Had some free time today to finally start on my custom front lip.

Tomorrow I plan to fiberglass it to the bumper to get better fitment.
Monday will be sanding and primer

Took about 2.5 hours to get this part done. (template, foam, masking)

Things needed:
cardboard to trace a template
styrofoam
sharpie
cutting knife
ruler
painters tape
resin
fiberglass
60 grit sandpaper
220 grit sandpaper
1200 grit sandpaper
dremel for trimming
wax or PVA
bondo/body filler


This is the shape that I'm trying to achieve
















































Next lip will be something similar to this. Custom making two front caps in fiberglass.

 

Interesting, can't wait to see the final products.
...and I really like that CF wrapped Grill. Keep us posted on the progress Alvin

 

+1, love your creativity.

 

You were quiet some time... I should predict that you come back with new ideas... like The Rock...

IF YOU SMELL...
WHAT DEFCON IS COOKIN'

I can imagine final product... good luck, you are going to need it!

 

+1 on creativity. but i cant really say i like it from what i am seeing now though, however i am going to wait till final product then i'll judge!

however, i'd say that your 2nd pic of the lip might look better..but we'll see haha

 

i still have long way to go.

its NOT going to be a splitter as you see it now.
its going to be one smooth piece without any of those indents.

i plan to cut up a tshirt, staple it to the bumper, stretch the tshirt down to the foam in order to form that downward angle, put some resin on it to harden and lay more fiberglass to give it more thickness.

thanks for the support.

 

The outcome of this project is going to be highly dependent on your attention to detail and your ability to make it look like a professional part. Take your time and do a good job. Good luck man


And take off your carbon fiber eye brows things! Car will look much cleaner without

 

this is my first time doing it this way. originally i was just going to lay fiberglass over the home depot lip and call it a day. good thing i didnt do it that way.

i agree. i will take my time with the finer details. the foam is just the template to create the base and roundness of the lip.

actually i will be making fiberglass eye brows and getting it color matched later on with the grill.

i plan to paintmatch the grill, eye brows and front lip when everything is done.
so the carbon fiber vinyls will be removed.

 

whao i didnt even notice the eyebrows haha

 

Can't wait to see the finished product!

 

another 2 hours today.

i used simple green to clean up the OEM bumper and then masked it with painters tape. i then used a much stronger packaging tape on the OEM bumper to the lip and sprayed it with water base polyurethane to act as a releasing agent. this means i get to remove the fiberglass from the bumper easily when i pry the front lip.

i cut up an old tshirt into strips and wrapped the middle part of the lip. basically each stripped was stretched on the top and bottom to get that flat angle.

i brushed the tshirt in resin so it'll be hard tomorrow for fiberglassing. it was getting dark so i only had time to fiberglass the right side of the lip

i have a full day tomorrow for more fiberglassing.

enjoy

 

another 2 hours today

its not the prettiest right now.

few lessons learned:
i need to figure out a better way to hold up the lip instead of using tape.

would be nice to have an air compressed staple gun to staple the tshirt strips

i need a better stand to hold up the bumper instead of a using a cardboard box.

learned that it wouldve been better to just wrap the entire lip in aluminum foil instead of painters tape.


anyways i just finished up fiberglassing the entire lip. it will take a full day to dry up.
i will sand down the lip using 60 grit sandpaper and then bondo/body filler to fill up uneven gaps. then use 220 grit sandpaper to smooth it. then use 1200 wet sanding paper for a glass finish.

time to find DIY articles on how to make a master mold.

 

That looks...

 

Keep up the excellent work! Creativity is tops!

Can't wait to see how it ends up.

 

Damn. You got balls to do all that yourself. I would be miserable if I attempted what you are doing and effed up the whole front end. Good luck! Can't wait to see the finished project.

 

all done drying. i will pry the lip tomorrow, trim the edges and i may need to add more fiberglass for more strength

i cant wait to sand this thing down.

as you can tell i eliminated the gap in the middle. i realize i can do other variations with this by making it more of a straight edge and a rounded edge.

right now i have it as a pointed arrow to match the pointed OEM bumper and pointed grill

 

wow it's really coming together!

