DIY: Shave Front License Plate
09-24-2006
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DIY: Shave Front License Plate
This is a great mod and a pretty cheap mod. If you are going for weight reduction on your car this mod is not for you. A scale 1 to 10 this mod is about a 7. If anyone does not understand something or need help do not hesitate to Pm me or email me. If you need more pictures or need to knwo where to purchase somethign contact me.
Tools:
1.) 1 gallon of bondo ( I used rage pretty expensive stuff but it is very easy to work with any bondo will do the trick)
2.) A sanding block
3.) 80 grit sand paper and 150 grit and also 60 Grit
4.) Icing for the last coat you will see in the pciture
5.) boxcutter or razor blade
6.) sheet of plastic or metal to put in the back of the bumper so bondo stays in
7.) 2 tubes of 5min appoxy
8.) card board and smoothing stick
9.) saw-horses to put bumper on (optional it is easier to work on these then on the ground)
Directions:
1.) remove front bumper from car carefully.
2.) set bumper on saw horses and grab a hairdryer and heat the section you are going to be cutting out up.Which is the license plate section when you are done it will look like this. ( you do not have to use a hairdryer it just makes it easier to cut when you heat it up)
here is the section to heat:
here is what it looks like when cut out:
3.) This step is very important to get the bondo to lay right. I had an old bumper laying in my basement and i cut a section out of it. Now it did this because it had the same shape as the bumper on are car. I cut it longer then the opening by about an inch. I took appoxy and clued it in make sure you put a lot of appoxy around the edges so it doesnt start cracking on you in the winter. Also if anyone tries this and comes up with a different way to get a back on there. This is so the bondo has something to grab on to. Prep this section with 60 grit and clean it very well.
heres a few pic of wht i am talking about:
4.) Put two coats of bondo on the area fill the license plate section first. This coats can be heavy. make sure you read the direction to see how much harderner to use each brand may be different. Let these coats dry about 20 minutes and sand it with 80 grit.
IMPORTANT: Try to spread evenly so you do not have a lot of sanding to do. let this dry over night because bondo shrinks. Also once you put bondo on do not touch it you will create more work sanding just leave it alone. I learned the hard way after i did the first bumper
heres a few pic:
5.) Shape the bottom lip. Take your time on this part this is teh hardest part you will have to do. I do not have any pictures of this step sorry
6.) Put a few morre coats of bondo on and spread them past the points where the licesne plate was so you can create the same arc that is in the bumper put one coat on. Let it try for about 30minutes and sand then sand. then reply a second coat and get it really close to perfect.
IMPORTANT: Some bumprer will take more coats depends on how thick the bondo is.
here is a few pictures:
7.) Shape the bottom lip really close to perfect. If you need to apply more bondo on this section then do so.
Here is a pic of the lip:
8.) Once you have the arc the way you like it then apply the finally coat. This coat is a flexible bondo and it is very thin this will fell in all the low spot in the bumper. This tube is very expensive roughly 40.00 thats what i paid. It is called the Autobody icing. You can get it at any body shop place.
Icing looks like this:
here are picture of the finally coat this coat is the most credical coat so take your time.:
9.) let the final coat set up for about 45 minutes adn then sand. It should look liek this if you did all the steps right.
Pic of finished product:
I CAN NOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH THIS IS A LONG PROCESS AND IF YOU RUSH THREW IT. IT WILL LOOK LIKE CRAP. IF ANYONE NEEDS ANY HELP AND THEY ARE LOCAL I WILL HELP YOU OUT IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTION PM ME OR AIM ME I WILL BE HAPPY TO HELP YOU. HOPE THIS THREAD HELPS
Tools:
1.) 1 gallon of bondo ( I used rage pretty expensive stuff but it is very easy to work with any bondo will do the trick)
2.) A sanding block
3.) 80 grit sand paper and 150 grit and also 60 Grit
4.) Icing for the last coat you will see in the pciture
5.) boxcutter or razor blade
6.) sheet of plastic or metal to put in the back of the bumper so bondo stays in
7.) 2 tubes of 5min appoxy
8.) card board and smoothing stick
9.) saw-horses to put bumper on (optional it is easier to work on these then on the ground)
Directions:
1.) remove front bumper from car carefully.
