Project Front Valance Refurbishment
- Fordoholic Nick
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- Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2014 3:40 pm
- Car(s): Ford Capri 2.0 Laser,
Ford Fiesta 1.6 TDCi - Location: Enfield, London
Project Front Valance Refurbishment
Hi all,
Some of you may know that I have been refurbishing my front valance due to spotting a couple of areas that needed attention sooner rather than later. Well I finally got the job finished yesterday as one thing lead to another and I ended up removing the bumper caps and over riders too and refurbishing/replacing these. Here's how I got on...
This was the area of my valance that concerned me the most. Blistering and loose paintwork. The other side was not as bad but still needed attention so rather than just 'patch up' I decided after advice from John, to refurbish the complete valance...
20170328_162351 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
I was very worried what I may find underneath after scraping off the bad stuff but to my relief the valance was completely solid. Thankfully I had caught it I'm time.
20170328_164432 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
The other side was not as bad but again was still a relief to see a perfectly solid valance underneath the flaking paintwork
20170328_181032 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
As I am not a professional sparyer and was going to be using rattle cans I wanted the 'join' to be hidden by the bumper end caps so this was a perfect place to work from. Removed the other side too
20170328_181023 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
So after treating the bad areas with a rust treatment paint I then applied some Halfords Filler Primer, designed to cover any imperfections
20170402_184028 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
20170402_184054 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
A few coats later...starting to look much better already
20170402_184040 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
Whilst the filler primer did a grand job I was not completely happy that the impertions had been covered so applied a very fine layer of easy sand two pack filler to give me a better base surface before continuing
20170407_173802 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
Whilst it might not look it in this pic sanding down the filler did give me the result I wanted, a much better smoother surface.
20170407_173812 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
Now to start building up the light coats of red primer20170407_180037 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
20170407_180020 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
20170407_180027 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
20170407_181202 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
I took my time and slowly built up the layers...looking even better now
20170407_183527 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
20170407_190207 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
Until I was happy with the primed surface
20170407_190200 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
You can see the finished top coats later
Waited a couple of days for the primed surface to harden then set about refurbishing the plastic 'trim' on the valance with Halfords Matt Black rattle can. Turned out really nice
20170420_191459 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
While I was waiting for the plastic trim to harden I set about refurbishing the end caps too
20170413_100405 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
Sanded down with 800 the 1200 wet/dry paper to sort the bad patches. But of course sanded the whole end cap to get an even surface. Did the same with the other one
20170413_100351 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
Washed them in warm soapy water before applying the new paint
20170413_102435 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
I used Halfords Plastic Bumper Paint and again applied in very light coats until I achieved the finish I wanted. The light reflection makes it look a bit pale but they did turn out really nice in my opinion
20170413_110604 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
Now my over riders were in a poor way so I decided to treat myself to a set of new ones from CCI. Even though brand new they were still a tad to 'faded' looking to me so I decided to try to 'darken' them which I knew would look much better, so I treated them to a few light coats of......Halfords Flexible Vinyl Paint Black
20170421_185448 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
They turned out really nice indeed. Sorry I forgot to take a pic of them 'before' but trust me they did look faded and patchy even though new
20170421_185535 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
Now I turned my attention to the rear bumper end caps and refurbished them in the same way as the front ones. The over riders on the rear were in a better condition than the fronts so thought to save money I would try a refurb on these. Here is a pic of one that I did against one I had prepared using wet/dry paper again so you can see how well they turned out
20170425_120634 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
Time to fit it all back together...but first I whipped off the grill and gave that some attention too
20170422_183228 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
The bit I enjoy...fitting it back then standing back to see how it turned out
20170423_185633 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
I am really chuffed with the end result. Yep, it may have taken me a while to do this but definitely worth it as the front end (and back) looks so much better than it did before
20170426_184249 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
20170426_184323 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
20170426_184308 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
The top coat paint I got from an online company I use that mix up the Ford Lacquer Red L5. They supply in rattle cans with a 'wide' angle spray pattern so not a cheap basic nozzle. I attached my faithful trigger gun to give me more control over the spraying. I know rattle cans are not highly thought of but theses ones really are pretty decent. Now in these pics the way the light is its not really showing that the colour blend is actually pretty good indeed
I hope you enjoyed reading through refurbishment Project Front Valance...and some more
All the best
Nick
Some of you may know that I have been refurbishing my front valance due to spotting a couple of areas that needed attention sooner rather than later. Well I finally got the job finished yesterday as one thing lead to another and I ended up removing the bumper caps and over riders too and refurbishing/replacing these. Here's how I got on...
This was the area of my valance that concerned me the most. Blistering and loose paintwork. The other side was not as bad but still needed attention so rather than just 'patch up' I decided after advice from John, to refurbish the complete valance...
