hello my fellow h-t members,well i picked up an si lip for dirt cheap and its in bad condition but i feel like it can be worked on so it can look brand new again. i took some pics of the lip and i need help as far as ...how to do it lol this is my first time doing body work on any thing so i feel likei should get inputs and opinions. let me know thanks.its got a couple broken clips but i can gorilla glue that no problem..




damages:

 

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that actually doesn't look too bad, it can be fixed . so go for it, read!

 

You have made a wise choice. EM1 lips are superior to any knock off lips. You need to sand off the old paint and give yourself a good foundation to work on. Then spray plastic primer. My favorite primer even for plastic is Rustoleum metal primer. It has a maroon/brown color cap top. Then sand the primer after 24 hours. Next clean off the surface with mineral spirits. Now you can begin laying down color coats. Clear coating is next. Wax is the last thing you would want. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Good luck!

 

sand it down as much as possible to get it even out. if there is any crack i believe u can use the plastic body filler the flexible one then sand. spray sandable primer, sand if it look uneven or bumpy, paint of choice, clear coat, let it dry for a couple of weeks then slap it on. if u put it on right away most likely u will have rock chips just like mine oh yeah might as well wax ur whole car so ur lip wont be the only shiny thing on the car. GL

 

do i need to apply any filler or bondo to the lip itself so it can fill in the scrapes and stuff.. cuz as u can tell its scraped to **** i want to look brand new

 

im sorry but i have to say this. NEVER and i repeat NEVER use aerosol can paint and primer that you would get from autozone and walmart.

all your gonna get is a dull looking or off look from the rest of the vehicle.
and you just waste your time cuz it doesnt harden like good quality painting materials
the primer and paint you from from the places i stated above are laquer and enamal
todays paint is urethane.

here's what to do if you dont have alot of money and dont have the right tools to complete the job
car paint stores can put actual car paint in a aerosol can that's urethane and you can buy a one time use can of clearcoat that has a harnder inside that you hit a valve.
and they also sell bodyshop grade primer thats in a aerosol can. it's like $10-$15

or you can go to harbor fright and buy a $15 dollor paint gun and buy nthe paint and clear and do it yourself

options
A- aerosole way
1.2 cans of aerosol paint based off your paint code
2. 2 cans of aerosol clear
3. 1 can of body shop grade primer
4 a varaity of sandpaper 80grit,180grit and 320 grit and also wetsand paper of the following grits of 500 grit,1000 grit,1500 grit and 2000 grit sand paper.
5.tube of icing bodyfiller $20 paint store

or plan B

1. hlaf quartm of premixed paint based on your paint code
2.quart of clear caot
3. 1 can fof body shop quality primer
4. paint gun from harbor fright
5 the sand paper i mentioned in plan A
6. wax and grease remover
7.paint sticks and filters
8.icing bodyfiller
9 buffing compund and a buffer

now for the crack. where is it located? really the correct way of fixing that is using a flex epoxy and a stitch tape to support it
but if its on the bottom and you dont see it. just drill out the end of the crack so it doesnt keep cracking and use bodyfiller
orrr here's a cheap way but also good way. use a solder gun with zip tires and weldf the ties into the plastic,. drill and V out the crack and weld it right into it. sand down and apply filler
.

good luck man if you got any questions let me know i'm more than happy to give you advice

 

thanks alot bro yea i PM'ed you. if anyone has more helpful suggestions like one above... please let me know

 

duh, what else would you use?

 

that's a lot of paint for a lip, a quart of clear? it comes out to maybe 2 quarts depending how much it needs thinned (reducer, activator)

 

yea noob question.

 

i want to see your end result because i also have a pretty banged up em1 lip.

 

yea brian8702 just hit me up with a bunch of helpful info, and hes helpin me out. so i should start this week. i hope i can keep up with this one cuz its gonna be my first time messin with body work.but w.e ima have fun and learn from it. any mistakes is a lesson learned right? so here goesssssssssssss

 

hey man i would love to see your end result. i have the same problem. i drove past an em1 lip in the middle of traffic and scooped that **** up. it looks like yours and i would like to know how it came out and wehat u did? thanks bro