Since I doubt very many people know me, I guess ill introduce my car first:
'89 Auto 7m-gte, white package and blue leather interior. 100k on the clock, and my grandfather has owned it since 1990. It was completely stock when I bought it and in immaculate condition for a 23 year old car. I've obviously done a few mods, but when I bought it, there was one thing I couldn't stand.. That busted up front lip.
One of the first things I did to the car was remove that lip completely. After noticing it everyday, I decided I needed a replacement. Factory OEM? Nope, cant find them. Shine AutoProject? Negative, didn't like how they were lower than factory and wouldnt match with the side skirts.
So I decide maybe I can just fix it. Searched, and couldnt find a single thread about it. Looked into JB plastiweld, a plastic welder, fiberglass. Nothing seemed right for a polyurethane lip.. But then, late one night, and infomercial comes on. Flex Seal! Liquid rubber sealant in a can! Pure genius.
Went up to Walmart and picked up a can of this stuff for $12, along with some fiberglass repair.
I bought the fiberglass mesh because i figured the lip might need some extra support, since it happened to be in 3 pieces..
Not only that, but flex seal is a sealant, not a bonding agent. So would this actually work? Guess I wouldnt know until i tried it!
I layed some fiberglass mesh down, clamped an edge to keep it from moving, and gave it a quick spray. Its pretty thick stuff, and didnt come out too clean, but it seemed to have worked.
I put another 3 or 4 layers on and then added another layer of fiberglass mesh. Then another 2 or 3 layers. Is this necessary? Probably not. But I wanted to make sure it was going to hold, and I didn't even use half the can throughout the whole thing.
Obviously the front can't look this sloppy, so i masked it off with some painters tape and layed a few coats down.
After 3 or 4 coats on the front, just to make sure it filled all the little gaps where the lip had split, I took off the tape. It looked good, but not clean enough for show yet.
Grabbed my razor blade and started trimming. Probably couldve used a dremel or sandpaper, but this turned out fine for me.
And after a couple days, my front lip was back in one piece! But, would it fit properly?
All fixed! Nobody is going to notice the sloppy yet supportive gunk on the inside of the lip, and the part I filled in on the front is barely even noticable.
So before you throw out that old lip and start stapling garage door weather strip on your front bumper, grab a can of flex seal and make your front lip look like one of those rare survivors.
'89 Auto 7m-gte, white package and blue leather interior. 100k on the clock, and my grandfather has owned it since 1990. It was completely stock when I bought it and in immaculate condition for a 23 year old car. I've obviously done a few mods, but when I bought it, there was one thing I couldn't stand.. That busted up front lip.
One of the first things I did to the car was remove that lip completely. After noticing it everyday, I decided I needed a replacement. Factory OEM? Nope, cant find them. Shine AutoProject? Negative, didn't like how they were lower than factory and wouldnt match with the side skirts.
So I decide maybe I can just fix it. Searched, and couldnt find a single thread about it. Looked into JB plastiweld, a plastic welder, fiberglass. Nothing seemed right for a polyurethane lip.. But then, late one night, and infomercial comes on. Flex Seal! Liquid rubber sealant in a can! Pure genius.
Went up to Walmart and picked up a can of this stuff for $12, along with some fiberglass repair.
I bought the fiberglass mesh because i figured the lip might need some extra support, since it happened to be in 3 pieces..
Not only that, but flex seal is a sealant, not a bonding agent. So would this actually work? Guess I wouldnt know until i tried it!
I layed some fiberglass mesh down, clamped an edge to keep it from moving, and gave it a quick spray. Its pretty thick stuff, and didnt come out too clean, but it seemed to have worked.
I put another 3 or 4 layers on and then added another layer of fiberglass mesh. Then another 2 or 3 layers. Is this necessary? Probably not. But I wanted to make sure it was going to hold, and I didn't even use half the can throughout the whole thing.
Obviously the front can't look this sloppy, so i masked it off with some painters tape and layed a few coats down.
After 3 or 4 coats on the front, just to make sure it filled all the little gaps where the lip had split, I took off the tape. It looked good, but not clean enough for show yet.
Grabbed my razor blade and started trimming. Probably couldve used a dremel or sandpaper, but this turned out fine for me.
And after a couple days, my front lip was back in one piece! But, would it fit properly?
All fixed! Nobody is going to notice the sloppy yet supportive gunk on the inside of the lip, and the part I filled in on the front is barely even noticable.
So before you throw out that old lip and start stapling garage door weather strip on your front bumper, grab a can of flex seal and make your front lip look like one of those rare survivors.
