Repainting front bumper (not for the weak stomake :))

[goldNSX]

My front-end 'needs' repainting and DIY is the only way to do it, here we go. I did it the first time and took me about 3.5 hours to take it away and completely strip it.
Honda-label on the front will be removed permanently, the front fenders will follow. Everything was labeled and put on the ground in order to faciliate reassembling. There were also taken some narrow-pics of specific area to just to make sure that reassembling will be perfect. Type-R stabilizer will be mounted too.

 

[goldNSX]

Ready for paint-job. I'll give them to a professional painter who mainly paints on Ferraris. Not cheap I know but it's worth it. If I had the facilities here to professional DIY-painting I would even do this myself. :tongue: There's no such picky person like me.

What do these numbers on the inner side of the bumper mean?

Just got the price of a complete new front bumper: SFR 6.5 k They're mad!

 

[D'Ecosse]

....Just got the price of a complete new front bumper: SFR 6.5 k They're mad!

That's ~ $5300.

Wow! (when you say "complete" though, do you mean entire assembly?)

The two parts you are having painted are ~ $1000 - $1100 (discounted) for the pair in the US. They come unfinished Urethane (black) so still require painting however, so unless you have physical damage to your parts they are not worth replacing.

 

[goldNSX]

Complete is the hole thing I took away.

I just got the price of a friend who totalled his NSX. I don't replace mine.

 

[D'Ecosse]

Front Bumper Parts & Price list - Delray

Even at list looks like about $3500 US for everything over here - realistically under $3K with the discounted prices.

 

[Acura NsX Pilot]

Just out of curiosity is it cheaper when you bring the bumper to them off the car ? and I am guessing he already has the paint code so he will go with that but even in those cases I have still heard the body shop say they need to blend the paint into the rest of the car to make it look good .... truth or myth ?

 

[goldNSX]

Honda Switzerland (Europe?) raised the prices of body parts by about 70% this or last year. A hood is over $5.4k here. Too bad that the didn't take into account that people can import this stuff themselves. :tongue:
For those ones in Europe who are interested: I have two OEM front fenders and a OEM hood in stock.

 

[goldNSX]

Just out of curiosity is it cheaper when you bring the bumper to them off the car ? and I am guessing he already has the paint code so he will go with that but even in those cases I have still heard the body shop say they need to blend the paint into the rest of the car to make it look good .... truth or myth ?

Yes, that's what I've heard too. BUT my hole car has the same color except for the left fender and the front bumper (looks orangish to me) which have been repainted. I don't care about color codes. My right fender has the TRUE color and this color is on the right door, the left door and the hood. The painter has therefore the job to match exactly this color.
My painter told me that they maybe have to do two colors to match it or looking good. Ok, thanks for that. I WON'T do two different colors on my car because it looks completely sh*t. I would paint the HOLE car BEFORE accepting such nonsense.

Of course it will we cheaper but that's not the point to me. Nobody that me will touch my car anymore.

 

[Acura NsX Pilot]

Yes, that's what I've heard too. BUT my hole car has the same color except for the left fender and the front bumper (looks orangish to me) which have been repainted. I don't care about color codes. My right fender has the TRUE color and this color is on the right door, the left door and the hood. The painter has therefore the job to match exactly this color.
My painter told me that they maybe have to do two colors to match it or looking good. Ok, thanks for that. I WON'T do two different colors on my car because it looks completely sh*t. I would paint the HOLE car BEFORE accepting such nonsense.

Of course it will we cheaper but that's not the point to me. Nobody that me will touch my car anymore.

Keep us updated .... this is going to be interesting.


Lemme tell you alitte story of a new car with a paint defect

I took delivery of a brand new car and did not notice the paint defect till I got home. Well it was a lease so no big deal I tryed to buff it out with some scratch remover... well that didnt work so I tried some light compound ... that didnt work either. OK so back to the dealer I go and they look at it and say... hey you took the clear coat off and I said yeah and the spot is still there right ? Ohh ... yes its a paint defect. so they said we can paint if for you.... this is a brand new car I remind you. OK I said ok you can paint it but I want the bumper taken off , I dont want this sprayed on the car. They agree..... ok two paint jobs later they tell me they cannot match the paint unless they spray on the car and blend the paint. I said ok but I want all this documented so when I return this I wont hear anything.

 

[goldNSX]

Keep us updated .... this is going to be interesting.

..... ok two paint jobs later they tell me they cannot match the paint unless they spray on the car and blend the paint.

Amusing and interesting, so you think I'm running into the same?

Well, I don't think a professional painter needs a high-school-degree to match a color unless he's completely blind of colors. I give him a part of the color that is exactly the color from my point of view. He can prove all parts he paints with this part from each perspective. If this doesn't work, what else?
Actually what we have here are a lot of painters far below high-school-degree and THAT's the problem IMO. It's only a matter of some principles (which I lived my hole live) like discipline, exact work and use of intelligence. I might be hard on the others but I've been hard on myself my hole life.

 

[OLDMNSX]

Type-R stabilizer will be mounted too.

goldNSX are you installing the stabilizer bar or the frame support that goes in front of the radiator between the two steel shipping anchor tiedown brackets?

I am going to do the same thing to repaint my nose also, just like you are, with a full dissassembly to get a good job. I am thinking about building my own frame support between the tiedown brackets with a steel tube and just weld it directly to the tiedown brackets. I will see when I get the nose off.

I think that is would be quite cheep to cut a piece of tube, either round or square, tack weld it to the brackets, remove the assembly, finsh the rest of the welding, paint or powder coat and then reinstall.