 

^ +1 looks better than it started out with. cant wait to see the final product!

 

i had about 1.5 today to pry the lip off and trimmed some of the excess fiberglass strands using a dremel.

there's definitely some uneven parts of the lip so i will be doing some bondo/body filler. this will make it easier for me to sand it down smooth. i still need to add some tabs using fiberglass for the middle area so i can use double sided tape when its done. also need to add more fiberglass in the inside of the lip.

 

Cant wait to see the finished product...

 

I can appreciate you taking the time and effort to do the custom work yourself. My dad always told me never to pay someone to do something you can do yourself for cheaper. But, if it were me doing that lip, I would stop now and consult a professional. I do realize that this is still a work in progress, but based on those custom fog light housings, and the current shape of that lip, I can't imagine that it would turn out any better in regards to symmetry and fit. Just my two cents.

 

Starting to come along! Look forward to seeing end product

Def +1...for Creativity man!

 

thanks for the suggestions. ill talk to my friend who specializes in designing/sculpturing toy figures via styrofoam. im sure he'll give me some good advice and pin point where i need to make the adjustments to make them symmetrical and cleaner.

in regards to the fog light housing, that was my first time doing that and really had no idea what i was doing. the difference was that i used molding clay and formed it by hand. also i didnt spend enough time on symmetry and fitment. my goal was just to create something quick just to cover the gaps. i can always do a version 2 of the foglight housing. its just matter of finding time to do it.

another picture of what i'm trying to aim for. notice the middle area of the lip. i want it to be as smooth as that.

 

If you get can get a nice fitment, I would recommend making a plug so that you can duplicate your design and sell them. I'm sure if you made a factory fit piece out of carbon fiber, you could get an easy $150 for some fog light pods, or $200+ for a nice splitter. Check out this site: http://www.fibreglast.com/ There are a lot of useful tools, write ups, and supplies there.

 

thanks for the site. ive seen their youtube vids and they helped quite a bit. i know i wont have time to mass produce lips or fog light housings since my son will be born next month. i do have a local carbon fiber maker and would rather have him create the master mold and production pieces if there's enough demands for it. ive done successful group buys before on the prelude forums with custom carbon fiber roof spoilers, radiator shrouds and front lips.

 

barf

 

Good Job!

 

wow...that is impressive. subscribing to see the end result.

 

cant wait to see the finish product!

 

can't wait for the result

 

you really need to stop sniffing glue

 

Interesting... Suscribed to see the final product...

 

just a quick update.
been busy with baby classes, baby showers and watching the nba finals.

i wasnt satisfied with the middle portion so it sprayed with foam. ill sometime this weekend to shave it down symmetrically and start the bondo process to smooth it out

i was able to find a local fiberglass supply store in burbank and bought some gelcoat, PVA (partell #10), and a fiberglass roller. these will be used for the master mold.

ill post updated pics when i get to it

 

wow, you're making your own lip...amazing

 

yep its a fun process

 

had some free time today.

i sprayed some foam in the middle since i wanted to redo the shape
put some bondo over the entire lip
i ran out of bondo so i need to buy some more to fill in some gaps
sanded some of it down. i really hate sanding. i have a long way to go.

also test fitted some side skirt splitters. eventually those will be paint matched along with the front lip

 

seems to be coming along nicely!

 

had to respray some foam underneath the lip to fill in some gaps. will smooth it out afterwards with sanding and bondo



my full lip kit

 

pryed off the side skirts and trimmed off some of the foam on the lip




mounted it with painters tape to check what needs to be trimmed












i trimmed off the sideskirts. i need to add fiberglass tabs on both ends and top side so it can be held on with double sided tape and tapping screws. man it looks clean.
i just need to put bondo and smooth it out






time to do some foam trimming.
ive taped a ruler and drew a black line with a sharpie so i can shave the bottom of the lip and even it out







its about 9pm and my wife is asking for attention. calling it a night
to be continued tomorrow

 

side skirt looks a lot better than orginial side splitter idea