Update 4/18/15: Paint on the Aero Pieces! (finally)
Hello all. I rode in to work each day this past week with the new rear-end aero setup. Even despite a week full of steady and mucky April showers, the new set-up posted a 55mpg average. I’m interested to see how it will do in some dryer and warmer temps. I'm also excited to get the grille/fog blocks back on. I've been too busy to put the coroplast versions back on while I completed the metal versions, and it's been tough on the mileage/drag without them.
The weather was kind today, so I woke up at 5:00am with the hopes of completing the final shape and sand work on all of the panels, and finally getting the panels painted. Things went well, but took longer than I had planned. Thankfully, I just barely got the panels in primer on today. Mainly, we got lots of family time, which is about 20 times more important than eco-mods.
My plan for tomorrow is to get up early again, sand down the primer, and put down some coats of Duplicolor Bumper Paint. I, then, hope to put on the tail light lexan covers, add some marine weather stripping to the backside of the panels, place the black rubber edging/trim on the panels. If time allows, I’ll install the setup for the work week. Sunday’s are busy with church and family time, so I’ll have to see how it all flows tomorrow.
Here’s some pics of today’s progress.
I grinded around the perimeter of each panel, as well as each screw hole. I then sanded with 80 and 120 grit orbital pads, then block sanded with 320 grit paper. The two biggest challenges I faced today were to create smooth perimeter lines, and making sure they were not jagged nor knife-edge sharp. It was tough work, and it took a lot of time and patience to get each edge safe/smooth.
I purchased some plant hanging hooks and a large pack of bungees at WalMart, and used that to hang all the panels up. Worked out great! I doubled-up the bungees for each side on the heavier panels. I highly recommend this method to anyone (so far).
Here's everything coated in primer. Used RustOLeum Filler Primer from WalMart. Great paint. Sorry tip though (sprays too narrow; love the Duplicolor tips, as they spray wide and even, and are much better in terms of finger fatigue).
I’ll be back with more progress soon.
Until next time, thank
YOU for
ecoTuning in!