Prepare for paint, patching a hole in the urethane

[Geir]

Got my brand spanking new Kaminari bumper today. Been waiting for it for months now. Now to my question. The bumper has some holes in the sides for mounting indicator lights. But on the Euro spec Celica the indicators are in the fenders. So I have to patch up those holes. What would be the best way of going about it. Gluing on a piece of plastic to fill out most of the hole and then use filler to fill in what the plastic bit doesn't or using fiber glass filler and do the whole thing that way. Fiber glass filler is supposed to be able to fill in big cracks but maybe I'd have to build it up layer by layer?

http://www.newcelica.org/photopost/data/500/medium/photo1.jpg

[lpphreakx06]

Hmm, that is an authentic kaminari kit? Urethane or fiberglass version? If it is urethane I don't recommend using body filler aka bondo. It will eventually shrink and ruin the paint. That particular location isnt prone to high vibrations but heat would be the main factor. What I would do is put tape over the front, and pour liquid urethane from the back. That way you have very little sanding to do.

[youngxlos]

Hmm, that is an authentic kaminari kit? Urethane or fiberglass version? If it is urethane I don't recommend using body filler aka bondo. It will eventually shrink and ruin the paint. Waht I would do is put tape over the front, and pour liquid urethane from the back. That way you have very sanding to do.

thats what i did.

[Geir]

It's a Kaminari urethane front. Liquid urethane? Can that be bought? Or did you melt the urethane yourself?

[lpphreakx06]

oh no lol . bought it from my local auto paint store. Since you're from Norway I wouldnt know where but ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching&viewitem=&item=280072637229&_trksid=p3907.m32

[celica_2nr]

how long does liquid urethane usually take to dry?

[dragonfrog]

Fiberglass filler and bondo will not fill holes. It is rigid when it dries and will crack and eventually fall out.

Here's how I do it.

1. Cut out a piece of urethane from a damaged bumper in that same shape. You can get the shape by putting down masking tape and pressing on the edges to get a hood idea.

2. Cut the back out of it so it's just a regular hole.

3. Take the other piece and get a plastic welder. You'll take a stick of urethane and plastic weld the two pieces together. (Basically, the plastic welder is a high temp rod with a flat tip. It melts the urethane so that you can blend and mix the two parts together.)

4. Once you have successfully plastic welded it, then you use metal glaze to make sure it's an even surface. (I don't know what it is up there, but it's the next product used after bondo.)

5. Then you're ready to go through the paint process.

[lpphreakx06]

You can buy them in different varieties,but typically it fully cures in 10-15 minutes, so extremely fast!

[celica_2nr]

tuans way seems easier...

[dragonfrog]

^ If that's the product, then most likely it will be too hard. We've used that before to glue parts to urethane bumpers, and it's too hard to use it as a filler. It will most likely crack and fall out also. But that's coming from a guess.

[lpphreakx06]

My way is the more conventional way, but Ive used dragon frogs method and it works extremely well! It is more secure, if you are trying to rapir spots that are exposed to high virbraton, like if you teared the corner of a lip, like so (molly lip). I used my method with liquid urethane and it was easily prone to cracking. The only other way I could fix it and have it stay together was use plastic rods and weld it together.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b244/turkey0011/CIMG5682.jpg
For Geir's application, I dont think plastic welding will be necessary.

[celica_2nr]

looks like this will be a nice lil project for you geir

[Geir]

I am going to a shop that specializes in car paint tomorrow. Getting som more input. But seeing as these two holes are on the vertical part of the bumper and not near a bend or corner I should be able to fill it out without resorting to plastic welding. I don't have access to the equipment required to weld it so I'll try filling it in first. Do some stress tests.

[mr johnson]

there are urethane repair/patch kits out there (not fiberglass). i can't remember the name but here's a site that has one...

http://www.redhillsupply.com/TSL3310.htm

[dragonfrog]

sounds good. good luck!

[Geir]

mr johnson: Thanks. I'll check with a plastic repair specialist first, see how much they want for the job. If it's too expensive I'll consider the Bondo Mar kit.

[imatunergts]

just buy some US SPEC lights

[Geir]

imatunergts: As my separate thread explains:
I checked to see what plugging up the holes in my Kaminari bumper would cost at a body shop (the euro celica has the indicators in the fenders), and the guy told me 470-560 dollars. That's more than the bumper cost. So I am considering just buying a set of indicator lights to paint silver and use them as covers in stead (I can't legally mount extra indicators). They can be any color as long as I'll be painting them silver anyway. I'll pay you via Paypal and you could just throw them in a padded envelope and mail them to me. Any help would be much appreciated.

If you're wondering why I don't just go to a Toyota dealership and buy them it's because they only have the euro spec indicators and the Kaminari bumper needs the US spec.