sup guys i started my explorer bezel project last night. :thumbsup: ive got almost all of the rubber coating off using a dremel, it roughs up the plastic pretty goood. then i hit it with an orbital sander. today ill be putting bondo over the rear wiper switch and sanding that till it smooths out. after primer and paint its on to wiring the switches to my duallies and kragen hids. stay tuned..
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looking good, but instead of bondo, that may crack and fall out, what about using some fiberglass cloth and resin? easy to work with and will form into any shape, and you can really do some custom stuff with!!
You should be ok using bondo... just make sure the areas around & behind the patch are scuffed up really well & use plenty of bondo. I've been using bondo on my bezels for a few years & so far there hasn't been any shrinking or cracking. Before the first primer or paint, make sure you wet sand down to at least 400g for a nice smooth surface. The gloss black is pretty unforgiving when it comes to flaws. I've started using satin pain for my bezels, it's still shiny but is a bit more forgiving when it comes to imperfections.
I wonder why a lot of people are afraid to use fiberglass? I been using glass since I was 15 or 16 and now at the age of 49 just have mineral spirits on hand when working with it.
im not afraid to work with fiberglass, i just never have. the backing to the wiper dial has been sealed in with plenty of epoxy and hot glue. the bondo has been applied and filled into the switch slot and the indicator slot. now im just waiting for it to harden so i can sand it back and begin wetsanding. thanks for the tip buggman. im aware that gloss black shows every mistake made in preparation.. im considering semigloss or even flat black. still unsure.
not saying you are afraid, It was just a general statement as I see everyone still using bondo, but only a few use fiberglass. i's like the old saying " once you go GLASS, you never go bondo" hahaha Can't wait to see more pics, Did you cut out the extra hole for the light switch? or was that in the bezel already
lol, I've never used fiberglass either. Maybe one of these days though Here's my new bezel that I painted with Fusion Satin Black, still looks pretty shiny. It will look better once I get all the fingerprints & junk cleaned off. I've only got about 4 coats of paint over 3 coats of self etching primer. 1st time I've used the primer... we'll see how well it holds up. It was an expo bezel with the rear wiper insert & button, I filled them in & contoured them before filling in the sides of the radio opening to remove the gap. Can't wait to see how yours turns out.
pretty sweet Terry, I like the built in volt meter too, just noticed you dont have an aux outlet on there. One day you guys will get your hands sticky LOL
thats a sick setup dude. and yea i really wanna learn to use fiberglass soon, make some custom sub boxes or something. the bezel has been bondo'd and sanded down, but i sanded just a hair too much so the second round of bondo is drying now. ill have updated pics tonight.
finished up the bezel yesterday. my dremel had cut too deep onto the plastic so there are some grooves that wouldnt sand out. oh well. ill redo another one later on, so this one just got a quick coat of paint and its done. bondo came out really well though.
