Finest CAR ART S-Line Valence Group Purchase...

[BarEaterB8]

since your in the auto body business can you share some best practices on what filler should be used?

Sure. We are using PLIO GRIP by Valvoline. It is considered a Finishing Cream. It consists of an epoxy and a hardener, that when mixed become a hard yet flexable and sandable material, perfect for plastic. Once mixed you have about 3 minutes to work with it and 15 minutes till you can start sanding. Various grit sandpapers are used in order to knock down the excess and then begin the smoothing process. More will need to be applied to fill in low spots or air pockets. And the process starts over. I will post more pics. Once you get it to where you want it, primer is applied and then that is sanded prior to painting.

[coolwater]

Wow just popped into this thread thinking I'd see some nice installed pics...
Hopefully it works out for you guys.

-cW

[MiracleWhips]

So add another $50+ for the PLIO GRIP, and more sandpaper.

[TheHeiko]

Ugh. I was waiting for some body shop feedback. I have mine in the back of the Avant to take to a body shop today if I get some time. I am a little scared of what I might be told even though I think my dual-single valence isn't as bad as some posted here. The question is, what choice do we have? It would be pretty tough to sell these considering everyone who wanted one got in on this GB and anyone who missed it has found out along with us that these are a nightmare.

[MiracleWhips]

Ugh. I was waiting for some body shop feedback. I have mine in the back of the Avant to take to a body shop today if I get some time. I am a little scared of what I might be told even though I think my dual-single valence isn't as bad as some posted here. The question is, what choice do we have? It would be pretty tough to sell these considering everyone who wanted one got in on this GB and anyone who missed it has found out along with us that these are a nightmare.

I wouldn't call them a nightmare just yet. I have no doubt that they can be made to look near perfect. But at what price is the question. We are starting to find out....

[TheHeiko]

I wouldn't call them a nightmare just yet. I have no doubt that they can be made to look near perfect. But at what price is the question. We are starting to find out....

I guess it's more of a letdown after all the anticipation. I agree that they are fixable. I'm just hoping that my body shop has good news for me. I'll post what I find out.

[MSteele]

Just got mine and it's not to bad actually. The lines were the plastic welding was done are pretty straight. There are some pockets of missing filler. I have no experience in this type of DIY project but it's the only way to keep costs down. Interested to see the first body shop quotes. If anyone in the Boston area is interested let me know possibility I may be selling.

[Elote]

I am going to my 3rd shop today for a quote. The first shop refered me to another, which refered me to this last shop. They said though if anyone can do it, it is definitely them. They showed me a front and rear bumper this shop had to mold to fit a boxster and it looks outstanding, so I'm optimistic they can get it done, but I am definitely worried on the cost. I will let you all know how it works out.

[BarEaterB8]

So here are some more pics.....

After about 1.5 hours of sanding the second coat of PLIO GRIP was applied and now awaiting some more sanding. It's coming along.....

[fatboyj711]

That looks like a ridiculous amount of work and you're not even done yet.

[audipcanugo]

::grabs popcorn::

[jlaudio]

lol everyone is so discouraged -- rightfully so. i am still going to attempt a DIY on this

edit: i said "lol" because i am already past the point of getting angry over this. nothing else i can do about it now except laugh i guess?

[TheHeiko]

Yes, we're pretty much left to choose between being angry or just laugh it off and move ahead. To use an often used line that none of us like to hear, "I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed".

I brought my valence to a body shop today and when I was going over it with them, we noticed that the too edge above the recess for the honeycomb is not a straight line at all. It's wavy and if left in corrected next to the straight line of the bumper cover, will look like ass. The corners of the recess need quite a bit of work, lots of filling and sanding. This is all stuff we now know needs to be done but just further confirmation from another body shop. They laughed that it could be described as "paint ready".

So... they figure it'll be about 4-5 hours of filling and sanding plus about 2 hours for prime and paint. The main time would be spent straightening out that crooked edge and the corners of the recess. The place I went to is one that a friend used for a full restoration to the frame on a classics truck and some other work so supposedly I'm getting a discount because of the referral so my total would be $360. That about doubles the cost of the valance project.

EDIT: Has anyone tried test fitting? We probably ought to do that before investing time and/or money into prep and paint. Hey, with the way this has gone we never know....

