Tarmac@TarmacSportz Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 (edited) Hi All As we are selling a lot of PU lips this month so I wanted to put a bit of a guide with some tips on installation. PU is a lot different to FRP - surprisingly there are a lot of so called professionals that have no clue what to do with PU lips so choose the installer carefully or do it yourself with this guide. Buster aka Bob has fitted a number of these over the years and had to correct some balls up by "specialists" too. Firstly - DO NOT PAINT LIP BEFORE INSTALLATION Best tools for the job are Tiger Seal or 3M tape, hair dryer or heat gun and self tapping screws. Polyurethane is rubber, it can be flexible or brittle depending on the temperatures, in warm weather they are usually more flexible than in the winter but you may need to warm it up gently with a hair dryer or heat gun to get it to flex in difficult areas such as around wheel arches. Easiest way to fit them is by taking the bumper off as the bumper will flex making it easier to install the lip and wrap it around the bumper, I would advise you mask the area where the lip is being fitted to avoid scratching. Once the lip is in place screw the rear of the lip where it wraps around the wheel arch. Also doesn't do any harm putting some screws in the underside. For the front you can either use 3M tape or Tiger seal, This will then need either clamping in place to set or screwing in place - leave over night to set. Now - no lip is ever 100% perfect, I had a Varis carbon lip on a zed 8 years ago and when you looked close there were gaps around the centre grill section - its the way it is when you mod cars. However, once you are at the stage above a bodyshop can fill the small gaps, fill the screw holes if required and then prime and paint. A lot of people leave them as they are in bare form and thats up to you but it is recommended they are painted. Below is a link to one of our customers 350z with a GT Lip: This lip has been installed correctly. http://www.ilovebass...s-350z/#photo-4 http://www.ilovebass...rs-nissan-350z/ Our website https://www.tarmacsportz.co.uk/ If you take it somewhere and they say it doesn't fit it's usually because they have no experience in PU and don't know how it works, Don't take it to an accident repair centre unless you have already fitted it and just want it painted as they rarely understand anything about aftermarket parts. We have been selling PU lips for over 6 years and I can honestly tell you we have never had one that hasn't fit, sure we have had returns and resold them to people that know what they are doing but they have all fitted, you have just got to do a bit more prep and understand the product. Here is a youtube link to the most difficult to fit front lip we sell, the S2000 AP2 OEM Front lip, its a bit long winded but he is doing most of the install correctly, I would be a tad more careful not to scratch the bumper though if it was me. If anyone has any further tips feel free to post them or any questions please let me know Edited December 19, 2016 by Tarmac@TarmacSportz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahameJ Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Thanks for the guide. 3M VHB tape is available in various thicknesses, any idea which is best for the job? 0.4mm 0.6mm 0.8mm 1.1mm 1.6mm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicaprio Posted September 14, 2016 Share Posted September 14, 2016 Why not paint lip before installation Chris? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted September 14, 2016 Share Posted September 14, 2016 Great guide 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonk Posted September 14, 2016 Share Posted September 14, 2016 All I would add is that if using 3m tape or pu adhesive make sure the mating surfaces are spotlessly clean using isopropanol or similar to remove all traces of wax etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac@TarmacSportz Posted September 14, 2016 Author Share Posted September 14, 2016 Thanks for the guide. 3M VHB tape is available in various thicknesses, any idea which is best for the job? 0.4mm 0.6mm 0.8mm 1.1mm 1.6mm I would think 1.1 or 1.6 would be fine, i'm not an expert on 3M tape though, I've had tiger seal on my last two cars and find its the best for sticking bits onto your car. Why not paint lip before installation Chris? Because it won't fit correctly if its painted first, it needs to be moulded and secured to the bumper. If it' painted prior to this then you won't get a good fitment, you will struggle to mould it into shape and at very best you will have to get it re-painted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahameJ Posted September 14, 2016 Share Posted September 14, 2016 Thanks Tarmac! As I'll be fitting the lip on my own, the instant bond of the 3M tape may make things easier. I plan to then apply SIKAFLEX bond along the join to smooth the join and fill any gaps (I guess SIKAFLEX is similar to Tiger seal). Once set I can then paint it - hopefully 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahameJ Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 (edited) Here's what I did. 1) Sand and prep the lip, including the inside surface that fits the bumper. 2) Clamp the centre of the lip to the bumper 3) Fasten the ends of the lip to the wheel arches using a couple of self tapping screws, which leaves a gap that needs moulding in 4) Wearing a pair of thick leather gloves and using a heat gun, mould the lip to fit. A self tapping screw holds it in place while it cools. The observant may notice where this back street bodger got the heat gun too near the existing paint on the bumper, which bubbled slightly. This is why you should not paint the lip before applying it to the car. 5) The heat gun I used from Screwfix At this point I let the lip cool off completely, before removing it ready to apply the 3M VHB tape and SIKAFLEX sealant to bond the lip to the bumper. As it was blowing a 20mph wind outside, I changed plans and decided to spray the lip in my garage, so coated the lip in plastic primer, silver top coat, followed by clear coat and let it dry. 6) The following day I applied the 3M VHB tape to strategic points on the lip 7) I also applied the SIKAFLEX PU adhesive sealant on the bumper where I had drawn a line the previous day 8) I then refitted the lip using the self tapping screws, and this time just gently warmed the bumper whilst applying pressure to ensure it was as good a fit as I could get, and that the tape was stuck. I then wiped off any excess sealant using panel wipe. 9) 24 hours later, once the sealant and tape had cured, I used a small artist's brush to cover up any exposed sealant with silver paint, and refitted my grille. I also added a small badge to the grille to remind me which lip version of lip I had bought from Tarmac;) In the sun today, and you can see I left the stainless self tapping screws in place Edited October 5, 2016 by GrahameJ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fluke Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 Great guide. Can the heat gun be used on FRP? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahameJ Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 Great guide. Can the heat gun be used on FRP? I guess if it is Polyurethane plastic reinforced with fibreglass strands then applying heat should make it malleable/mouldable. Polyurethane can also be plastic welded If the FRP is resin based I would say not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac@TarmacSportz Posted February 1, 2017 Author Share Posted February 1, 2017 Seasonal bump as its coming to that time of the year where we sell a lot of lips Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac@TarmacSportz Posted March 20, 2017 Author Share Posted March 20, 2017 03-05- Nismo lips and GT Lips in stock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 Dont do a steve and screw it in with two screws forget to tiger seal it drive down the motorway and run over it Chris keep one of them new ones nice and warm for me 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac@TarmacSportz Posted March 20, 2017 Author Share Posted March 20, 2017 Dont do a steve and screw it in with two screws forget to tiger seal it drive down the motorway and run over it Chris keep one of them new ones nice and warm for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.