TEXAS83

I just got my 430 in the millenium silver and it has 4 ugly holes in the front where the license plate should be, and anybody whos anybody knows that it looks ugly as hell w/ the plate in the front. I want to patch these holes up somehow. Anyone have any ideas? Done this before? thanks...

Pearlpower

iTrader: (2)

Here you go.
http://www.bumperplugs.com/

Myself, I just picked up another bumper and repainted it, but the plugs work great as well.
Lee

TEXAS83

thanks for the tip, but i think those are too big and will make the front end lose that slick look... any other tips? i dont want to get a whole new bumper... check out those huge plugs below...

TEXAS83

Although this door plug looks alright... anyone seen this in person?

tfischer

I have not seen these items yet, and I do not have holes drilled in my front bumper, but I did get an RX330 with holes drilled, and these would do the trick nicely. I just inquired to them to see if they could match the color of my RX, and in any event, I will order the door plug for my black SC, as they do have a match for that color.

The other alternative would be to fill the holes and sand them and paint them and polish them and all that stuff, but that's a lot of work for a minor cosmetic problem.

JCtx

Holes in the bumber was a deal breaker when I bought my new car, just because I know I wouldn't be happy with any fix, short of a new bumber.
The good news is you bought yours used, and probably budgeted a new bumper, although you'd like to avoid it. If you're as **** as me or some others here, save your time and buy a new bumper. Otherwise play with it, and if the fix doesn't convince you, you can always buy the new bumper as a last resort. If it was just 2 holes, there're many options, but 4 holes (and THAT size) are hopeless IMHO. Good luck man; keep us posted.

TEXAS83

Yea man, these holes are really pissing me off! I had my '97 SC400 for 6 years and it never had the holes, and I LOVED IT that way... but I just got this 2 days ago (had to sell the 400) and i love, love, love this car... Silver/Ecru interior has to be the hottest combo i have ever seen... anyways, a whole new bumper... jeez i just got the car and the bank account is empty for the down payment...

theres got to be something better than those huge plugs... i think if i ever get the time and i'm in houston, i'll swing by one of those performance shops and see what they can do... or maybe a creative trip to hobby lobby will give me ideas...

if anyone has any experience with this at all, please let me know! thanks for the input

TEXAS83

Man I am just going to seal them, then sand them, paint them with the lexus touch up paint, and polish them... except, I have no idea how the hell to do any of this.... anyone wanna give me some help and instructions??? thank you!

TEXAS83

Anyone ever heard of DURHAM'S ROCK HARD WATER PUTTY??? Do y'all think I could fill the holes with this and then paint over??

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=11701

toyemp

If you are going to fill the holes, I think you'd be better off using an automotive body filler (like Bondo) rather than a wood filler.

Unless you have experience in bodywork and painting, I think you might be disappointed in the end-result. With touchup paint, especially in the color of your car, it is almost impossible to perfectly match the existing paint. In the end, you would probably end up taking it to a body shop to "fix" the repairs that you attempted.

Just my 2 cents....

Pearlpower

iTrader: (2)

As long as you realize that whatever you choose will not result in a perfect finish then patching it up opens up many possibilities. Bondo will work but will eventually crack around the hole and may fall out-but if it does just put more in there.
True automotive paint shops have a mixture which is around $35.00 that is designed for this application. Many regular automotive parts houses have something similar for around $14.00 or so. I do not recall the name.

Short of a bumper repaint the holes will be visible regardless of what you choose to do. Perhaps not from a block away but certainly while walking up to it.

I have seen Bumperplugs and they are a good option and the cleanest option. They are not all the large plug you pictured above. Plus they will look better than a patch job that will require touch up paint and risk making things worse on your bumper due to sanding, cracking of mix, premature drying of mix, etc..

tfischer

Besides, the bumperplugs will give the impression you have one of those radar parking devices or perhaps laser assisted cruise control. Both front and rear bumpers on high end cars today have all manner of little bumps. My cars have headlight cleaners that pop out to spray water (all over the front of the car) and some panels that cover places where you can screw in a tow hook. I don't think a few of these plugs are going to cause much concern, and they sure look better than open holes or a bad patch and touch up job.

I've ordered a set -- we shall see.

tfischer

Oh! My mistake.

You said bumperPLUGS.

I thought you said BumberNUTS, which always look great on a Lexus.

www.bumpernuts.com

picus

http://autopia.org/forum/showthread....ght=wetsanding

I've done this a few times and honestly, it's a pain in the butt. The end results are always a perfect match, but you'll spend ~$150+ on the products to do it right (super red 3m putty, touchup paint, 2000-3000 grit paper, polishes, pads, applicators, etc...) and since you've never done this before there is a good chance you won't get a perfect match. You're really better off getting a new bumper or getting plugs.