need diy for prep. a body kit
Thread Starter
Registered!!
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 100
Likes: 0
From: Lake Forest, California, US
Rep Power: 0 
need diy for prep. a body kit
Okay so my neighbor's friend that works at a honda dealership is going to paint my body kit, but I have to prep it. So what i need to know is how to prep. it for painting like degreasing and all that stuff. Thanks
Registered!!
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 291
Likes: 0
From: smithtown, New York, US
Rep Power: 0 oh i wouldn't do that if i were you.
you first sand with 600 grit, then do 2-3 coats of primer sanding in between very lightly with fine grit. after last coat you wet sand. to get a much smoother finish. but if your getting one of those cheap crap fiberglass kits i wouldnt even try doing it your self. because they usally need to be molded and come with a few imperfections that need filler and a bunch of prep work. its a mess just dont get one.
you first sand with 600 grit, then do 2-3 coats of primer sanding in between very lightly with fine grit. after last coat you wet sand. to get a much smoother finish. but if your getting one of those cheap crap fiberglass kits i wouldnt even try doing it your self. because they usally need to be molded and come with a few imperfections that need filler and a bunch of prep work. its a mess just dont get one.
The dog told me to do it
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 1,592
Likes: 0
From: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US
Rep Power: 0
Quote
[hr]Originally posted by: Vesper
oh i wouldn't do that if i were you.
you first sand with 600 grit, then do 2-3 coats of primer sanding in between very lightly with fine grit. after last coat you wet sand. to get a much smoother finish. but if your getting one of those cheap crap fiberglass kits i wouldnt even try doing it your self. because they usally need to be molded and come with a few imperfections that need filler and a bunch of prep work. its a mess just dont get one.[hr]
[hr]Originally posted by: Vesper
oh i wouldn't do that if i were you.
you first sand with 600 grit, then do 2-3 coats of primer sanding in between very lightly with fine grit. after last coat you wet sand. to get a much smoother finish. but if your getting one of those cheap crap fiberglass kits i wouldnt even try doing it your self. because they usally need to be molded and come with a few imperfections that need filler and a bunch of prep work. its a mess just dont get one.[hr]
Registered!!
iTrader: (2)
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 1,027
Likes: 0
From: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US
Rep Power: 0 LOL thats why the best most intriquite bodykits are fiberglass? Yeah poly kits will last longer but they look like crap! Also have a ncie time making a poly kit fit as well as u can make a fiberglass kit fit..
Registered!!
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 4,344
Likes: 0
From: bay area, california
Rep Power: 339 alright duke, my experience goes only as far as fiberglass, so be SURE to ask second opinions and doublecheck my process.
I will make some assumptions that i wil use in my process:
assumption 1: urethane needs a primer
assumption 2: this primer is not available in a spray
assumption 3: the dealer will not put clearcoat on
assumption 4: you have asked your hookup what grit to sand the primer to. this will be grit "XX"
alright, so you have your primer. it says to sand to a ceratin grit to get adhesion, usually like 240 or so. scratch up your bumper with that grit till its way scratched up, you dont want the primer to fall off.
you want to put many coats on, if you let a coat cure completely between coating, rre-rough up the entire bumper with that grit paper.
I would suggest that you work in a garage for this, and spray the entire floor of teh garage with your hose before working. this is kind of overkill (for everything but varnish) but still you dont want dust settling on your bumper.
once your bumper is sanded and the garage has been watered so tehre is no dust, use a tack cloth to get teh bumper as DRY and DUST FREE as possible. Using foam brushes, pour some primer into a seperate cup (so you dont dip your brush directly in the primer can, you dont want particles in there) and use slow even strokes to get a good smooth surface on there. If the primer can reccommends sanding with a grit less than 400, dont worry about making it smooth, your gonna sand it smooth. if its above, you dont wanna spend all day sanding, so you want it as smooth as humanly possible. after three or 4 coats of primer, start sanding. you will probably notice lots of pitting, this is OK. you havent finished primer yet [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG] start with 220 or so and lightly sand so you cna flatten all the imperfections. once you are done, you put more coats of primer on (like 2) to fill all of the pitts, let cure overnight, then sand again. repeat this process till you have a primered bumper that is perfectly smooth. the more time you take here, the less time you take on the clearcoat process.
