Project Facelift

[DanielHStout]

Yeeehaw! Call me this weekend so I can get in on this Josh. I will bring everything we need... lots of beer and a lawn chair that I can sit and point from while blabbering and watching you do all the work. Haha seriously though call me if you need a hand.

[vr4boy]

Well well well...

What are these two very oddly-shaped boxes that FedEx just dropped off?

LET'S FIND OUT, SHALL WE???





Now the real fun begins...

hey those look familiar:-)
got to hand it to fedex though,packaging doesn't seem messed up(yessss),i still have the marker harness/plugs-but guess what they're on their way too!......good luck on the swap-can't wait to see the final result and BTW: great transacting with you Josh:-)
rob

[Jand3rson]

hey those look familiar:-)
got to hand it to fedex though,packaging doesn't seem messed up(yessss),i still have the marker harness/plugs-but guess what they're on their way too!......good luck on the swap-can't wait to see the final result and BTW: great transacting with you Josh:-)
rob

Likewise, Rob. The packaging didn't hardly look rustled at all.

I'll be watching for the harness/plugs. Andrew and I start work on the rear bumper this weekend, and we'll probably be prepping them for paint as well.

[Mike325]

Looking good so far. Let us know how Jordan's way of fitting the bumper goes. Good luck.

[Avus E30]

Looking good so far. Let us know how Jordan's way of fitting the bumper goes. Good luck.

I used jordans write up and it worked flawlessly. I did the trim shortening different but still looks perfect.

[Jand3rson]

Looking good so far. Let us know how Jordan's way of fitting the bumper goes. Good luck.

It looked 100% flawless on his car, and has worked for several other people. I'm not quite sure what you're getting at.

[Mike325]

It looked 100% flawless on his car, and has worked for several other people. I'm not quite sure what you're getting at.

I just mean how it goes for you. I have not seen other people's cars with his bumper mod done besides his and wanted to see how it comes out for you.

[RobertK]

!!!ACTUNG!!!

Leave the rubber undercoating on and try to refrain from stripping paint down to the metal as much as possible! As a matter of fact I reapplied undercoating to my car to help prevent rust.

ALL bare metal MUST BE primed with Self Etching primer to prevent corrosion and rust! Otherwise priming over bare metal with regular primer allows moisture to get trapped under the paint and eventually your new paint job will form rust bubbles and then holes.

SECOND

Before you drill and install your rear valance with rivets you must coat ANY and ALL bare metal with self etching primer and a light coat of fiberglass resin to prevent rust. This goes for the bolt holes you must drill for the rear bumper sliders.

THIRD

When you go to install you rivets coat each one with the self etching primer. Once you are finished popping them in place coat the fronts and backs of all rivets as well. Then go over them with fiberglass resin to seal them.

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT ELSE YOU ARE ASKING FOR LOTS-O-RUST PROBLEMS!

I had a close friend and body man look my rear valance install over and he pointed out what I just posted. I spent 2 days drilling out my previous rivets and redoing the entire install because of this. In the process found that after 3 WEEKS rust was already forming around the rivet holes. Don't be cheap or lazy. Make sure you coat every spot of bare metal with self etching primer and use fibergass resin to coat rivet spots to seal them up if you can refrain from sanding any parts of the body down to bare metal.

HOW TO BLEND THE WHEEL WELL OVERLAP

Once you install this valance over your existing one you will can visibly see the overlap in the rear of the back wheel well. For cosemtic and protective reasons this section needs to be seal to look like a single piece. Here is how to accomplish this with ease. (sorry for the lack of pictures)

For supplies will need a Fiberglass repair kit that includes resin, hardner, and fiberglass mat. You will also need some Bondo, Bondo-Hair, 80 grit sandpaper, and 2 or 3 cheap paint brushes. ALWAYS wear a respirator and protective gloves when working with fiberglass!

1. Sand the parts of both valances that are facing the rear wheel in the overlap.

2. Spray on a light coat of Self Etching Primer.

3. Once the primer is dry. Measure, mark, and cut a piece of fiberglass mat making sure you have enough to follow the outside curvature of the newer valance and some to wrap around the back of the old one.

4. Mix up your fiberglass resin according to the kits instructions and use the paint brush to coat all surfaces that the mat will cover. It should have the consistancy of honey when you apply it.

5. Put your mat in place and then continue to lightly coat the mat with resin as well. Keep brushing on the resin in light coats and then let it setup.

**Depending on the tempurature you are working in fiberglass resin will setup in about 10 min above 80 degrees farenheit and can take up t0 an hour below 75 degrees.

6. Once the fiberglass mat drys mix up about a 1/2 cup of the Bondo-Hair and apply it with a speader where needed.

7. Once the Bondo-Hair has set up then go to town with the sand paper or a electric DA sander.

8. To finish use some regular Bondo to fill in small pits that the Bondo-Hair will have after sanding. Once the Bondo sets up sand it to a smooth finish.

