how hard on a scale of 1-10 is molding the cobra grille insert into an LX bumper, sorta like what 5.0stanger did? never did any sort of fiberglass/bondo/filler work on a car before, would this be a week or so work for me for an amatuer?

is working with bondo like working with modeling clay sorta?

I want to do something to my car and I have been making a list of potential ideas for a project...

 

I'll just say this,bodywork is an art

 

its easy, keep in ming its runny

if i was you id remove the bumper set it on a saw horse cut out the fact emblem etc, grind the insert with 36 grit grind the bumper face where the emblem will sit with the same

mix up the resin and glass wet the area lay some mat downwet the mat wet the back of the insert lay it in place position it where you want it let it dry

take out the sander and smooth the area(feather it out) then wipe filler over that sand it smooth, wipe with icing sand smooth, prime block prime guide coat block sand, wash seal, base let it dry, wet sand any trash etc out rebase, let it flash clear let it flash then another coat of clear in a nutshell

also with the proper paint steps in between like wax and grease remover and tack rags etc

 

yea i work with fiberglass all the time with car audio. so applying it to the car wasnt toooooo bad. but it truely is an art and takes some time to learn how to work with it efficiently. here is my example

before

after


i cut out all at crap after i made a mould of that section of panel. then i fiberglassed it together as one piece:

 

so a smart thing to do is get a junk bumper that is cracked or torn and practice on that first?

 

lol, i would. fiberglass is super messy when you first start using it. once you've been around it enough it gets easier and cleaner. i would highly suggest trying to practice on a POS bumber and fix it. (dont just slop it together. pretend its your bumper and you have to make it look good) plastic off anything you dont want to get fiberglass on because it will ruin your paint and whatever else is lands on. ( i dropped a bunch on my parents driveway last year and its still there :-P)

make sure you read the fiberglass instructions very closely. if you put too much hardner in the fiberglass will crack or be very weak, if you dont put enough in....well lets just say you'll be waiting a really long time for it to cure.


also, i would spray paint the junk bumper you practive on becuase as you probably know or heard....paint shows your imperfections. so i would make sure your practice work is good by hittin it really quick with some primer or something that drys quickly.

 

thanks for the tips I didnt know it sticks that welll, would I get it from an autoparts store? like near the "bodywork" aisle? or is there a better place to get the filler? I really want to do something to my car next time I am home from school. I will cover the area as best as I can, I mean, the paint on my bumper is fuggered anyway, rock chips, peeled clearcoat... lol

 

well you can get fiberglass/bondo almost anywhere. hardware store, auto store.

for the fiberglass(considering the project your doing) you'll need fiberglass resine and some fiberglass fiber mesh. (you can pull it apart easily and apply it where you need to.)
gloves, tape, plastic/news paper or something and chip brushes(they are cheap throw away brushes)

and then you'll need some basic bondo for your finish work before painting.

 

I wouldn't waste the time doing it twice....

I used a 2 part bumper repair epoxy to glue it in place, then sanded the glue back, filled with a flexable filler, filler primmed it, blocked it out, and painted.


It wasn't really hard, the filler sands easy and if you don't like it, mix some more and re do it.

I could show you some pictures of the process I used if you want a refresher.

 

can you PM those or post them up, im really interested in seeing that. i'm just learning myself so i'd like to learn some new methods.