with the bumper primered and flattened, you now sand in this order: 220, 320, 400, 600, 1200, 1500, 2000, 2500.
you stop at grit XX. once its flat, you use the next grit up to remove the scratches put in by the previous grit. if grit XX is 600, then you take out your 220 scratches with 320, 320 scratches with 400, and so on.
ALWAYS USE WET SANDPAPER, AND ALWAYS HANDSAND! dont use a power sander, it can leave deep scratches, its definitely worth it to fingerbang your bumper to perfection.
take to the dealer *dealer sprays it* you get your bumper home.
now starts teh clearcoat process. once again, water your garage and tack cloth the bumper. you dont HAVE to water for the primer stage, but its good practice and VERY MUCH DESIRED for the clearcoat stage. you will need about three cans of clear coat (the more expensive the better, $6 can of clearcoat is better than $3 can, and oil base would be a good idea, too) three cans is good for an entire bumper and maybe 1/4th of a side skirt, to give you an idea of coverage. you will want 1/16 to 1/8th inch thick coverage over your whole surface.
shake the can well and go to work. the clearcoat i personally use is tacky after 30 minutes, so i spray a new THIN LAYER every 30 min. i cannot stress how important it is to do thin layers, the pitting in spray clearcoat is very severe with thick coats, and i am suffering now cause i have a S H I T load of sanding and respraying to do to cover up my own mistakes. just be patient with thin coats, and eventually the layers will build up.
if you let yoru clearcoat set overnight before you finish (i clearcoated for 3 days last week) rough up yoru entire bumper with 1200 or 1500 grit paper to give the coat something to stick to.
once your bumper is sprayed, you start teh finish process. you will have to use best judgement on this one, ideally you want to start at 1200, i had to go back to 400 because i did such a horrible job, and am going ot have to redo sections of my panels. but you sand here to flatten and polish the clearcoat. flaten it with 600, 800, or 1200, then polish with 1500, then 2000 to remove subsequent scratches. this is fine, if you want to go even higher, you cna get 2500 or even 3000 grit paper, but i will be honest, if you have plexi that is fogged on one side, 2000 grit paper will make the plexi clear again, to giv eyou an idea of how fine the grit is [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]
once you are done with sanding and polishing, you wax it. this is not wax like the rest of your car, this will be repairing the invisible scratches (look almost like swirls) in yoru bumper, you will want to get a GOOD wax, like nufinish something like that. if you have a good wax for your car, by all means, use it.
once its waxed, your done! install and fornicating enjoy your new shiny as hell bumper!
again, take this with a grain of salt, double check this process with ppl experienced in urethane preperation, as i have no real experience with it, only glass.
I will make some assumptions that i wil use in my process:
assumption 1: urethane needs a primer
assumption 2: this primer is not available in a spray
assumption 3: the dealer will not put clearcoat on
assumption 4: you have asked your hookup what grit to sand the primer to. this will be grit "XX"
alright, so you have your primer. it says to sand to a ceratin grit to get adhesion, usually like 240 or so. scratch up your bumper with that grit till its way scratched up, you dont want the primer to fall off.
you want to put many coats on, if you let a coat cure completely between coating, rre-rough up the entire bumper with that grit paper.
