Long story short, walked into WalMart, walked back out, looked like someone drop kicked it.

Got a bumper and 2GB fogs from Miller Import Parts, then dropped the bumper, fog bezels, and duct covers off at MAACO. Most people would say no to MAACO, but they are independently owned, and I have seen 20 examples of their work. They rock. They cut me an awesome deal, did it when they had a black Caddy being painted.

Bumper will go on Thursday maybe. After 30 days I can clay bar it and wax it.

The flat black portion has a little run in it, but you dont notice it when its the right way. Bumper is dirty, im waiting until Thursday to wipe down with water. I did a dry dusting with a microfiber cloth so far, so the spots are finger prints. The dip in the bottom you dont really notice either, it was worse, I got most of it out with a heat gun and socket.

Overall im happy. Ten times better than what I used to have, I didnt expect it to be perfect, the rest of my car isnt, and they penciled it in during Christmas :P

oooo, looking good. I gotta get me a 2gb bumper to replace my fubared stillen bumper. Damn 98 parts car came with an aftermarket bumper instead of OEM :(

How much was that bumper shipped and all. I also had an...*ahem* accident of sorts and new a new 2gb bumper. Not sure where to get one from.

Looks good Tim. Maaco had good skilled painters, however they are known for not prepping vehicles right and they use the cheapest paint money can buy, thats why alot of their jobs end up looking like crap a year later. In your case, there was very little prep work for a bumper, so it should last a long time.

Looks nice though, 2gb bumpers are so sexy.

Originally posted by eclipse982nrRST
Looks good Tim. Maaco had good skilled painters, however they are known for not prepping vehicles right and they use the cheapest paint money can buy, thats why alot of their jobs end up looking like crap a year later. In your case, there was very little prep work for a bumper, so it should last a long time. Looks nice though, 2gb bumpers are so sexy.

Yeah, like I said, this one is good. Plus I know they prepped it :P

Originally posted by 740 turbo brick
How much was that bumper shipped and all. I also had an...*ahem* accident of sorts and new a new 2gb bumper. Not sure where to get one from.

Well, Stephen who owns Miller Import Parts lives not far from me. It was just convenient to get this bumper.

If you can find a Certi-Fit near you, a new repro is about $65, eBay has them for 115ish shipped.

Originally posted by teklein
If you can find a Certi-Fit near you, a new repro is about $65, eBay has them for 115ish shipped.

Certi-fit has great quality stuff for very inexpensive. I have to get a new one since my last one was melted to another car in the fire.

I guess I'll be the asshole that starts maaco bashing. They suck. Like you said it's mostly because they don't prep the substrate and they use the cheapest paint available. I don't see how a claybar would help your situation. They are used for getting rail dust and other crap off of fully cured paint. It won't help runs at all. If it really bugs you, check to see if they ran the color or the clear(assuming they sprayed it BC/CC and not as a single stage). If it's just clear sand it down, buff it, polish it and re-clear it if neccessary. But on the bumper it can't be all that annoying. Honestly it doesn't look shitty like most of their jobs I've seen. Let's just hope they used a flex additive so your nice freshness doesn't start cracking. Looks better than my bumper, that's for damn sure.

Originally posted by ThePerfectShift
I guess I'll be the asshole that starts maaco bashing. They suck. Like you said it's mostly because they don't prep the substrate and they use the cheapest paint available. I don't see how a claybar would help your situation. They are used for getting rail dust and other crap off of fully cured paint. It won't help runs at all. If it really bugs you, check to see if they ran the color or the clear(assuming they sprayed it BC/CC and not as a single stage). If it's just clear sand it down, buff it, polish it and re-clear it if neccessary. But on the bumper it can't be all that annoying. Honestly it doesn't look shitty like most of their jobs I've seen. Let's just hope they used a flex additive so your nice freshness doesn't start cracking. Looks better than my bumper, that's for damn sure.

MAACO is INDEPENDENTLY owned. That means some suck, some dont. They did the bumper for super cheap, during Christmas week, when they were fully booked. With two coats of clear. Expecting perfect would have been stupid. They use PPG paint. And yes they used flex additive, I know this because I ask questions, and the fact ive seen examples of their work. This MAACO, hands down, rocks.

I know damn well the clay bar wont take runs out, I clay the rest of the car twice a year. Why clay a new bumper? Simple. Even new paint has impurities on the surface. The paint surface should be completely free of impurities when you lay down wax, otherwise you wasted time.

Wow thanks for the heads up man. Certifit 50 miles away, 2gb bumper $65. Im just hoping it has the spot for a mitsu emblem.