20170328_162351 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
I was very worried what I may find underneath after scraping off the bad stuff but to my relief the valance was completely solid. Thankfully I had caught it I'm time.
20170328_164432 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
The other side was not as bad but again was still a relief to see a perfectly solid valance underneath the flaking paintwork
20170328_181032 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
As I am not a professional sparyer and was going to be using rattle cans I wanted the 'join' to be hidden by the bumper end caps so this was a perfect place to work from. Removed the other side too
20170328_181023 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
So after treating the bad areas with a rust treatment paint I then applied some Halfords Filler Primer, designed to cover any imperfections
20170402_184028 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
20170402_184054 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
A few coats later...starting to look much better already
20170402_184040 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
Whilst the filler primer did a grand job I was not completely happy that the impertions had been covered so applied a very fine layer of easy sand two pack filler to give me a better base surface before continuing
20170407_173802 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
Whilst it might not look it in this pic sanding down the filler did give me the result I wanted, a much better smoother surface.
20170407_173812 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
Now to start building up the light coats of red primer20170407_180037 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
20170407_180020 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
20170407_180027 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
20170407_181202 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
I took my time and slowly built up the layers...looking even better now
20170407_183527 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
20170407_190207 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
Until I was happy with the primed surface
20170407_190200 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
You can see the finished top coats later
Waited a couple of days for the primed surface to harden then set about refurbishing the plastic 'trim' on the valance with Halfords Matt Black rattle can. Turned out really nice
20170420_191459 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
While I was waiting for the plastic trim to harden I set about refurbishing the end caps too
20170413_100405 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
Sanded down with 800 the 1200 wet/dry paper to sort the bad patches. But of course sanded the whole end cap to get an even surface. Did the same with the other one
20170413_100351 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
Washed them in warm soapy water before applying the new paint
20170413_102435 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
I used Halfords Plastic Bumper Paint and again applied in very light coats until I achieved the finish I wanted. The light reflection makes it look a bit pale but they did turn out really nice in my opinion
20170413_110604 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
Now my over riders were in a poor way so I decided to treat myself to a set of new ones from CCI. Even though brand new they were still a tad to 'faded' looking to me so I decided to try to 'darken' them which I knew would look much better, so I treated them to a few light coats of......Halfords Flexible Vinyl Paint Black
20170421_185448 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
They turned out really nice indeed. Sorry I forgot to take a pic of them 'before' but trust me they did look faded and patchy even though new
20170421_185535 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
Now I turned my attention to the rear bumper end caps and refurbished them in the same way as the front ones. The over riders on the rear were in a better condition than the fronts so thought to save money I would try a refurb on these. Here is a pic of one that I did against one I had prepared using wet/dry paper again so you can see how well they turned out
20170425_120634 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
Time to fit it all back together...but first I whipped off the grill and gave that some attention too
20170422_183228 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
The bit I enjoy...fitting it back then standing back to see how it turned out
20170423_185633 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
I am really chuffed with the end result. Yep, it may have taken me a while to do this but definitely worth it as the front end (and back) looks so much better than it did before
20170426_184249 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
20170426_184323 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
20170426_184308 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
The top coat paint I got from an online company I use that mix up the Ford Lacquer Red L5. They supply in rattle cans with a 'wide' angle spray pattern so not a cheap basic nozzle. I attached my faithful trigger gun to give me more control over the spraying. I know rattle cans are not highly thought of but theses ones really are pretty decent. Now in these pics the way the light is its not really showing that the colour blend is actually pretty good indeed
I hope you enjoyed reading through refurbishment Project Front Valance...and some more
All the best
Nick
I was born a Fordoholic, They'll bury me a Fordoholic...
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Re: Project Front Valance Refurbishment
What a transformation, looking better than ever. Little tip - give the area behind the repairs a good undersealing or spray of waxoyl just to stop any grot going through.
Just finished the valance on my laser at the weekend but that had 3" missing each end so is a patchwork quilt behind it. Not got it too bad now but will have to have a coat of stonechip under the paint to hide a few wrinkles.
Just finished the valance on my laser at the weekend but that had 3" missing each end so is a patchwork quilt behind it. Not got it too bad now but will have to have a coat of stonechip under the paint to hide a few wrinkles.
- Fordoholic Nick
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Ford Fiesta 1.6 TDCi - Location: Enfield, London
Re: Project Front Valance Refurbishment
Hi Paul,Paul G wrote:What a transformation, looking better than ever. Little tip - give the area behind the repairs a good undersealing or spray of waxoyl just to stop any grot going through.
Thanks for your kind comments and for that tip mate about protecting the other side. Nice one !
