DIY: fill license plate bumper holes

[ec_E92]

Originally Posted by chriszeh

update. looks like crap. the prep work went fine but after applying the paint there is a definite edge from the tape. tried sanding it down again and using qtip as suggested and doesnt look much better. if its not in direct light it looks okay but under scrutiny it aint so good. back to the beginning i guess. maybe i need a euro bumper.

Dude, keep it up! Did you remove the tape and sand down the edges to form a cavity for the paint to fill? Also don't be afraid to take your time and let the paint slowly fill the cavity, thin layers at a time. The finished product won't be perfect but should still be better than what you started with and help buy time until you get the Euro bumper (my plan or just fill reflectors and do a whole respray).

Goodluck!

[1MOREMOD]

i removed the tape and moved it back to sand. felt if i tried to sand without tape in place i would end up with sanded areas in a far larger area than i wanted.

[ec_E92]

What grit did you use? Wetsand? I pulled the tape back 1/4" or so and it was enough to focus on the edge of the hole to blend it.

[1MOREMOD]

for prepping the hole i used 400. after paint nothing yet. one of the holes is pretty big and i would need to block sand a big area to come close to flush with the rest. the other 3 holes are decent but none of it looks good. first time i painted i had tape in place and it left edges that looked bad. second time i removed the tape and used the qtip and now have paint further out than i want it so screwed up area i wasnt even trying to fix.

[ec_E92]

Here is what I'd do if I was in your shoes (and again, I don't have any bodyshop experience).

Start with a 3000 grit sand paper and wetsand the area where your touch up paint "spilled over". Use your painters tape to mask off the area so you limit the area you're wetsanding. 3000 grit wetsand is not very aggressive but will pull up the touch up paint which is softer than your clear coat. Start there, if it doesn't do much you can try wetsanding with 2000 grit. I think I got a combo pack of various grits at Advanced Auto for $6.

When I applied my touch up paint I was using the Dr. ColorChip kit which has a blog eliminator that you can use to remove excess paint around an area you're filling. It doesn't work well on large areas though and starts removing the area you filled as well. That's when I went to a qtip and filled that way. If you look close in my results pics you can see some slight blobs from my job.

Can you post some pics of where you're at now?

[1MOREMOD]

i worked on it further today with 2000 grit doing a wetsand. i got the same pack of different grades as you i believe. with each time i sand all i am accomplishing is making the area bigger and removing the paint i applied so i have to start over. at this point im frustrated and will leave it alone for a while i think.

[samer670]

Originally Posted by ec_E92

I got some ribbing from some coworkers this morning who saw my car with "bullet holes" in the parking lot.


Picked up a bodyshop wetsand pack today and back to work. After a dry sand with 400 grit I pulled the tape away and reapplied more exposing the edge now so I could blend it in with the bumper. Keep in mind you want to create a slight cavity for the touch up paint to fill.



Now using 1000 grit I wet sanded the perimeter and the spot trying to get just under flush. Pull the tape away and dab with a damp MF towel. Once dry apply the touch up paint. I had to use 2 coats as the blob remover from the Dr. ColorChip kit pulled most of the paint out of the cavity, even after 2 hours. It's great on road rash but not large chips/spots I'm finding. I was more generous with the second coat and just did a light wipe with the blob remover to try and blend the edges. I'd rather have a slight blob than black or red putty showing through. You can also see the right hole is still a little shallow.

All in all a 100% improvement for 2 evenings worth of work and $12 (or $47 counting Dr. ColorChip kit I already had). I'm doing my first ever clay/compound/polish/seal/wax this weekend and I'm hoping it helps to blend it even better... why didn't I try this 2 years ago when I got the car?



Looking Mean!

Hi. I'm trying to do this too. My question is did you have any difficulty taking off the painter's tape after you spread the putty into the drill holes and over the tape? Im at that stage. Did you sand down the dried putty that was on the tape before you took it off?
My concern is that if i just rip the tape with the dried putty off the bumper then the putty inside the holes will come off with it. Thanks

[ec_E92]

Just pull the tape off, you won't pull the putty out.

Goodluck!!