2.) set bumper on saw horses and grab a hairdryer and heat the section you are going to be cutting out up.Which is the license plate section when you are done it will look like this. ( you do not have to use a hairdryer it just makes it easier to cut when you heat it up)
here is the section to heat:
here is what it looks like when cut out:
3.) This step is very important to get the bondo to lay right. I had an old bumper laying in my basement and i cut a section out of it. Now it did this because it had the same shape as the bumper on are car. I cut it longer then the opening by about an inch. I took appoxy and clued it in make sure you put a lot of appoxy around the edges so it doesnt start cracking on you in the winter. Also if anyone tries this and comes up with a different way to get a back on there. This is so the bondo has something to grab on to. Prep this section with 60 grit and clean it very well.
heres a few pic of wht i am talking about:
4.) Put two coats of bondo on the area fill the license plate section first. This coats can be heavy. make sure you read the direction to see how much harderner to use each brand may be different. Let these coats dry about 20 minutes and sand it with 80 grit.
IMPORTANT: Try to spread evenly so you do not have a lot of sanding to do. let this dry over night because bondo shrinks. Also once you put bondo on do not touch it you will create more work sanding just leave it alone. I learned the hard way after i did the first bumper
heres a few pic:
5.) Shape the bottom lip. Take your time on this part this is teh hardest part you will have to do. I do not have any pictures of this step sorry
6.) Put a few morre coats of bondo on and spread them past the points where the licesne plate was so you can create the same arc that is in the bumper put one coat on. Let it try for about 30minutes and sand then sand. then reply a second coat and get it really close to perfect.
IMPORTANT: Some bumprer will take more coats depends on how thick the bondo is.
here is a few pictures:
7.) Shape the bottom lip really close to perfect. If you need to apply more bondo on this section then do so.
Here is a pic of the lip:
8.) Once you have the arc the way you like it then apply the finally coat. This coat is a flexible bondo and it is very thin this will fell in all the low spot in the bumper. This tube is very expensive roughly 40.00 thats what i paid. It is called the Autobody icing. You can get it at any body shop place.
Icing looks like this:
here are picture of the finally coat this coat is the most credical coat so take your time.:
9.) let the final coat set up for about 45 minutes adn then sand. It should look liek this if you did all the steps right.
Pic of finished product:
I CAN NOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH THIS IS A LONG PROCESS AND IF YOU RUSH THREW IT. IT WILL LOOK LIKE CRAP. IF ANYONE NEEDS ANY HELP AND THEY ARE LOCAL I WILL HELP YOU OUT IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTION PM ME OR AIM ME I WILL BE HAPPY TO HELP YOU. HOPE THIS THREAD HELPS
Last edited by Civicman1988; 09-24-2006 at 07:55 PM.
09-24-2006
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Originally Posted by Boilermaker1
Thats ****in awesome work. Now go paint it so we can see how purdy it is 
Already done this is the second one i have done. I will probaly sell it if somone offers me a good amount.
Originally Posted by TOEnail
+repped!!
thanks bro
Last edited by Civicman1988; 09-24-2006 at 07:56 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
09-25-2006
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Rep Power: 0 Hey man just a heads up. Really you dont want to ever have bondo beyond a 1/4" realistically I think its like an 1/8" thick maximum. A 1/4" is definately the max you ever want to go though. Bondo when made thick like this will expand and contract in the weather. You can eventually end up with a really wavy mess down the road. Also from this expanding and contracting it will eventually crack. If I were you on your next ones I would use a fiberglass filled filler. This stuff is extremely strong so strong once it dries you almost cant break some pieces with your hands. This is the stuff I use, duraglas link You should be able to get it at your local auto body store. The kitty hair is a type that has long fibers in it. I dont like this kind. The duraglas comes in kitty hair and also a type that has almost like powdered fiberglass in it. I use the latter kind. Its very easy to work with and once it dries it wont shrink and expand and crack on you like that bondo will. If your going to do this for others I would suggest at least doing it this way so they dont come back to you later with a cracked up bumper. Thats just my two cents though.
Oh and I forgot to say that it looks great awesome work.
Oh and I forgot to say that it looks great awesome work.