Wow, you have certainly been busy on your valance by the sound of it Paul and sounded like a very tricky refurbishment indeed. Glad you are happy with it fella. The valance is one of those things that may be tucked away underneath the bumper minding its own business but to me its a very special part of the Capri 'look' so I am really pleased I finally sorted mine, like you are too PaulPaul G wrote:Just finished the valance on my laser at the weekend but that had 3" missing each end so is a patchwork quilt behind it. Not got it too bad now but will have to have a coat of stonechip under the paint to hide a few wrinkles.
All the best
Nick
I was born a Fordoholic, They'll bury me a Fordoholic...
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Re: Project Front Valance Refurbishment
What a great little job you've got done there Nick. Looking really good, but remember, Simply Ford is nearly on us and some people might actually get down on their hands and knees to check this...... I can't think who does this off hand...??? Hummm.... but it could happen to you!!!
Seriously though, this does look good. Hope I can pull mine together in time, see you soon, cheers,
John...
Seriously though, this does look good. Hope I can pull mine together in time, see you soon, cheers,
John...
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Re: Project Front Valance Refurbishment
Hi Nick,
Fantastic result, your car just gets better and better all the time.
Andrew.
Fantastic result, your car just gets better and better all the time.
Andrew.
Re: Project Front Valance Refurbishment
Looks great Nick, well done
Really hope you can bring it Sunday, weather permitting of course
Andy
Really hope you can bring it Sunday, weather permitting of course
Andy
Re: Project Front Valance Refurbishment
Awesome job! You dont know how lucky you are to have your own garage and can do all this stuff whenever you want!
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Re: Project Front Valance Refurbishment
You have made a very tidy job of it.
The proper paint matched aerosols you used do seem to give a very acceptable finish and though not cheap they contain much more paint than standard off the shelf cans.
The proper paint matched aerosols you used do seem to give a very acceptable finish and though not cheap they contain much more paint than standard off the shelf cans.
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Re: Project Front Valance Refurbishment
Great job that Nick. Quick question, did you do anything to bring a 'shine' to the new paintwork, e.g. cut it back, polish, whatever. Or is it simply apply paint and leave it.
Re: Project Front Valance Refurbishment
Looks great Nick..... I'll give it a close inspection at the weekend, but ultimately you have stopped it getting worse! And a professional spray job would have cost you a few hundred quid and not given you the same satisfaction
All the best
Neil
All the best
Neil
- Fordoholic Nick
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Re: Project Front Valance Refurbishment
Hi chaps,
Thanks for all your nice comments. Much appreciated indeed Was a job I was really happy to get done.
All the best
Nick
Thanks for all your nice comments. Much appreciated indeed Was a job I was really happy to get done.
I don't know what you mean JohnTaff50ish wrote:some people might actually get down on their hands and knees to check this...... I can't think who does this off hand...??? Hummm.... but it could happen to yo
Thanks Andrew, It certainly has made a difference so well worth taking it on !Andrew 2.8i wrote:Fantastic result, your car just gets better and better all the time.
Nice one Andy. I am watching the weather and its all over the place at the momentandyd wrote:Looks great Nick, well done. Really hope you can bring it Sunday, weather permitting of course
All the best
Nick
I was born a Fordoholic, They'll bury me a Fordoholic...
- Fordoholic Nick
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Re: Project Front Valance Refurbishment
Thanks Arya. Yep its very handy to have a garage mate but as its an en-bloc one it does not have any power. That's not a bad thing though as most jobs on the Capri I can get away with without power tools...although sometimes I think it would be nice to have power to use polishers and that spray gun that Neil bought recently. But I am not complaining at all as just having the garage is good enough for me...and B112Arya2.0S wrote:Awesome job! You dont know how lucky you are to have your own garage and can do all this stuff whenever you want!
Cheers ! Yep the paint matched aerosols are better quality than say a Halfords can, and as you say they do give an acceptable finish. Its by no means a perfect match but I was not expecting this. The bumper and end caps work as a 'barrier/spacer' between the old and new so its not quite as obvious the slight difference in colour, but its not bad. Just as you put it yourself, its acceptable enough for me and looks much better than beforeNot_Anumber wrote:You have made a very tidy job of it.
The proper paint matched aerosols you used do seem to give a very acceptable finish and though not cheap they contain much more paint than standard off the shelf cans.