[Pared]

I didn't even open mine but I'm selling it if someone wants it. Not taking a loss; ill go forward if no takers.

Better yet, if someone local to NYC wants a little project, feel free to inquire. Not really interested in a "project" if that is what this turns out to be.

[b4a41point8t]

Curious if the valance has to be absolutely flawless if one were going with a dark color like matte or a dark shade of black. I understand were all perfectionist and OCD about our cars but a dark color would leave room for some errors?

[TheHeiko]

I didn't even open mine but I'm selling it if someone wants it. Not taking a loss; ill go forward if no takers.

Better yet, if someone local to NYC wants a little project, feel free to inquire. Not really interested in a "project" if that is what this turns out to be.

You could contact BarEater B8 who owns a body shop and is having his worked over. Maybe he can give you an extra special deal.

Curious if the valance has to be absolutely flawless if one were going with a dark color like matte or a dark shade of black. I understand were all perfectionist and OCD about our cars but a dark color would leave room for some errors?

Well the areas that aren't filled would need to be filled or that would look bad and be an area where the paint could be compromised and if the surface isn't smoothed evenly the paint could look uneven or not adhere correctly. The uneven top line that I wrote about being most time consuming maybe can be lived with if it is going to be painted black but I think when lined up with the bumper cover's lower edge that is straight, any wavering of the line will really stand out.

[Elote]

Well just got back from the 3rd body shop. They said they definitely can make it look perfect, but it will take roughly 8-10 hours to get it ready for paint. So that puts me at $1000ish after paint. In other words, not f'ing worth it. Every shop has been blown away that we were delivered a product in such a condition. I'm pretty pissed off to say the least. So off to the classifieds it goes for someone who would like a project.

[b4a41point8t]

Well just got back from the 3rd body shop. They said they definitely can make it look perfect, but it will take roughly 8-10 hours to get it ready for paint. So that puts me at $1000ish after paint. In other words, not f'ing worth it. Every shop has been blown away that we were delivered a product in such a condition. I'm pretty pissed off to say the least. So off to the classifieds it goes for someone who would like a project.

Sweet mother of god. Looks like back to an s-line bumper for me. That just seems ridiculous. Plus the sline has extra sexy lines aside from the valance. Sigh

[[email protected]]

I hate to ask any of you for anything, but please if you go to get an estimate if you could get it on paper I would really like to have a copy of it. Anyone that has work done and has an invoice please do send it over: [email protected]

I want to be able to go to Finest with these estimates and bills so I can look to get some level of compensation of at all possible. I am extremely sorry these did not come out as prepared as I expected. Personally having little body work experience these looked reasonable to me as they shipped. I assumed 3-4 hours tops in prep, prime and paint. Sounds way higher than that and even with the claim the valence is usually ~480USD to ~540USD at current exchange totally from them finished shouldn't yield a big auto body bill for any of you.

Thanks guys and sorry,

[Pared]

If you get any more inquiries send them my way. You can sell mine to them.

And I wouldn't mind so much if I could get a nice deal on a flat bottom facelift steering wheel with paddles and white stitching. :) Hey, worth a shot. I'm slightly annoyed with the entire thing.

[audipcanugo]

Well just got back from the 3rd body shop. They said they definitely can make it look perfect, but it will take roughly 8-10 hours to get it ready for paint. So that puts me at $1000ish after paint. In other words, not f'ing worth it. Every shop has been blown away that we were delivered a product in such a condition. I'm pretty pissed off to say the least. So off to the classifieds it goes for someone who would like a project.

[Mops@Nemesis]

These labor hours are silly. Either way, I feel your pain. Such a downer.

[Sin_city_Rings]

Just opened my box and to me mine looks great! There are no filler "holes", no uneven edges, no cracking..... a little sanding and paint and mine is good to go. VERY happy about this

[LoveMyA4]

Just opened my box and to me mine looks great! There are no filler "holes", no uneven edges, no cracking..... a little sanding and paint and mine is good to go. VERY happy about this

Pictures please.

[TheHeiko]

Just opened my box and to me mine looks great! There are no filler "holes", no uneven edges, no cracking..... a little sanding and paint and mine is good to go. VERY happy about this

Pics or it didn't happen!

My good guy discounted price of $360 is starting to sound very reasonable. Waiting for more information from others.

[jaysen]

Pics or it didn't happen!

