wireeater
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2016
- Threads
- 39
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- 2,914
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- Location
- Virginia
- Website
- wheelwell.com
- First Name
- Rich
- Vehicle(s)
- Shadow Black 2019 Mustang GT Premium+ PP 6spd
- Thread starter
- #1
Hey.
I figured I'd toss this up if anyone was interested. I started this project back last fall but tossed it to the side for awhile after I picked up a spare deck lid for pretty cheap.
During the time I started this, Ford stopped selling their expensive alternatives and there were no other options. Clearly now there are several options to buy these from AM from $250-$100. Would I suggest doing this with those options, if you like DIY projects yes, if not, just buy one that's already casted.
I did a little reading before I started in regards of how to work with ABS. I've seen people make recommendations on FB groups and forums about just filling the emblem holes with body filler. With research, that is not recommended for ABS because it tends to shrink over time. So I checked out the model forums which is usually ABS material and they had great suggestions for working with ABS plastic and filing holes.
Main recommendation it seemed was to make your own ABS filler. Easy enough. All you need is to pick up some ABS cement from a hardware store which is used for ABS piping in plumbing. Then you just need to pick up a small ABS plastic fitting, anything would work. I just picked up some sort of connector that was like 50cents.
Once you have those two things you can make the ABS filler. What you want to do is to take the ABS fitting or whatever you have and make small shavings out of it. You can do this by drilling it, roughing it with something or like me, run it across a cheese grater, LOL! Once you create the shavings you just toss them into some of the ABS cement mixture until you have pancake like consistency, if you don't know what that is then learn to cook!
Once you have that made up, prep the decklid. I started by obviously removing the emblem which Ford decided to make 4 nice pretty holes for it... (really?). Once I removed the emblem I scored the front of the decklid with some gritty sandpaper. I think it was in the 200's. You want to rough it up so the ABS can bond. Then I flipped the panel over and plugged the holes on the backside so nothing leaks out. Once you completed that you can start to push in the filler. I just let it run inside but if you have some sort of metal syringe that would work better. Remember, ABS will melt into the plastic so don't get it on other plastic shit. Use non plastic stuff to mix it, etc.
I would suggest filling the holes until it extrudes up, unlike me. You can always sand it down to flatten. Once you have filled the holes to your liking let it dry. It doesn't take long. Once that was completed I sanded down the decklid to smooth it out. As you can see, some of them settled a little lower than I liked but no problem because I have another tip for you that will work.
Buy some ABS putty from a local hobby shop or online, it's like 5$. This is also ABS friendly and will not shrink. It's used by model hobbyists. Fill in over the holes and spread it evenly across until everything is filled. Let it dry then sand it down again. You can keep doing this until you have it nice and leveled.
Once that has been completed you're pretty much to the end. Now you're just doing to prep and paint to whatever your liking is. I took some primer/filler and painted over it and scuffed it off just to try and make sure I had everything level. I used an electric sander with some 2## SOMETHING grit and sanded it off. Then I just took some basic can paint and hit over it with 3-4 coats. Once dried enough I wet sanded it with some #1300 grit paper. This will still leave some marks in it so you will need to buff the paint. I buffed it with some #84 megs polish using a DA on a slow speed. Make sure the paint is not soft, unlike me who is not a very patient person. This will get the paint very smooth without texture. If you are not worried about some texture then just skip that step and go to clearing/glossing it unless you want flat black.
Currently the gloss is drying. I did 3 coats last night in the dark. Of course this morning when I picked it up it was very hazy. That can be corrected with a hair dryer. I will do that once I am home and I will get pictures and post the final product. After the clear is fixed I will wet sand it as well and buff it just like we did with the paint.
Assuming you do this all right the first time, you're looking at maybe $20 in material and whatever you feel your time is worth.
I figured I'd toss this up if anyone was interested. I started this project back last fall but tossed it to the side for awhile after I picked up a spare deck lid for pretty cheap.
During the time I started this, Ford stopped selling their expensive alternatives and there were no other options. Clearly now there are several options to buy these from AM from $250-$100. Would I suggest doing this with those options, if you like DIY projects yes, if not, just buy one that's already casted.
I did a little reading before I started in regards of how to work with ABS. I've seen people make recommendations on FB groups and forums about just filling the emblem holes with body filler. With research, that is not recommended for ABS because it tends to shrink over time. So I checked out the model forums which is usually ABS material and they had great suggestions for working with ABS plastic and filing holes.
Main recommendation it seemed was to make your own ABS filler. Easy enough. All you need is to pick up some ABS cement from a hardware store which is used for ABS piping in plumbing. Then you just need to pick up a small ABS plastic fitting, anything would work. I just picked up some sort of connector that was like 50cents.
Once you have those two things you can make the ABS filler. What you want to do is to take the ABS fitting or whatever you have and make small shavings out of it. You can do this by drilling it, roughing it with something or like me, run it across a cheese grater, LOL! Once you create the shavings you just toss them into some of the ABS cement mixture until you have pancake like consistency, if you don't know what that is then learn to cook!
Once you have that made up, prep the decklid. I started by obviously removing the emblem which Ford decided to make 4 nice pretty holes for it... (really?). Once I removed the emblem I scored the front of the decklid with some gritty sandpaper. I think it was in the 200's. You want to rough it up so the ABS can bond. Then I flipped the panel over and plugged the holes on the backside so nothing leaks out. Once you completed that you can start to push in the filler. I just let it run inside but if you have some sort of metal syringe that would work better. Remember, ABS will melt into the plastic so don't get it on other plastic shit. Use non plastic stuff to mix it, etc.
I would suggest filling the holes until it extrudes up, unlike me. You can always sand it down to flatten. Once you have filled the holes to your liking let it dry. It doesn't take long. Once that was completed I sanded down the decklid to smooth it out. As you can see, some of them settled a little lower than I liked but no problem because I have another tip for you that will work.
Buy some ABS putty from a local hobby shop or online, it's like 5$. This is also ABS friendly and will not shrink. It's used by model hobbyists. Fill in over the holes and spread it evenly across until everything is filled. Let it dry then sand it down again. You can keep doing this until you have it nice and leveled.
Once that has been completed you're pretty much to the end. Now you're just doing to prep and paint to whatever your liking is. I took some primer/filler and painted over it and scuffed it off just to try and make sure I had everything level. I used an electric sander with some 2## SOMETHING grit and sanded it off. Then I just took some basic can paint and hit over it with 3-4 coats. Once dried enough I wet sanded it with some #1300 grit paper. This will still leave some marks in it so you will need to buff the paint. I buffed it with some #84 megs polish using a DA on a slow speed. Make sure the paint is not soft, unlike me who is not a very patient person. This will get the paint very smooth without texture. If you are not worried about some texture then just skip that step and go to clearing/glossing it unless you want flat black.
Currently the gloss is drying. I did 3 coats last night in the dark. Of course this morning when I picked it up it was very hazy. That can be corrected with a hair dryer. I will do that once I am home and I will get pictures and post the final product. After the clear is fixed I will wet sand it as well and buff it just like we did with the paint.
Assuming you do this all right the first time, you're looking at maybe $20 in material and whatever you feel your time is worth.
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