The little details....

[Disifer]

Today I washed and waxed(no zaino ) my car and decided to remove the front license plate and bracket. There are 4 rust stains from the bolts. I tried washing them off but gave up. I don't really have any idea what will get it off other than taking it to a detail shop. Any ideas?
Also, what can I use to plug up the really pretty screw holes in my front bumper?

[LS1 TA]

Where I live the water has alot of minerals and other things in it so this product is pretty common around here, its called CLR (calcium lime rust) its not to expensive so if it doesn't work no big loss

[Injuneer]

I recently took the front license bracket off my Formula. It had three ugly holes in the nose plastic, one of which was pretty much out of sight, and two that were very visible. The edges of the holes were raised above the surface on one side, due to the very coarse threads in the screws that were in them. No rust or roughness though.

I took an Xacto knife and very carefully sliced away the edges of the holes that protruded above the surface of the bumper. Then I touched those edges up carefully with well-thinned matching body paint (I have some from when they painted my SLP hood a few years ago). Then I got a coupe of metal body plugs plugs of about the correct diameter to fully cover the edges of the holes, including the thin touch-up area. The plugs are maybe 3/8" diameter, flat heads, with spring pins that hold them in a hole. I painted the heads of the body plugs to match, then inserted them in the holes.

Sounds like it might look sloppy, but it doesn't. With the dark color of my car, they are barely visible, unless I point them out. The color match and gloss are perfect, so it almost looks like the bumper was designed that way. Can't really see much in this photo, but I like the way the car looks so much better without the ugly license plate/frame.



i got some on the goat, fred.....maybe ill try that. body shop said the bumper has to come off and the holes "melted" together and then the bumper repainted $$$$$$

where do you get those body plugs from (not a porn shop i hope..hahahahaha)

[Disifer]

I was thinking CLR but I was afraid that it might eat the paint. I might not need the touch up paint but would I have to go to a body shop to get some? Is there an exact name for the body plugs and where would I find those? Thanks for the help btw. The rust spots were the main problem that i was worried about.

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

Try a big hardware store where they have all those little drawers full of fasteners & related items. I found some there for a few cents each, back when I tried doing the same thing. Later, I just filled & repainted the front.

[Injuneer]

I got the body plugs on the miscellaneous body parts board at my local Pep Boys. They have a bunch of plastic and metal plugs, identified by car manufactuer. I think the metal ones were made for a Toyota. I'll see if I still have the pack they came in.

Attention to detail is what separates the "that's nice" cars from the "damn, that's nice" cars.

I've used plastic body plugs for a bunch of things, including blocking off the holes where my rear seatbelts were removed, a cover for the cig lighter hole, etc. Note the cig lighter hole in the picture.... must have saved at least 3oz. with the "cigarette lighter delete".....

[Disifer]

lol
cigarette lighter delete.
Mine has a long way to go before i get to the "damn" level.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

Thanks Fred. We just bought a dark green Grand Caravan and it has the license plate bracket on the front too. Since we don't have to have them in Georgia I took it off only to find the same conditions with the holes that you had. I didn't know how to fix it so I put it back on. Now I know how to remove it and make it look good. Good thinking.

"cigarette lighter delete"

[Dave-S]

Polishing compound will remove the rust stains. As far as plugging the holes, what I did on my wifes car after we moved here (in Ohio we had a front plate and in South Carolina we dont have front plates) was to use two plastic license plate screws with rounded heads and real small screw slots. I painted them the same color as her front fascia and used silicone to hold them in place.

[PRPLHZE]

I went to Ace Hardware and got a couple of those little plastic plugs for about 30c a piece and popped em in. Touched up with body color and all looks good...