iy

iTrader: (1)

I recently aquired an 03 Evo with 54K on the clock. While overall the car was really clean, one of the things that jumped out at the was the terrible scuffs on the front lip. I asked a body shop for an estimate and they said roughly 200-300 to paint and bondo the thing. Aside from being expensive, I know that in a year or two the front lip will be no better for the wear, possibly worse. So, I was thinking, why not rattlecan it? Just drive the car onto ramps, mask off the bumper, and spray away.

I asked a few friends with similar cars for advice. Responses ranged from "take off the bumper and do it right" to "dude live with it." I figured, well, I can always have it re-done at a body shop if I mess up, so what's the downside? Also, I am terrible at learning from other people's mistakes and advice, so I went ahead. Here's how it went:

Liability Notice: I'm not responsible for any damages caused to your car and/or anyone or anything else by following these steps. This is NOT a set of instructions, only the steps I happened to take to do this. You have a really good chance of ruining your paint job and/or other things by doing this. Results may vary.

Here are some before shots:





Step 0: Get a Tarmac Black or Weightless White Evo. No, seriously. Color matching other colors is going to be a ***** and a half, and will probably look like poo. I've been there, done that, it's not pretty.

Step 1: Drive the car up onto your, err, ramps.



This isn't mandatory but makes it a little easier to get under there, because the lip is LOW (which is what is causing our problems in the first place! )

Step 2: Mask off the front.

I masked right at the seam between the lip and the bumper. Since there will be a slight texture change I think this helps hide the disparity. Here is the front, all masked off. Nice! Looks like an easter special. I typically apply tape all over the bottom of the paper and put one piece at the top to keep it from flapping down. Kind of self-explanatory, really.



Step 3: Sand the scratches.

I used 120 grit to smooth out the scratches and then 600 grit to get it nice and smooth. Then, I used a sponge to pick up the dust left from the sanding process.

Step 4: Paint away!

Here is our good friend Mr. Krylon. Mr. Rustoleum is a close cousin, they are really about the same. Find it in your local hardware store for about four bucks.



Tips on rattlecanning (learned from years of in-experience):

- Use lots of THIN coats. You will be tempted to put on a thick coat, DON'T. It will drip and run and look ****ty in general. My spray time per coat was seriously about 3 seconds for the entire lip. I then waited about 15 minutes before the next coat.
- Don't go for full coverage with every coat. Same as the previous one really. Your first coat doesn't have to (and won't!) cover the scratches completely. Go for a very thin coat at first, and then build it up, putting on a new coat every 10-15 minutes.
- Spray continuously and evenly. Start spraying and immediately move the can from one end of the lip to another.
- Prime the can. Before every coat, spray for a second or two onto a piece of paper or something else to clear out the nozzle. The cans can "spit" a little bit when they've been sitting for a while.

Step 5: Wait.

After you're done with the coats (I did about five coats, but three is probably sufficient) wait for it to cure. I do this until I lose my patience, typically about an hour. However, I recommend waiting for at least two, overnight would be best. Then, gently peel off the advertisements and the masking tape. Do this SLOWLY, it can tear at your new paintjob so be gentle.

Step 6: It's done! Recommend buffing it with rubbing compound but it's going to get scratched up soon enough anyway.








I didn't do the edges and didn't do the one scratch just above the lip. However, I think it looks a LOT better. The finish isn't quite the best (I used glossy black) and is noticably duller than the rest of the paint before buffing. However, you can't really tell unless you look very carefully at the reflection in the paint, and it's your lower lip, c'mon. THe best thing is it gets rid of all of the little white spots and grey marks from the scratches. It's not nearly show quality, but it beats going to the dealer every year and shelling out 2-300 to re-paint the lip.

EvoooB

iTrader: (33)

+1 on it looking alot better. atleast now its not an eye sore and you can save some money to get it all redone factory color or just buy a new lip

iy

iTrader: (1)

I'm just going to keep it, I think. When (if) I decide to sell it I'll probably have the lip re-done professionally, but the thing scrapes so much that I think re-painting every 6 months to one year is the way to go.

EJEvo

iTrader: (18)

Love the lift of your ramps.

I think you did the right thing - looks way better.