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Shaved License Plate Cover Bird

3K views 26 replies 16 participants last post by  branj70 
#1 · (Edited)
My car didn't come with a plate cover. I recently bought one, but it was black and needed some TLC. I'm in the middle of shaving the screaming chicken off of it... It's shitty work and materials I know, and I hope it works in the end. If not I can hopefully tear it apart again and start over using a different method. Will post updates as I go along. First time using a dremel or epoxy putty. Behold my horrific work:


I used a marine fiberglass/plastic/ceramic repair epoxy that when hardened is sandable and paintable. I cut the rough outline of the bird out with a dremel (and scratched the front of the cover in a few places), epoxy putty affixed it to a plastic backing plate (more on that later) using clamps, then epoxied that back to the hole in the plate cover (using more clamps).

My plans from here on are to fill in the remaining low areas (including the scratches I created in the cover, as well as low areas from the plate covers previous owner), sand it all down smooth, then hand it over to a professional body shop for final prep and paint.

UPDATE:
Tried using 2-3 containers of Loctite Plastic Epoxy and a plastic spreader tool (1 container, dry/sand, 2 containers, dry/sand - pictured) and then sanded it down again, but there were still some more low spots so I used the marine epoxy to fill in those spots (pictured), sanded down again (not pictured), and then sent it off to the body shop for final prep and paint.





Update 2: Got it back from the body shop. Paint is pretty dark and I'm not too happy with it. The owner said he kept the paint and he can blend it in so it looks fine, but I'm still not too sure about that since its a lot darker than the rest of the car. I'm asking other experienced body shop people what they think. Anyways, here is some more car porn featuring a dirty, dirty car with an ugly face:



Moar picxs:















P.S. I had solid rotors on my car in the first couple pics since that is what the LS1 donor car had. I have since swapped on the drilled/slotted that I normally have.
 
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#4 ·
Good work. But i just feel like its missing something.....the bird. I think it would look good if you did that, and also filled in the gaps around the filler plate. So the bumper was all one, smooth piece.
 
#8 ·
Sorry missed that. Props on the work your putting into it though.
 
#14 ·
Yep. Needed every single one to keep it from pulling apart in one spot or another. Test fit it on the front of my car and it fits great!

So you cut the bird out completely... glued it to the drink holder plastic panel, and then reattached it to the inside of the cover?
Yep, to retain the proper curvature. It was going to be a bitch to cut out each individual piece of the bird so I said "f it."
 
#16 · (Edited)
ok so i'm lost.

Why did you cut the bird out and glue it back on a cup holder? I thought you wanted a smooth from plate cover? Wouldn't it just be easier to sand down the firebird logo down so it's flush?
ok, so go to your car, and remove the front plate cover. Look at the back.

You sand down the bird, you're left with a huge gaping bird-shaped hole that you have to fill somehow, without the filler material popping out. Bondo/fiberglass sticks to plastic - like water sticks to oil. You need at least a backing plate to reinforce the filler material. Plus by re-using the bird, I have hopefully kept the original curved shape, as well as limiting the amount of filler material I use.
 
#19 ·
good work and a Uniqe idea

one of the guys i know who lives round here has a 98 Trans am and he has one never takes it off even tho you have to have a front plate out here but then again... he knows all the cops they cut him slack lol...
 
#20 ·
You late 4th-gen guys have it so easy when it comes to front plates. I wouldn't even know how to mount one on mine.
 
#26 ·
I run without a plate... one cop has said something once... when I got pulled over for speeding and was looking over the car. I don't plan to put it back on...

Zex... I would fill it in so that there is the clean bumper, just doesn't look right with the gap.
 
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