What exactly does clay bar do? Just take all the impurities off the surface?

If you let the car sit with dust, dirt, etc, it will kinda bond itself to the paint. The clay bar picks them up and removes them. Rub your hand across the paint, it will make sound and you can feel little bumps. After clay barring it will be silent and feel like glass!

Here is a good video by Meguiars on clay bars:

YouTube.com

Wow this is news to me. Well it stinks that all the Maaco's around here suck ass. Matter of fact most paint-only shops around here aren't all that great. Any one know where I can get a 2gb front w/o the mistsu emblem spot? Which one's don't have them? It sounds like you got a good deal on the paint job if they did all that. It's nice when things turn out right.

Originally posted by ThePerfectShift
Wow this is news to me. Well it stinks that all the Maaco's around here suck ass. Matter of fact most paint-only shops around here aren't all that great. Any one know where I can get a 2gb front w/o the mistsu emblem spot? Which one's don't have them? It sounds like you got a good deal on the paint job if they did all that. It's nice when things turn out right.

There is an eBay called Pershing Auto Parts, they stock repro 2gb's with and without the emblem spot.

Man am I glad someone mentioned CertiFit. I was going to order the same thing on ebay for $115 shipped. Now I can drive 100 miles to San Diego and pick one up for $65+tax. Thanks!

So thanks to you teklein ill have a new bumper for cheaper haha.

Lol! Certifit is good.

And here is the bumper:

Along with fogs, and new splash shields.



Really bad pic but I just finished up. Ill get some tomorrow maybe.

Please do..

cameras work better in daylight...















Especially when your car is BLACK!

LOL! I didnt care that it was night. I was in the garage for four hours. It was 30 degrees outside, and it was either too hot or too cold in the garage.

Not to mention OEM splash shields dont fit for shit. The holes were misdrilled on both.

It has some bumper sag, but I left the metal pieces out. They raised the bumper too high and it was hitting the headlights. I later realized the bracket bars were not locked in by the tabs. Oh well. Its on.

I think I may wash it later with Meguiars Gold Class. They told me wait 30 days, but I know it was baked. Ive read other things online saying you wash it as soon as its dry with a mild soap. Gold Glass is about as mild as you can get. Anyone have info against this?

Gold class is fine. you just can't wax it for 30 days so that the solvents and such can "breathe" their way out of the fresh paint. when I worked at the body shop we always told people no wax and no automatic or high pressure washing for the first 30-45 days (longer if it was colder months) but that hand washing with a good quality mild carwash detergent and a wooly mitt was fine and actually recommended to keep contaminants from setteling in to the paint while it was still in its softer phase

Awesome! I think ill do that in a bit :)

I never take the cars through auto-washes or use a pressure washer on them. Only by hand!

When you spend a fair ammount of time on dirt roads pressure washers become your friend.

Ill use it for suspension and under body, but as far as paint I just use a Fire Hose style garden hose thing. Hard to explain :P

was that the mitsu imprinted emblem or something you added? the whole bumper looks good though :-)

Stock Mitsu emblem. I bought a new one.

Some repro's have no imprint for it, some have a triangle. Mitsu OEM bumpers are the only one with the exact emblem trace embedded.

Tips for you guys buying new bumpers:

eBay seller Pershing has both styles, ones with emblem spot and ones without if you want it shaved.

Get a can of Great Stuff spray foam and spray it inside the bottom "shelf". I did that and my bumper feels ten times sturdier than it used to.

That's that expanding spray foam stuff? Anyway thanks for the tip. Great idea!

Originally posted by Nemo
That's that expanding spray foam stuff? Anyway thanks for the tip. Great idea!

Yup, the expanding stuff.

It wasnt my idea, came from another member here, IIRC it was Locke_DB!

I dont ever wash anything that has been freshly painted, baked or regular air dry, for atleast 3 weeks.

lookn good bro

Cool, I'll start looking for some this weekend. I just picked up a bumper from CretiFit today in San Diego. It was on a stock reduction clearence. $47.00 incl. tax. Gonna have it painted and install a new grille kit after I get my hood next month. They have the hood there for $112.00 primered black like the bumper.

What did that bumper look like? Nice quality? Did it have the diamond depression for the emblem or was it a triangle?

Most probably it had the triangle.

Only ones with diamond impression IIRC are the OEM Mitsu ones.

It has the triangle. The quality is great. As good as I've seen on other ones like it. Pretty stiff-thick mold-even with no weak areas I can see or feel.