What can I do with this?

[mlara1129]

Long story short, my mclaren grille was the victim of some aircraft remover. Genius that I am, I thought I might as well remove the remaining paint and have the grille repainted, as it didn't match to begin with. Well what ended up happening is certain areas of the grille actually melted.

Anyway, I'm hoping to start fixing it up this weekend so that i can use it again. I was in contact with LSdarkshadow to do some fiberglassing for me but with shipping back and forth it didnt seem to make sense.

Please don't tear me a new one lol just need some suggestions as to how to go about fixing it. Bondo? fiberglassing? or is not salvageable?

It was a disaster, cover your eyes if you have a weak stomach lol:
Main damage is around the area where the emblem goes, and the top edge of the surround.

 

[Alax7]

Ouch.

Easy fix, lots of sanding and fill it up. The damge doesn't look too bad, the grille as a whole looks terrible, but the damage doesn't.

Well theres another thing................:slap:

 

[Andrizzle]

Holy sh!t that thing looks fkd beyond repair IMO.

 

[marcredd]

Repairable. As Alax said, it is just going to take some labor.

 

[Shredicus]

Lordy, which aircraft remover did you use?

This

or this

 

[bmxbang]

Toss the outer part of the grill, cut out or disassemble the inner part. Get new outer and install inner grill to new outer part, save your self the headache of trying to fix that disaster. ( this is all me assuming you can salvage the inner part of the grill i have never seen one of these mythical creators up close). Or just toss it, its not worth the repair if you have to save the outer part of the grill IMO.

 

[JVIP]

Looks like hell......I'm not sure how fixable that it to be honest with you.

The best bet would be to remove the inner grille portion and insert it into a new grill. Also from a business perspective, you could take the insert to a metal fab shop and gauge a price on having this used as a template and turn around and sell them as a Gen 2 grille insert.

Just an idea...do I see a group buy coming...lol

 

[hite337]

Shame on you mlara...lol. Good luck with the repair, I hope it turns out ok.

 

[marcredd]

Or Mlara, you could pm me and I tell you where a mint Mclaren is and up for sale.

 

[JoshMcMadMac]

It looks pretty chewed up, but it is hard to tell for sure. Sand it all down as best you can with 400 grit (or less), hit it with some high-build primer, and then it will be easier to assess.

 

[05 LS8]

Lordy, which aircraft remover did you use?

This

or this

LMAO. Good one!

 

[2002_lincolnLS]

well if you don't want to put the work in I surely will I love fixing things most people wouldn't I just fixed my grille a couple weeks ago

 

[G-RELL]

id start with a sander and even out everything, then bondo/fill any cracks.... a dremel with a fine tip will get into the corners. I successfully filled a chrome bubble when painting my grille, you should be able to salvage this

 

[LS4me]

Toss the outer part of the grill, cut out or disassemble the inner part. Get new outer and install inner grill to new outer part, save your self the headache of trying to fix that disaster. ( this is all me assuming you can salvage the inner part of the grill i have never seen one of these mythical creators up close). Or just toss it, its not worth the repair if you have to save the outer part of the grill IMO.

That could be difficult as it's a one-piece grille.

 

[chris2523]

Lordy, which aircraft remover did you use?

This

or this

:lol: :Beer
haha. that is the funniest thing i have seen in a while.

 

[mlara1129]

thanks for all the comments guys, i def don't want to give up on it without trying...its too valuable and sexy looking on an LS lol

ill start by sanding it down real good...ill post up my progress here.

 

[jolinc01]

It looks pretty chewed up, but it is hard to tell for sure. Sand it all down as best you can with 400 grit (or less), hit it with some high-build primer, and then it will be easier to assess.

I'm with him ^^

 

[Shredicus]

Personally I'd coat it with a thin layer of bondo glazing putty wherever the surface is pitted and sand it down from there then primer, then sanding

 

[manoli]

Spring time is coming soon, poor mclaren.

Im guilty of using this on plastic as well long story short had to replace my wifes headlight.

 

[Alax7]

You can probably get a better picture of the damage if you give it some rough sanding and prime it. The jacked up paint probably make it seem wose than it really is.

 

[manoli]

Or Mlara, you could pm me and I tell you where a mint Mclaren is and up for sale.

.....:shifty:

 

[Soopa009]

Lol DAMN DUDE!!! aww man Lol shred I laughed pretty damn hard in class..

Anyways, sand it down and see where you get man.. least you can do it try

 

[mlara1129]

Quick update

to all those pessimists, glad i didnt listen to you

scraped most of the paint by hand, sanded, flex primer and then filler primer...its looks much better IMO, but still much more work to do. I have hopes that when its done itll look ok. I'm not saying its going to be perfect, but it will be usable...def not for the perfectionist.

By the way any recommendations for a good filler to use on this type of material (plastic)?


These are after only a couple of coats of flex primer and filler primer (ran out). Will do a couple of more coats then fill and sand.

 

[2002_lincolnLS]

wow that does look way better, and you will want to find a light glaze filler or you will be sanding for days

 

[mlara1129]

any links or specific brand you recommend?