Nice one Paul. Mate I achieved a decent finish that I was afraid to tinker with so as I had also applied some clear Lacquer its got protection too. I will wait a few weeks then apply some Autoglym to it which should bring out a nicer gloss to it. Don't want to do this too soon in case I mess it up, as I am not that experienced in 'spraying' like this. Hopefully the finish I have now is all I need to dopbar wrote:Great job that Nick. Quick question, did you do anything to bring a 'shine' to the new paintwork, e.g. cut it back, polish, whatever. Or is it simply apply paint and leave it.
sheff wrote:Looks great Nick..... I'll give it a close inspection at the weekend, but ultimately you have stopped it getting worse! And a professional spray job would have cost you a few hundred quid and not given you the same satisfaction
Thanks Neil. Yep the important thing is that the troubled valance has now been refurbished and should last for a few years now ! I agree the satisfaction is much better than getting someone else to do it, albeit they might do a better job but charge lots of money ! Now regarding your inspection at Beaulieu...have you looked at the weather
All the best chaps
Nick
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Re: Project Front Valance Refurbishment
Great tutorial Nick. As Neil said, you must have had a lot of satisfaction doing it yourself. The end caps & over-riders look like new too, I see you had to use Halfords Vinyl Paint somewhere , Excellent job.
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Re: Project Front Valance Refurbishment
Thanks RobCaprifan Rob wrote:Great tutorial Nick. As Neil said, you must have had a lot of satisfaction doing it yourself. The end caps & over-riders look like new too
Yep I really enjoyed doing this job Rob as it really has inproved the front end albeit not to a professional standard but bleedin good enough for me ! Yep the end caps and over riders really came up a treat too. Amazing the difference these items can make when refurbished.
Rob...its Halfords Flexible Vinyl Paint (HFVP) fellaCaprifan Rob wrote:I see you had to use Halfords Vinyl Paint somewhere , Excellent job.
Thanks again for your kind comments.
All the best
Nick
I was born a Fordoholic, They'll bury me a Fordoholic...
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Re: Project Front Valance Refurbishment
Thanks Nick, I'd be the same, and definitely wouldn't 'mess' as the finish looks very good in the pics. Which rust converter did you use Nick? Also did you do any sanding in between coats or was that not necessary.Fordoholic Nick wrote:
Nice one Paul. Mate I achieved a decent finish that I was afraid to tinker with so as I had also applied some clear Lacquer its got protection too. I will wait a few weeks then apply some Autoglym to it which should bring out a nicer gloss to it. Don't want to do this too soon in case I mess it up, as I am not that experienced in 'spraying' like this. Hopefully the finish I have now is all I need to do
Sorry for all the questions but when you see a job done well it's good to know the techniques!
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Re: Project Front Valance Refurbishment
Might be worth considering something like this Nick?Fordoholic Nick wrote:Yep its very handy to have a garage mate but as its an en-bloc one it does not have any power. That's not a bad thing though as most jobs on the Capri I can get away with without power tools...although sometimes I think it would be nice to have power to use polishers
http://www.sgs-engineering.com/generato ... ator-2200w
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Re: Project Front Valance Refurbishment
Hi Paul,pbar wrote:Thanks Nick, I'd be the same, and definitely wouldn't 'mess' as the finish looks very good in the pics. Which rust converter did you use Nick? Also did you do any sanding in between coats or was that not necessary.
Sorry I did not reply earlier. I used this Hammerite stuff to treat the rust areas mate, albeit thankfully just surface rust...
20170501_143922 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr
Between coats Paul I used the best tool I own...my bare hand and ran it over the surface between coats to check for any bad spots. As the paint dried so quickly I was able to crack on with layering the coats on. Any bit of surface I did not feel good enough I just very lightly sanded using 1200 wet/dry paper.
Paul, I have done jobs before and rather than stop and finish I would go that 'extra bit' and bleedin ruin it so as I was happy enough with the finish on my valance albeit not a professional standard I decided to quit while I was ahead !! Next couple of weeks I will autoglym it which will gloss it up and also add more protection
Thank you for this link Paul. I have considered buying one of these but the good ones always seemed too expensive. This one does look fantastic value for money so I will think on it. Thanks again Paul, much appreciated.pbar wrote:Might be worth considering something like this Nick?Fordoholic Nick wrote:sometimes I think it would be nice to have power to use polishers
http://www.sgs-engineering.com/generato ... ator-2200w
All the best
Nick
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Re: Project Front Valance Refurbishment
Hi Nick,Fordoholic Nick wrote:
Nice to see the Halfords flexible vinyl paint making an appearance there.....
Andrew.
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Re: Project Front Valance Refurbishment
Jeepers....I dont know how that happened AndrewAndrew2.8i wrote:Nice to see the Halfords flexible vinyl paint making an appearance there.....
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Re: Project Front Valance Refurbishment
You should be on a commission from Halfords for product placement!Fordoholic Nick wrote:Jeepers....I dont know how that happened Andrew
Andrew.