front bumper painted

I started a new thread because I thought the other one was getting a little too long w/ 97 posts in it... I just got my ex back from the shop today ($1199.57 later). I had to put on the front bumper so that they could test drive the thing. it still needs a couple more coats of clear and I found some scrapes on it that I'm going to have to go over again.. but here it is. I still havn't painted the trim... waiting on more paint to arrive.

Pics are w/ camera phone so they arnt the best quality.

Here is a comparison photo from a bone stock (not mine) ltd explorer

and here is mine a couple weeks ago.

 

[hydroxy]

here is one more... sorry they look kinda yellow, I had to turn on some flood lights to make the pictures come out and they kinda messed w/ the looks a little bit.

It is still taped up (which is why there are no holes for fogs), and the license plate holder just has primer on it right now. Wait till next week when hopefully my paint comes in and everything is done.

 

[EliteConcept]

looks sweet man. love the all white look

 

[Hartman]

After you're done with everything, you might want to adjust the bumper brackets and move the bumper up so that there's not a big gap between the body and the bumper.

 

[Ak LTD Xplorer]

well..i kinda like the silver to go with the silver pin stripe..oh never mind(lol)

it look's really good!!!!i just hope it hold's up..i want to paint that part of my stock bumper when i get my paint work done..or im going with a 99-01 limited..not sure yet

1 ? tho..what do you plan to do when you paint the(it hurt's just saying it) side trim and what are you gonna do about that little gel covered "limited" emblem?? paint over it? or fill it in some how?

 

[X~FACTOR]

Yea, the gap is kinda big. You could compare it to the Limited picture above yours. Have you rear ended someone in the past? Maybe the previous owner?

 

[hydroxy]

I'm going to try and keep the limited emblem color the same it is now... I figure tape + razor blade will do the trick. If not, I am not sure what I'm going to do... not at that stage yet.

Yes, the gap is big right now because I just slapped on the bumper quickly at the shop... However, you guys beat me to it, I was going to ask about that. I tried pushing the bumper up closer to the body, and I went as far as I could and the gap I have now is what was left. I'm going to go out and try again tomorrow and actually spend some time with it to see what I can do to get rid of the gap. It should be able to make it all the way up there, should it not?

When I got the explorer, the gap was fairly big (look at the before shot), b/c my cousin did have a small fender bender with someone. I just thought it was normal, but now know it isn't.

One tip for everyone when painting that I learned... if you can leave the piece on the car do it. Handling it is so annoying and is just asking for it to get scratched up. When I paint the rear bumper, it's definetly going to be mounted first.

 

[hydroxy]

quick question - you think painting the antenna mound/housing (the thing on the fender), and the key areas white would be good? I never use the key to get in, so I dont have to really worry about scratching. Also I was going to paint the background on the Ford emblem white as well...

 

[X~FACTOR]

Shave them both.

I still got decent reception without an antenna with my other vehicle.

 

[Ak LTD Xplorer]

yes..do the anntena cover!!!!..i doin mine..key holes too!! you can buy color matched emblem's(got to find the link)
think about the side mirror(?)'s also the top part of the rear hatch..all that would really clean it up

 

[hydroxy]

you can remove the Ford emblem, and then take off the blue part on the back, and then just paint it with your own color

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=44770&highlight=emblem


I'm not shaving anything. I like the antenna and want to get good reception, so that is staying. I'm going to paint it all white though.

 

[nnnick]

did they charge you 1000 dollars for that, or were u referring to other repairs at the shop or somethign?

 

[hydroxy]

no, the $$ was for replacing the front axle bearings in the diffy.

got my hands on a digi cam...

 

[Ak LTD Xplorer]

i just painted my anttena cover and emblem's alog with some other stuff..im going to get pic's right now

(i don't mean to hi-jack your post i just want to show you how it look's..i will be posting my own trend..sorry)

 

[99SportX]

Looks Good

 

[Ak LTD Xplorer]

sorry here's the pic's

 

[hydroxy]

what did you use on the rear emblem?

 

[Ak LTD Xplorer]

same as the front..

 

[hydroxy]

you pry it off and then sand down the back and paint it?

 

[Ak LTD Xplorer]

yep..just take it out and sand it down..throw some paint on it..then i used clear epoxy to keep it there..but be carefull i broke one doing this..i had to go buy a new one..