Last edited by realitycheck; 11-17-2006 at 07:18 AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
09-25-2006
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Originally Posted by realitycheck
Hey man just a heads up. Really you dont want to ever have bondo beyond a 1/4" realistically I think its like an 1/8" thick maximum. A 1/4" is definately the max you ever want to go though. Bondo when made thick like this will expand and contract in the weather. You can eventually end up with a really wavy mess down the road. Also from this expanding and contracting it will eventually crack. If I were you on your next ones I would use a fiberglass filled filler. This stuff is extremely strong so strong once it dries you almost cant break some pieces with your hands. This is the stuff I use, duraglas link You should be able to get it at your local auto body store. The kitty hair is a type that has long fibers in it. I dont like this kind. The duraglas comes in kitty hair and also a type that has almost like powdered fiberglass in it. I use the latter kind. Its very easy to work with and once it dries it wont shrink and expand and crack on you like that bondo will. If your going to do this for others I would suggest at least doing it this way so they dont come back to you later with a cracked up bumper. Thats just my two cents though.
Hey man just a heads up. Really you dont want to ever have bondo beyond a 1/4" realistically I think its like an 1/8" thick maximum. A 1/4" is definately the max you ever want to go though. Bondo when made thick like this will expand and contract in the weather. You can eventually end up with a really wavy mess down the road. Also from this expanding and contracting it will eventually crack. If I were you on your next ones I would use a fiberglass filled filler. This stuff is extremely strong so strong once it dries you almost cant break some pieces with your hands. This is the stuff I use, duraglas link You should be able to get it at your local auto body store. The kitty hair is a type that has long fibers in it. I dont like this kind. The duraglas comes in kitty hair and also a type that has almost like powdered fiberglass in it. I use the latter kind. Its very easy to work with and once it dries it wont shrink and expand and crack on you like that bondo will. If your going to do this for others I would suggest at least doing it this way so they dont come back to you later with a cracked up bumper. Thats just my two cents though.
Oh and I forgot to say that it looks great awesome work.
Hey man just a heads up. Really you dont want to ever have bondo beyond a 1/4" realistically I think its like an 1/8" thick maximum. A 1/4" is definately the max you ever want to go though. Bondo when made thick like this will expand and contract in the weather. You can eventually end up with a really wavy mess down the road. Also from this expanding and contracting it will eventually crack. If I were you on your next ones I would use a fiberglass filled filler. This stuff is extremely strong so strong once it dries you almost cant break some pieces with your hands. This is the stuff I use, duraglas link You should be able to get it at your local auto body store. The kitty hair is a type that has long fibers in it. I dont like this kind. The duraglas comes in kitty hair and also a type that has almost like powdered fiberglass in it. I use the latter kind. Its very easy to work with and once it dries it wont shrink and expand and crack on you like that bondo will. If your going to do this for others I would suggest at least doing it this way so they dont come back to you later with a cracked up bumper. Thats just my two cents though.
Oh and I forgot to say that it looks great awesome work.
first off the last coat is a flexible bondo and that does not expand and contrast it is flexible and i will never use fiberglass once something hits it its brakes so easy
09-25-2006
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Originally Posted by ryangt
damn michiganians, and their crazy bondo antics, i want a smooth bumper too 
pay to ship it up here and back and i will do it pay for materials to i dont mind helping out thgen members
09-26-2006
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Originally Posted by Civicman1988
pay to ship it up here and back and i will do it pay for materials to i dont mind helping out thgen members
09-26-2006
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Rep Power: 230 I must admit if looks good, but everyone I've talked to about body repair told me that Bondo isn't made for plastics. It's made to stick to metal. I would like to see how this looks in a few months. Thanks for the DIY though.
09-26-2006
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Rep Power: 0 Thats what I was trying to help you out with man. What do you think that bondo going to do if you hit something? Im not trying to get under your skin or anything man. Just trying to help you out. I started shaving door handles last year and I got tons of info on it and that was part of it. Plus one of my good friends dad paints all my stuff so any questions I have I direct through him. Thats another source I have. Just telling you what they told me about the bondo, if you hit anything with that bondo it will crack. Maybe it wont but more than likely it will. The stuff im talking about is not fiberglass its a plastic filler like bondo that has fiberglass in it. Honestly man im not trying to crack on your job or anything. You did a fantastic job and it looks great. It takes real talent to smooth bondo out and make the lines match and everything. Im just trying to help you out with it. I have a pic of what duraglass looks like if you would like to see it. On a fiberglass subbox I built