I would suggest that you work in a garage for this, and spray the entire floor of teh garage with your hose before working. this is kind of overkill (for everything but varnish) but still you dont want dust settling on your bumper.
once your bumper is sanded and the garage has been watered so tehre is no dust, use a tack cloth to get teh bumper as DRY and DUST FREE as possible. Using foam brushes, pour some primer into a seperate cup (so you dont dip your brush directly in the primer can, you dont want particles in there) and use slow even strokes to get a good smooth surface on there. If the primer can reccommends sanding with a grit less than 400, dont worry about making it smooth, your gonna sand it smooth. if its above, you dont wanna spend all day sanding, so you want it as smooth as humanly possible. after three or 4 coats of primer, start sanding. you will probably notice lots of pitting, this is OK. you havent finished primer yet [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG] start with 220 or so and lightly sand so you cna flatten all the imperfections. once you are done, you put more coats of primer on (like 2) to fill all of the pitts, let cure overnight, then sand again. repeat this process till you have a primered bumper that is perfectly smooth. the more time you take here, the less time you take on the clearcoat process.
with the bumper primered and flattened, you now sand in this order: 220, 320, 400, 600, 1200, 1500, 2000, 2500.
you stop at grit XX. once its flat, you use the next grit up to remove the scratches put in by the previous grit. if grit XX is 600, then you take out your 220 scratches with 320, 320 scratches with 400, and so on.
ALWAYS USE WET SANDPAPER, AND ALWAYS HANDSAND! dont use a power sander, it can leave deep scratches, its definitely worth it to fingerbang your bumper to perfection.
take to the dealer *dealer sprays it* you get your bumper home.
now starts teh clearcoat process. once again, water your garage and tack cloth the bumper. you dont HAVE to water for the primer stage, but its good practice and VERY MUCH DESIRED for the clearcoat stage. you will need about three cans of clear coat (the more expensive the better, $6 can of clearcoat is better than $3 can, and oil base would be a good idea, too) three cans is good for an entire bumper and maybe 1/4th of a side skirt, to give you an idea of coverage. you will want 1/16 to 1/8th inch thick coverage over your whole surface.
shake the can well and go to work. the clearcoat i personally use is tacky after 30 minutes, so i spray a new THIN LAYER every 30 min. i cannot stress how important it is to do thin layers, the pitting in spray clearcoat is very severe with thick coats, and i am suffering now cause i have a S H I T load of sanding and respraying to do to cover up my own mistakes. just be patient with thin coats, and eventually the layers will build up.
if you let yoru clearcoat set overnight before you finish (i clearcoated for 3 days last week) rough up yoru entire bumper with 1200 or 1500 grit paper to give the coat something to stick to.
once your bumper is sprayed, you start teh finish process. you will have to use best judgement on this one, ideally you want to start at 1200, i had to go back to 400 because i did such a horrible job, and am going ot have to redo sections of my panels. but you sand here to flatten and polish the clearcoat. flaten it with 600, 800, or 1200, then polish with 1500, then 2000 to remove subsequent scratches. this is fine, if you want to go even higher, you cna get 2500 or even 3000 grit paper, but i will be honest, if you have plexi that is fogged on one side, 2000 grit paper will make the plexi clear again, to giv eyou an idea of how fine the grit is [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]
once you are done with sanding and polishing, you wax it. this is not wax like the rest of your car, this will be repairing the invisible scratches (look almost like swirls) in yoru bumper, you will want to get a GOOD wax, like nufinish something like that. if you have a good wax for your car, by all means, use it.
once its waxed, your done! install and fornicating enjoy your new shiny as hell bumper!
again, take this with a grain of salt, double check this process with ppl experienced in urethane preperation, as i have no real experience with it, only glass.
Thread
Thread Starter
Honda Civic Forum
Replies
Last Post
nirvanaguy
Mechanical Problems/Vehicle Issues and Fix-it Forum
25
Oct 26, 2017 07:26 PM
Dave Brabant
6th Generation Civic 1996 - 2000
20
Oct 6, 2015 12:44 AM
Wankenstein
Mechanical Problems/Vehicle Issues and Fix-it Forum
11
Sep 27, 2015 11:33 AM
Bricoleur
Mechanical Problems/Vehicle Issues and Fix-it Forum
3
Sep 9, 2015 06:48 PM
Bricoleur
Mechanical Problems/Vehicle Issues and Fix-it Forum
1
Sep 9, 2015 12:30 PM
