Front Bumper Question??

[adam]

Well i just started my new job this week and on the way to work in the morning a huge piece of a blown out tire hit my bumper and pretty much cracked half of my lower valance off. My question is, will a 94-97 bumper valance fit and with what modifications. Also, if i decide to paint my bumper how much paint do you think i'll need to paint my bumper, valance and grille?

[adam]

well nevermind on the bumper part, i can see that the valance on the 98-04 s10s curve up in the middle and the 94-97 are flat accross the top. So i guess i would also need the bumper from the 94-97 as well to make it work.

[chuddly]

you would need probly a pint of paint and its reducer and then clear...thats if your doing it correctly to put it back to factory or better shape

[rocky 59]

dude when i got inot a wreck the body kit was 500 bucks so go with an aftermarket one. also to paint it will be around 250-300 bucks for all of it.

[chuddly]

um ok what kinda drunk ordered your paint...i run a body shop....RED wich is the most expencive is only like 70 bux a pint and then you might have 100 more bux in clears, activators , reducers and all that junk....im tellin ya i would paint a bumper and grill and valance for like 300 bux labor and all if it was off the truck...on the truck 350 to 400......so if you spent that much in paint then someone took you hard

[rocky 59]

well i had the right side fender, body kit, bumper, grill, emblem, and hood so i dont think so. 500 for paint and labor so im good.

[adam]

well my uncle is pretty good at painting and he has all the equipment, but hes a busy guy though. so maybe i should call around and see if anyone will quote me over the phone. Of course i guess i could buy myself a gun and use my dads compressor, i would like to see how well i could do it. Do i just go to a paint store and have them mix up my color or what?

[adam]

http://www.autosdepo.com/Part_Photo/GBX.jpg
How do you guys think this would look painted to match my truck? Its an isuzu hombre cover. Do you think it will bolt right on? I would of course fill in those licsense plate holes.

[crazyrunner33]

the auto value near me had the paint for it in stock, they were selling it by the quart, 40 bucks for the paint.

[shadow32]

http://www.autosdepo.com/Part_Photo/GBX.jpg
How do you guys think this would look painted to match my truck? Its an isuzu hombre cover. Do you think it will bolt right on? I would of course fill in those licsense plate holes.

It looks awesome. I did it to my 97. You will need a 94-97 bumper with the trim holes. The bumper ends are not needed for obvious reasons. Bolts right on and fits like a glove with the exception of the top. The Hombre grill tapers down to the bumper cover where the S10 is almost straight up and down. You will have to extend the top side of the cover to meet up with your grill. I'll see if I can find the pics with mine on. I haven't extended the top yet and I have the Wings West airdam for the Hombre on it in some pics. You can also see the gap at the top between the cover and the grill that I am talking about.

Good luck.

[adam]

looks good man, how do u think you will fill that hole?

[shadow32]

Thanks.

I'm going to cut a piece of wood or plastic to the needed shape to fill the gap, bond it to the metal bumper, and then use fiberglass over the top and filler as needed to bring it right in front of the grill. The license plate holes will just get fiberglassed closed and any necessary filler to make them smooth. Then comes the fun part...I'm going to sand all the texture out of the bumper cover. This may not be too bad as there is not near the texture that the factory 94-97 S10 airdam has.

It's going to be a lot of work, but I think the outcome will be worth it.

Good luck with yours.

[yummyz]

well the only way to do this is as follows:
first if you repair the valance make sure you use flexible repair material.alway use a spraybomb of adhesion promoter
if you go aftermarket makesure you know if it is primed or bare plastic.

if it is bare you will need to pre-bake it to release the oils,wash soap and water.using a gray scotch brite pad and some hand cleaner(it works the same as flattening paste)scuff entire piece,rinse with water

if it is bare plastic, primer must be used(i recommend basf r-m paint productscause iam most familiar with them) the number on the can is 865.spray a light coat on(it should not be wet)wait 30 minute before putting youbase coat on(irecommend adding hardener to the base cause it ismore durable against chips and road debree)the number is bch2

if the part is primed skip 865

use a good clear coat like dc92 or dc5300 or dc 5100.

good luck and take you time.this is important.

[adam]

Well i just bought a replacement valance for my truck the other day(only 16 bucks from certifit!). I priced the paint and everything, i think itll be a little over a hundred bucks for the paint kit. I need to smooth out the valance cause its textured. What would be the easiest way to do this? I was thinking some lower grit paper and an electric sander and maybe some fiberglass body filler to smooth it out. Any suggestions?

[shadow32]

I would not use an electric sander. Too much of a chance of creating flat spots in the valance. I would just hand sand with 200-400 and take the texture down some. My old stock valance that we painted was textured. I didn't sand it at all. By the time the adhesion promoter, primer, paint, and clear were all done there was almost no texture left at all.

Good luck.