[samer670]

Originally Posted by ec_E92

Just pull the tape off, you won't pull the putty out.

Goodluck!!

Thanks. I pulled off the tape then retaped it and sanded it down. Came out really nice and smooth. Just gotta paint it. Thanks again for this DIY.

[remsM3]

Hey if you are not satisfied w/ DIY results, just put your lisence plate back to cover it. My 2 cents comments. lol

[jaehshim]

bringing up an old thread lol

did anyone else work on this DIY?
How successful is this?
I'm trying to do this on my Jerez Black...

[1MOREMOD]

Originally Posted by jaehshim

bringing up an old thread lol

did anyone else work on this DIY?
How successful is this?
I'm trying to do this on my Jerez Black...

mine turned out semi succesful i would say. got it close then called it and cant tell unless your 5 feet or closer so not a big deal i guess. better than the holes.

[ec_E92]

Originally Posted by jaehshim

bringing up an old thread lol

did anyone else work on this DIY?
How successful is this?
I'm trying to do this on my Jerez Black...

Almost 2 years later and it is just now showing some wear. The Dr. Colorchip paint gets pulled out with compounding/polishing and I've done several details since I applied this, and I need to go back and touch up. Also just this summer the one body filler on the one side popped out. Could be because I drive my car 4 seasons and the temperature changes finally knocked it loose.

Still happy I did it, just need to do a little maintenance.

Go for it, can't turn out any worse than drilled holes!

[jaehshim]

Originally Posted by ec_E92

'

wow you did a good job on it
I'm usually okay with tools and all, but I am VERY BAD when it comes to paint + detail + wash etc.
And I'm afraid if I'll just ruin the bumper hole area with this DIY
I'll give it a try, but first I'll go buy Jerez black touch up paint

[1MOREMOD]

Originally Posted by jaehshim

'

wow you did a good job on it
I'm usually okay with tools and all, but I am VERY BAD when it comes to paint + detail + wash etc.
And I'm afraid if I'll just ruin the bumper hole area with this DIY
I'll give it a try, but first I'll go buy Jerez black touch up paint

i have jerez touch up kit i can send you for cheap if you want.

[Newb17]

Originally Posted by samer670

Thanks. I pulled off the tape then retaped it and sanded it down. Came out really nice and smooth. Just gotta paint it. Thanks again for this DIY.

Bringing this back from the DEAD! Anyhow, so you didn't do any sanding before you pulled the tape the first time? What grit(s) did you sand with when retaping? If you even remember...

[jesseinhd]

Originally Posted by ec_E92

Many of us suffer from drilled license plate holes for some reason or another. First mod after I bought my car was to remove the front plate bracket, I felt the clean front end looked better even with bumper holes, which really stand out on AW. I figured I'd just get them filled along with reflectors and do a respray at 50k to deal with road rash as I drive my car year round. I'm at 45k and don't see this in my car budget in the near future so time for a DIY.

Disclaimer: THIS IS MY FIRST ATTEMPT AT ANY KIND OF BODY WORK and I was very pleased with the results. Going in I had no idea how this was going to turn out but figured it couldn't get any worse than 2 big black holes in my bumper. My plan is to fill with body filler and hit with the Dr. ColorChip touch up kit (works great on road rash by the way).

The screws pulled material out so I used a razor blade to cut back to flush. Go easy as a sharp razor blade with cut through the plastic without any effort.



Then I prepped the area by masking as close to the edges as possible


I found this for $7 at Advanced Auto. Squeeze some out on some cardboard as the top can be pretty runny. I put some on a small plastic putty knife and worked it in.



I'm letting this dry overnight to prohibit shrinkage.... snicker.... that and I can't find my 2000 grit wetsand. I'll hit the store tomorrow after work, apply a second skim coat and paint.

ok sorry from bringing this OLD post back to life but could you tell me exactly the tools ill need i wana do this but i want a list of stuff so i can buy it all at once. dont like the holes in front of a chrysler 300s. thank you.

[ec_E92]

Read the thread?

[o0wkr0o]

cool man, never thought I can fill that hole on my bumper. Subbed=)