9. Respray the self etching primer over the entire area and let dry.

10. Respray the area with rubberized undercoating and let dry.

11. Spray with regular primer.

Here is the finished product







BTW.. I recommend using the newer bumper fitment method just because you keep the factory look instead of fabbing one out of bondo. Furthermore, using Bondo with plastic especially around places prone to getting hit with road debris will always eventually crack and pit. Bondo-Hair (Kitty Hair) and Fiberglass resin are best for this application. They can withstand flex, debris, and the elements alot better as well.

[Jand3rson]

Thanks SO MUCH for that little tutorial! Should be very helpful. The only thing I'm not too sure about is the little part you made to close the gap between the 2 rear aprons. Since you're painting your whole car, you were able to make the cap and creat one solid piece there, which will then be painted on the car. We're painting the added-on parts separately and then installing them, so when I make the cover for the gap, I won't be able to get it as smooth and uniform as yours, as I won't be able to blend it with the rest of the car when I paint it.

*EDIT* Although now that I think about it a little more, I can probably make it work. Perhaps what I can do before I paint it is prime it, mount it on the car, make and apply the cover, then mask off from that part around to the whole rest of the car (or at least most of it), and just shoot that section.

We already stripped the front valence down to bare metal, but that's the only part that we're doing so with, the rear is staying undercoated. Since we stripped the front down to bare metal, should we use self-etching primer on that?

[AndrewBird]

I don't know what kind of rivets you used, but we plan on using stainless steel pop-rivets that will not rust.

I can see what you are saying about priming everything first. As far that goes, I was under the impression that we were going to paint the rear BEFORE we attached it. The seam and the rivets will be covered and will not need further finishing details.

And self etching primer is not needed to prevent rust on bar metal. Standard primer will work fine. Primer is not what keeps metal from rusting. The paint over the top does. Primer only helps the paint stick better to the metal.

I used standard automotive primer in a can with standard Rustoleum paint on a repair spot on my car as a temporary solution to prevent rust. It's been over a year, through a snowy winter, with no signs of chipping, rusting or problems. The paint looks like I sprayed it yesterday. All I did was prepare the surface VERY well, cleaning with acetone before spraying.

[Rocla]

I don't know what kind of rivets you used, but we plan on using stainless steel pop-rivets that will not rust.

Problem is not that rivets corrode, it the body that corrodes.

When two different metals are in contact, and moisture is present, they will make "elctro chemical pair" and other metal will corrode.

Somebody who did understand what I ment, please write that in english :)

IMHO: combining metal parts or repairing plastic parts with G/F totally sucks.

[RobertK]

I don't know what kind of rivets you used, but we plan on using stainless steel pop-rivets that will not rust.

I can see what you are saying about priming everything first. As far that goes, I was under the impression that we were going to paint the rear BEFORE we attached it. The seam and the rivets will be covered and will not need further finishing details.

And self etching primer is not needed to prevent rust on bar metal. Standard primer will work fine. Primer is not what keeps metal from rusting. The paint over the top does. Primer only helps the paint stick better to the metal.

I used standard automotive primer in a can with standard Rustoleum paint on a repair spot on my car as a temporary solution to prevent rust. It's been over a year, through a snowy winter, with no signs of chipping, rusting or problems. The paint looks like I sprayed it yesterday. All I did was prepare the surface VERY well, cleaning with acetone before spraying.

If you would like I can post pictures where rust is coming through 2 coats of rustoleum primer on my rear passenger side door. Regular automotive primer is not a sealer and is water soluable. It will soak up moisture and eventually cause rust bubbles. Any body man will tell you to avoid sanding down to bare metal because it's a bitch to primer & seal correctly. Paint will not stop rust unless you are using an enamel based Rustoleum paint.. Otherwise a 1 stage urethane will not stop rust from forming underneath.

2nd.. the only way you can use stainless steel rivets is with a rivetting air tool. A regular hand held pop rivet gun will not work on stainless steel rivets. Furthermore, you will still have to worry about the exposed metal in the holes to rivets are going into regardless of what the rivets are made from.

[Jand3rson]

2nd.. the only way you can use stainless steel rivets is with a rivetting air tool. A regular hand held pop rivet gun will not work on stainless steel rivets. Furthermore, you will still have to worry about the exposed metal in the holes to rivets are going into regardless of what the rivets are made from.

That's probably what we're going to be using. And I still will be sealing the edges of any bare metal, whether it be the holes we drill for the rivets or the edges where me made cuts. THAT is the metal that will rust.

Don't worry man, we'll get it figured out. :up:

[RobertK]

That's probably what we're going to be using. And I still will be sealing the edges of any bare metal, whether it be the holes we drill for the rivets or the edges where me made cuts. THAT is the metal that will rust.

Don't worry man, we'll get it figured out. :up:

Cool, I'll be out in the garage this weekend doing some body work so if you guys have any questions you got my cell # Josh.

[Jand3rson]

We picked up the primer, trim paint and the rest of our supplies today. Tomorrow, we start the big project, chopping the rear bumper for fitment to an early-model car. We've still got to pick up some Bondo and Bondo-Hair, but we've got all the fiberglass and stuff. Tomorrow and Sunday will be a big day for pictures as well as one of the major points of progress in the coversion, so be sure to check the thread frequently this weekend!