly cut pieces. Then i sanded everything down and used BONDO plastic filler to fill in cracks and crevices. sanded that down to the normal surface and now it's ready for paint.

The pics cover the MESSY fiberglass part. I'll have more pics to update.

Here's the directory

http://mmsport.s5.com/e3stech

Chris, get the hell out of the way, JEEZ!!!

[Jordan]

that puddle of epoxy will crack, and become very fragile over time. You used way too much there.

let see it on the car.

[Inspar8r]

that puddle of epoxy will crack, and become very fragile over time. You used way too much there.

let see it on the car.

I wiped most of it off, LOL, that shit is a mess, thank god a had an extra set of rubber gloves...

Thats really my first time working with the crap, i can't wait to see it on the car. Consequently, the other parts i fiberglassed weren't so messy and i just got enough on there.....

[C ///M]

Yea, those first pics are the first attempt. Nick actually completely re-did that side because it "somehow" came off (read, Nick hit it)... By the way....I like your camera work, do you know how I could get a hold of your camera guy???

[Inspar8r]

Yea, those first pics are the first attempt. Nick actually completely re-did that side because it "somehow" came off (read, Nick hit it)... By the way....I like your camera work, do you know how I could get a hold of your camera guy???

The camera guy got in the way, thats why it hit it and knocked it off.

[C ///M]

The camera guy got in the way, thats why it hit it and knocked it off.

Low blow.... :roll:

[Inspar8r]

So i fabricated my own endcaps, and filled, fiberglassed and sanded everything. i had some trouble with paint crinkling (laquer tends to do that), so i sanded the whole thing down to the plastic, since originally i just wetsanded with 400gt, layed coats of adhesion promoter and primer, and thought it would be enough.

I decided that i would stay away from laquer, and went back to acrylic (which i prefer, but it is softer than laquer).

I'll have it primered today, after drying under heat, i'll layer the base coats (4 layers), and then go with 6 of clear).

I'll have pics of the rear apron later today which already have the base on, just awaiting wetsanding and clearcoat


this one looks like the surface isn't smooth, but it is, the feathered edges make it look bad...

I give SERIOUS props to Jordan, who has helped me along the way with mounting details and other tips, but this project is NOT for everyone.

[Inspar8r]

Here's the latest pics of the bumper.

Details:

Painted myself using Plastikote Import paint and clear....4+8, meaning 4 coats of base, 8 coats of clear.

I baked the paint in my bathroom at 90 degrees for 6 hours using a small electric space heater to promote proper paint curing.

After that, the surface was wetsanded in this order:

600gt
1000gt
1500gt
2000gt
Using one direction even light strokes to remove orange peel and small dust nubs.

The paint was then buffed using a foam applicator on a rotary buffer with 3M fine cut rubbing compound.

After that, a wool pad with 3M finish restorer removes the swirls and light scratches from the compound.

The surface is then rubbed by hand with Meguiars #9 swirl mark remover using a 100% cotton terry towel.

Although the pics only show a slight bit of shine, they are mirror like. You can see the carpet in the paint is almost identical to the real thing next to it.

The apron was a bit more tricky, invloving blending the paint and wetsanding seams. I'll be doing the front spoiler where it hit the curb, and i will have a better write up for it.

[kidrobot]

Have you gotten it on your car yet? I wanna see how it looks.
Shoot a couple more piks

[Inspar8r]

Yea, the pics of it on the car will be up tomorrow for sure when i work on it. The molding still needs to be sanded and painted.