Well, just picked up Acurakidd's cracked front lip - he was interested to see how I'll fix it, using a fiberglass kit, bondo, etc, so I'll put up a DIY to show some progress with the lip and also to help some people get acquainted with this stuff and fix their own things. Plus, I'm sure Acurakidd will appreciate how his cracked lip will be fixed.

Here is the lip from the black market thread :
https://acurazine.com/forums/car-parts-sale-361/02-03-tl-oem-front-lip-door-moldings-775742/

As you can see, when I saw it on sale, I grabbed it right away - been looking for this for a loooong time. It's a great feeling to find something you want on the Black Market, then having that item being local, then not being LATE for it (item still available), then finally GETTING it! I've been on the bad side of that cycle many times...

Anyways - it's too dark now, so the DIY will have to wait until tomorrow - I really can't wait, had the car for over 4 years and finally get to put on the lip kit.

I know a lot of you guys on here are handy with body work, so any help will be very welcomed. I just started doing this stuff like last year, fixing my grandpa's bumper and all (hit and run), so I'm fairly new at this.

Well, I hope it'll turn out well. Updates coming up soon...

 

Can't wait to see how it looks once fixed up

 

Yeah, I wanted to start today, but it's been raining the whole day - not best temperature or humidity to be doing this stuff. Plus I'm feeling a little lazy today.

Hopefully tomorrow will be drier and warmer. Really can't wait to get this started.

 

damn 150 and in ny... y didnt i c this post....???

 

lol I jumped on it within minutes and officially got there and bought it within 3 hours. It was quite a rush

Damn, the weather is supposed to be high 60's today, but it still feels pretty cold where I am... I hate how the weather's so unpredictable - I really wanna start this thing.

But I know it'll take forever to dry and handle the resin in this weather - and it's supposed to rain tomorrow. Looks like I gotta postpone this project for a while...

The weather this year has been pretty crazy... damn those cows...

 

Shit, got soo many pms, should've set the price to like $500

 

haha, that's exactly how I felt when I sold some rims for less than 300, with great tires. But you learn to let go...

 

Well, it was nice yesterday - so I went out and did the fiberglassing and bondo-ing part. Here's the write-up. Today, my friend and I will attempt to prime it using a paintgun.

Materials needed for Fiberglassing:

FIBERGLASS REPAIR KIT (Bondo)
Specifically: Fiberglass fabric, fiberglass resin and liquid hardener, stirring stick, squeegee or flat plastic card to apply resin
Gloves
Tape (blue, easy-off painter's tape or duct-tape if the damage is really bad)
Scissors

Step 1: Wash

Just wash the the part for fiberglassing very THOROUGHLY. If you will be applying it from the inside of the part, then make sure to wash it very well with a sponge and soap (detergent works well to take off grease). Then Dry it.

Step 2: Inspect

Map out the cracks that need to be fixed, make sure to reposition the part so that the edges of the crack lines up. If you are missing a piece, you'll need to fill it up with bondo/body filler. Still, you should just fiberglass that hole so that the filler can go over it and have a foundation to stick to.

Crack 1 and hole:


Other major crack:



Step 3: Tape cracks closed

I usually use blue painter's tape (easy off) so that it doesn't leave a residue on the outside of the bumper. You always tape from the OTHER side, NEVER the side you're planning to add the fiberglass. If you put it on the side you'll be applying the fiberglass, it may easily lift off the tape and will just detach itself from the bumper and never do any bonding with it.

So use blue painter's tape if you prefer. However, today we have a few cracks that actually have gaps in between them (front lip was heavily scraped till it went through the material) so I used heavy duty clear packaging tape from Scotch - this way I can see where the crack is and how the fiberglass is holding up from the other side.

So from the other side, push the sides together (have a friend help you) and then tape it up. Showing just one of the two cracks. Do the same thing for any holes you want to fill up later, it'll provide a nice smooth surface for the fiberglass to cure and for the bondo to push itself up against.

Before taping:


After Taping:


Yeah, the lip was pretty badly damaged. Look at the picture before I taped it, showing the material being scraped off. Those parts will need to be sanded later - use very coarse (<100 grade) sandpaper.

