When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
which bolts/screws do I remove to take off the front bumper? are there screws in the wheel well as well? And do the lights come off WITH the front bumper or stay on the car? thanks
You need to get at the two nuts holding the cover onto the fender through the wheel wells, and yes a couple of fasteners holding that on have to be removed to peel it back to allow access to them. The front tires being removed makes this easiest.
There are a couple more screw on the bottom, you'll have to remove the belly pan to access them, and a couple on top, just follow the bumper covers edges, and you'll find them all. The Headlights will stay in place and will not be moved.
Once all the applicable fasteners have been removed, the bumper cover is snapped into place where it meets the fender and simply needs to be pulled outboard from the fender before the bumper cover can be pulled forward. It's a bit stiff to undo, but don't worry, just double check that everything you can see is undone. Here's what mine looked like after undoing everything that needed to be.
Undo all the applicable electrical connectors for the grill hardware next. The grill itself is held in place by 4 snaps on each side, I undid one side at a time by using microscrewdrivers to hold them to allow the catch to go through, but you can find your own way. You'll see what I mean when you get there. And that's it.
Thanks. Found all, I think, the screws and then my wife comes out and says don't do it, she likes the big chrome grill. Figures. So, I just put it all back, and didn't have any screws left over...for once. I might still do it and just leave the grill on when I spray it. or i'll suck it up and get the lltek grill and have someone else put it on.
yep, sorry it's not clear in the pic, the openings in the grill were covered with blue painters tape. I masked off the night vision camera and the adaptive cruise sensors too, although i used wadded paper towel with tape over the top rather than apply the tape directly.
Because of the stretchy peel nature of plastidip, the masking doesn't have to be precise, it naturally tears away at seams and sharp edges..
oh my lord plasti dip SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!! masked off the car, watched 4 videos, did EXACTLY what they said and...no go. some was ok but some pulled off the chrome even when I removed it correctly and you can't put it back on once it's off! The hard part is the trim at the tops of the doors, the rubber seals are right up against it. only real way to do it is spray with the doors open and then you'd have to put plastic all across the doors inside. not happy at all. I'm sure it's easier with the grill.
so, yeah, next project will be the vinyl. If you're basically talking about 3M vinyl electrical tape, I have an issue. first, I bought 3/4 inch width, no even close. second, they make nothing larger at home depot etc. I did order 2 inch width from amazon, will be here in a few days. But there's another issue. (a) how do you cover the back part of the chrome closest to the trunk? It gets wider than 2 inches there, can't piece it together, would look bad. And how to you really get it in good, use a credit card to squeeze it in the grooves?
Tell me how you did it so I don't muck it up again. And thanks!
I paid a kid $250 to install it. He does vinyl wraps for cars and he had a specific vinyl tape that wrks perfectly. It has groove in the adhesive to prevent air bubbles. If you look for a company that does car wraps I'm sure you can find someone to do it for you. Save yourself the headache and just pay a pro to do it.
you cheated! and probably the smart move at that. i think the vinyl tape would work except for the portion I mentioned earlier. I do have a huge portion of 3M vinyl wrap that I could use for the part.
11-15-2015, 08:14 AM