My good guy discounted price of $360 is starting to sound very reasonable. Waiting for more information from others.

Man this thread is really disappointing... Hoping you guys get it all worked out.

Kev, maybe you can bring your guy some business (groupbuy) for the SoCal guys?

[BarEaterB8]

OK so we are into about 4 hours of sanding and $50+ in materials and still not there yet..... Getting closer.....

[fatboyj711]

$360 is either a major steal or the quality of work is going to be subpar. It would probably cost half that amount (if not more) for "normal" prep and paint at a reputable body shop.

[bshanna]

i took the valence to the body shop that did my repair work: http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...mp-M-last-week

Either my valance is in much better shape than other folks', the shop is way cheaper than the shops you guys are going to (65/hour for paint/prep), or they are really bad at estimating (hopefully doubtful since it's kinda their business) but they quoted me $150-200 to prep and paint it. They did suggest that they couldn't guarantee for life that the paint would stay on (they guaranteed the work on my car for life) but that was the only disclaimer. They also suggested to test fit before going through all that trouble which is obviously a great idea and i think someone else here suggested.

I definitely trust the shop and they did awesome work on my car so i don't think it would be subpar. I will try to find someone local who has a non-sline bumper and do a test fit (maybe not push all the tabs in since removing is such a PITA). If it looks good i'll probably go for it since i think it will be much easier to sell as a ready-to-install piece and since my repairs i have no use of it any more.

[jlaudio]

^150-200 is definately doable. i plan on making the rounds tomorrow to a few shops that are open saturdays for a quote. if its 150-200 prepped and painted then i would do that instead of DIYing

[zjia]

I received mine on Thursday. It's not as good as I expected. Since it may take another $300 to fix it, I decided to just go with PlastiDip.

Does anyone have any good idea for removing the rear valence. I've been following the directions from here. However I having problems with taking off the clips. In the directions it says to remove the valence starting from center and then removing the sides (labeled as A-C in the instructions).

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[B G 8er]

OK so we are into about 4 hours of sanding and $50+ in materials and still not there yet..... Getting closer.....

Looking good! I am envious. However, most of us without such skills and resources are not in the same position to make this thing right!

[zjia]

Looking good! I am envious. However, most of us without such skills and resources are not in the same position to make this thing right!

Definitely agree!

[jlaudio]

Looking good! I am envious. However, most of us without such skills and resources are not in the same position to make this thing right!

i think people think this is harder than it is. its not really all that hard its just extremely time consuming. light coat of the plio grip to build up, sand it, and repeat 3-4 times.
i can't seem to find the plio grip finishing cream locally so i had to order it online. $39 bucks is what it cost me, i just hope one tube will be enough

[brainpan]

I decided to just go with PlastiDip.

plz post finished pics, plasti dip is self leveling, so maybe with enough coats it will turn out alright, i may go the same route, how much sanding have you done?

EDIT: just check my estimated delivery date, 6-30 days.... thx canada post

[jfo]

i think people think this is harder than it is. its not really all that hard its just extremely time consuming. light coat of the plio grip to build up, sand it, and repeat 3-4 times.
i can't seem to find the plio grip finishing cream locally so i had to order it online. $39 bucks is what it cost me, i just hope one tube will be enough

I can't find PlioGrip and will probably use SEM 39482-flexible polyester glaze. It seems to be more widely distributed.

Does that Pliogrip container require a gun to dispense?

[TheHeiko]

I did suggest that a test fitting prior to any body work or painting would be prudent. I'm just afraid of breaking tabs in the process but don't want to spend the money on a valence that might have fitment issues. Also, looking at the instructions it seems the valence should be glued on or am I reading it wrong?

[bshanna]

yeah i basically want to make sure all of the tabs line up. i actually don't want to fully push all the tabs in. The stock valance definitely shouldn't be glued in, i'm not sure why this one would?

[Greg Nelson]

Need to inject some much needed humor here - better beer will result in better finished product [I read that on the Internet]

Hope the plasti-dip works for you.
MY shop still hasn't started on mine.

[BarEaterB8]

I can't find PlioGrip and will probably use SEM 39482-flexible polyester glaze. It seems to be more widely distributed.

Does that Pliogrip container require a gun to dispense?

Yes the Plio Grip does require a special gun/mixing tip to dispense