 

Now you're good to get to the actual fiberglassing process. Here's the kit you'll need, opened with everything laid out (I already had pre-cut pieces from an earlier project)

Kit: Around $25 dollars


Pieces from the kit laid out:
Resin
Liquid Hardener
Plastic container for mixing
Stirring stick
Application squeegee
Fiberglass cloth (I've already had mine cut from an earlier project)

*Cream hardener pictured doesn't come with the kit, I just have it because my hardener from the kit was running low.




Step 4: Prepare Fiberglass cloths

Now you have to cut up pieces of the fiberglass cloth that complements the area you're trying to patch up. Use at LEAST 2 layers of cloth for each area.

A good trick for cutting it - pull out a strand or two at the area you want to cut. It'll leave a good gap and clear separation for you to cut up and work with.

Cloth with stranded pulled out, showing separation on cloth:


After you have your pieces cut out, make SURE to pull out any stray strands so that it doesn't clutter up your work area. Trust me, when these strands get caught up in the resin, it'll be impossible to spread. Make SURE to collect them all and dispose. Also, it your pieces have lines of strands sticking out, use a scissor to trim it.

Ideal clothes to work with:



Step 5: Prepare your resin w/hardener

Now gauge how much resin you want to use. Usually you gauge it by the area that you are working with, but you should also consider the damage and how many LAYERS of cloth you want to use to reinforce the area. Usually an entire bottle from the kit can take care of a crack about a foot and a half long - so use it at your own discretion.

Adding Hardener to resin:


Important note: Add hardener as stated in the directions. It's usually 14 drops of liquid hardener per ounce of resin, but just make sure to check.

EVEN MORE IMPORTANT: once you've added the hardener and started mixing - it's supposed to still keep the viscosity as before. You shouldn't be able to tell a difference. You DON'T want it to get thicker.

MOST IMPORTANT: Get your gloves on! After you add the hardener you have EXACTLY 15 minutes before the resin starts to harden up and become IMPOSSIBLE to work with.

So once the hardener's been added, mix it up really well for 1-2 minutes. Then get to step 6 ASAP.

See how the viscosity does NOT change right after adding the hardener:

 

Step 6: 1st layer --> The Foundation

Now take the squeegee and spread a thin layer of resin all over the area you want to patch up.



Now for your first foundation cloth - pick one that is around the size of the crack you're trying to patch. If you use a large piece, it'll be harder to make the cloth bend and completely wrap itself around the thin-lined crack.

And you have TWO OPTIONS:

1) You can place the dry piece onto the part and then just use the squeegee and add the resin to completely soak it.

2) Pre-soak the cloth and later add it to the patch. This makes the piece droopy and a bit more difficult to work with, but it'll also provide you with certainty that the first piece is completely soaked and will have no air spaces when filling up the crack.

I took option 2 and pre-soaked the strip:

*See how the cloth becomes resin-color as it soaks it up


Extract bacon!



Now place the strip on the crack and cover the area as best you can.


Now get the squeegee and flat the piece, adding more resin to the strip if needed. Your layer should be a good, thin, layer - the cloth should almost be invisible and blend into the resin.

Step 7: MORE LAYERS!!!

Now do the same thing with the other pieces and your 2 (or more) layer thick fiberglass reinforcement should look like this:



For angled edges, like what we have here on the inside of the front lip, use the squeegee to go over the edge. You want to MAKE SURE there is no lifting of the cloth and everything is down as close and flat to the surface as possible.




Now once you're satisfied with the number of layers covered, it should end up looking like this before being left to dry:

 

NOTES:

Well, because I was doing this project and taking pictures for the DIY, the resin ended up drying on me before I finished. But at least I got a good 2 layer down.

When it starts clumping up like this, just leave it alone. You don't want those clumps to lift up your cloth as you try to spread it. Just don't bother.



The resin actually dries like that and this is how it looks like before I got to finished...



Well, hope you found this informative

I'll post up a bondo/sanding DIY next time so you can see the progress with the front lip. The more I look at it, the more difficult I think it is to get back into original shape. I'll be priming it and experimenting with the paintgun today. Stay tuned!

 

looks very interesting, cant wait to see how it looks finished