Something else I would like to add here, as I look at your pictures, is how to remove the fasteners that hold the air duct to the radiator support. These fasteners are very expensive and are easy to remove once you know how. All you have to do is PUSH in on the center part and the fastener loosens up and comes out easy. Then you reset the center pin to the outside position, insert the fastener and push the center flush with the outside. These are the same design fasteners that are used on the fender liners.

Brad

 

[goldNSX]

goldNSX are you installing the stabilizer bar or the frame support that goes in front of the radiator between the two steel shipping anchor tiedown brackets?

I am going to do the same thing to repaint my nose also, just like you are, with a full dissassembly to get a good job. I am thinking about building my own frame support between the tiedown brackets with a steel tube and just weld it directly to the tiedown brackets. I will see when I get the nose off.

I think that is would be quite cheep to cut a piece of tube, either round or square, tack weld it to the brackets, remove the assembly, finsh the rest of the welding, paint or powder coat and then reinstall.

Something else I would like to add here, as I look at your pictures, is how to remove the fasteners that hold the air duct to the radiator support. These fasteners are very expensive and are easy to remove once you know how. All you have to do is PUSH in on the center part and the fastener loosens up and comes out easy. Then you reset the center pin to the outside position, insert the fastener and push the center flush with the outside. These are the same design fasteners that are used on the fender liners.

Brad

Yes, I'm going to install the upper Type-R stabilizer chassis-bar as it already lies in my garage. If you do one of your own keep in mind that there's very few space at the A/C dryer. I don't think a round bar fits. I'll post some pics of it installed soon. Just have to adapt the mounting bases first. The Type-R stabilizer is a perfect measure if something has been going on in the front (bent). It was a perfect fit in my case.

Good note on the push-pins. I've found it out very soon how they work. Intelligent piece.

 

[goldNSX]

There's no note in the service manual how to remove the front fenders. Do I think right that the side-skirt has to go off. Anybody has some hints on this? Greatly appreciated.

 

[OLDMNSX]

goldNSX I believe that there is a bolt on the bottom/rear part of the fender, so you will have to remove the side skirt.

Yes some pictures with the frame brace would be very helpful if I try to make my own.

Every time that I look at your avatar I have to laugh. I just can't imagine that guy, looking like that, driving an NSX. Whos picture is that?

Still LOL......
Brad

 

[goldNSX]

Every time that I look at your avatar I have to laugh. I just can't imagine that guy, looking like that, driving an NSX. Whos picture is that?

Still LOL......
Brad

That's not me. That's Louis de Funes, a famous french comedy actor of the 60's and 70's.

 

[goldNSX]

Some more...

 

[LJSB]

They come unfinished Urethane (black) so still require painting however, so unless you have physical damage to your parts they are not worth replacing.

Maybe at one time they did come in black but all the ones I have ever seen, and I have one now at the shop, came with a gray, shiny primer.


GoldNSX, I have had the problem of having two different color fenders when I replaced a bumper.
I solved it this way.
I mixed two small batches of the same color. One to match each fender. I then hard paint each color to the corresponding fender and blend/fade them to-wards the center. Results are you can't see where one color begins and the other ends. Both fenders match the new bumper.

 

[D'Ecosse]

Maybe at one time they did come in black but all the ones I have ever seen, and I have one now at the shop, came with a gray, shiny primer .....

I stand corrected by the change - I know my parts (the front bumper parts & rear valance) all came black at that time - but that is a few years back now.

 

[LJSB]

The rear lower valence does come black as does the front lower.
The uppers come gray, not that it really matters very much.

 

[goldNSX]

Does anybody have some hints about how to remove the side-skirt. If I try myself and break it I could chill in the discussion if it's grey, black or whatever.

 

[LJSB]

Here you go.
From the manual on this site.

Get a roll of 2" masking tape and run a line of it just to the outside of the step panel (#1 in the illustration) so when you pry it up, you don't scratch the panel.
Use a stiff blade putty knife(2" wide would be good) and with masking tape on the blade, pry/lift (#1) the side step panel. It will come off with a "pop". Start on either end of the step panel and then go to the other, working your way to the center until the tabs all pop out from the body.

Take out the screws in the illustration # 2,3,4.

From there follow the instruction on the .pdf directing you to slide the sill forward and remove the clips.

I was looking at your photos.
Is that your blue jacket on the floor from your old Avatar with your bumper on it?:biggrin:

 

[DutchBlackNsx]

Matching a red paint on plastic and metal is quiet a challenge.

Louis de Funes is one funny guy...lol

 

[OLDMNSX]

goldNSX

I really hope that I didn't insult your Avatar, that wasn't my intention. I realize now he was just doing what he does best, be funny. If I did, I apologize.

Now your new Avatar........IS SUPER! I love pictures of older, bald headed men with good looking young blond haired women hanging all over him!!!!!! I call these young ladies BHDBMT. If you have never heard of this acronym you will have to drop me a PM.

Brad

 

[goldNSX]

goldNSX

I really hope that I didn't insult your Avatar, that wasn't my intention. I realize now he was just doing what he does best, be funny. If I did, I apologize.

Now your new Avatar........IS SUPER! I love pictures of older, bald headed men with good looking young blond haired women hanging all over him!!!!!! I call these young ladies BHDBMT. If you have never heard of this acronym you will have to drop me a PM.

Brad

No problem with your post/comment. Louis de Funes is a funny guy and I try to be too. Please explain me BHDBMT (by pm if it's 18+ :tongue:).

@pbassjo: No, that's not my jacket, I prefer hanging around in bars with two swedish (willing, hehe ) blond chicks -> avatar. :tongue:

 

[goldNSX]

Matching a red paint on plastic and metal is quiet a challenge.

Louis de Funes is one funny guy...lol

If they use a color-spectrometer and compare the color it should have (I give them a fender with the right color for comparison) and the 'new' painting they do it shouldn't go wrong, no?