I'm just wondering how i can prep the front end for paint. The paint is rough in some places. I don't know what to sand it with to get it all smooth and ready for priming. Anybody?

 

personally id use some light sand paper and get it by hand. some people say you can use a DA on it, but i think id just do it by hand. it shouldnt take you too long to sand it down.

 

o yea that's what i meant, id deff do it by hand but do you have any suggestions on the grit?

 

i would take it apart and WOULD use a da or any other hand held sander with a 100 to 180 grit ,those cracks and chips are deep.if you dont sand them down they will show through when you repaint it

 

alright thank sounds good, i figured i was gunna need something like 180. Alright thanks for the help, appreciate it

 

dont sand it hard, the 100/180 will cut right into the plastic and leave deep gouges

 

180 on a DA will take it down rather quickly, then you can redo it with 220 on the DA to get it real smooth. I don't usually going over it later with a block and 320 because the urethane is so deformed that blocking it is a waste of time.

For the amount of work involved with getting rid of those spiderweb cracks in the lower valance, I'd pick one up on Ebay that's in better shape and not bother wasting my time with that one.

 

You can buy a chemical stripper that will not harm the rubber, it makes a real nasty mess but won't dig in to the rubber like sandpaper will.

 

yikes, i dont think i would use a stripper.

 

i acutally used aircraft remover on the front end...did a great job...nice and smooth for the most part and makes the car look much much better. Could use alittle sanding but im extremely happy with the results..

 

yeah, im just too old school to do that. i dont want to worry about cleaning up all that junk, its pretty hazardous! for me, as long as i got my car outside and a sander, i dont got to clean up nothin (well aside from putting away tools)

 

it still could use a sanding, i can still see some spider webbing

 

oo yea deff....the front ground effects i guess i will replace. Im gunna sand the front end a bit so its perfectly smooth (hopefully)

 

I just got done doing this to my car. I got in a fight with a tire on the highway last fall..
I would completely strip your bumper down to the rubber.. The cracks are all the way down to that and you will not get them out otherwise.

I started with 80, then i went to 180 on the da. Don't hit the lips or edges with the da because it will cause flat spots. After hitting everything with the DA, I went over it with a soft block with 180. Then you can use pre-clean to find any cracks that might still be in your bumper. Trust me, a few will show up!

Also, is some are very minor, they will come out when you wet block the primer.

Yes, i know it is a pain in the ****, but if you want it to look good, you'll take the extra time.

 

yea i just tried the same trick on the rear bumper..what a mess...looks like **** lol.

Looks like im going to have to sand. Ill follow your example with the 80>180 deal

 

ah well i got a pad for a normal drill and some adhesive sand paper and went at it...used a pretty slow spinning drill and 8 grit..much better


but now my bumper is pink lol...i guess it was red and painted over?..not sure but it looks kinda stupid lol o well...at least its stripped

 

You may want to get it down to the black/greenish color of the rubber if you have any deep scratches..