Painting lower valance ? pics added
 

Well been to a few body shops and they are saying not to paint the lower valance. The reason they are saying that is due to possible flaking off in the near future from rocks hitting it. They say the plastic is not really a good paintable source. My question is those that have it painted now what did you end up using to adhere to it and is it flaking off or causing any problems.

Is there a product out there that will make this possible that these body shops don't know about. I'm not a expert in painting so hope someone can steer me in the right direction. I really would love to paint my lower valance.

I'm no expert either, but I'll bet a paycheck that if the surface was properly prepared, primed and painted you wouldn't have a problem.

yeah i been researching the internet and some say it has to be sanded just right and primed alot of times and then some type of plastic adhesive additivie applied. Then put your paint on. I guess maybe the body shops i been to dont want to put the time into it. I don't mind doing the prep work but i just dont really know all the steps or how much to sand and if i sand to much will i ruin it etc. hmmmm

this is a start

Items:
Sandpaper
160 grit for really roughing the parts up to start.
1000 grit wet/dry for smoothing up prior to painting.
1200 grit mirror fine for wet sanding the primer and between coats.

Duplicolor adhesion promoter

or using this technique

1. Scuff it with a 600 scotch pad, you do not need to sand it smooth
2. Clean it with Lacquer Thinner
3. Shoot it with adhesion promoter
4. Put on 2 or 3 good coats of primer
5. Sand it smooth, primer fills in the texture and primer is a lot easier to smooth up than the plastic
6. Seal it then paint

There are a few people here have had all of the lower panels painted to match the body, and it doesn't seem to be very clear cut whether or not it's a great idea. I know one guy indicated his has started to flake off, while others have had no problem.

Like Big Poppa said, it probably all comes down to the prep work.

I loved the looks but it is almost all flaked off the front and started flaking on the back.

That was the Technique I put down.
The reason most body shops will not do it is because of the time involved to do it correctly, and when they hand you a bill for $750 to do it you probably would not be happy, and that was with you bringing in the paint. Also if done correctly with a quality product it should last. Dupont and 3M are some good ones to start with but SEMs and Duplicolor are good to, and more consumer friendly.
http://www2.dupont.com/Automotive/en...cExterior.html

The devil is in the preparation. Lots of sanding with gradually finer sandpaper. A good adhesion promoter, duplicolor or bulldog. You can get a bodyshop grade from a paint supply store that supplies the bodyshops if you want. Then a filler primer. More sanding, then paint. I did a flat black on my lower panels. So the black plastic doesnt fade and its been done about 3 months now with no flaking or chipping. We will see how long it lasts. Eventually I will have some mods that require a bodyshop to paint. If any flaking occurs I will have my rockers and rear valance painted to match the car. But for now $40 bucks covered the job. Still looking good to!

Ours is going on 2 years with no problems. Photos of Twisted Six show up in ads and at shows all the time. I drive it daily with ~18k miles on it now.

As said above, and is standard in any quality paint work, it's 90% preparation, 10% final spray...

body shop wants 800 to do my valance? he went through all the steps and said its alot of time prepping.

I talked with a close friend on mine that is in the body field and he says that it's possible but it will cost a few bucks for prep, he is very good at what he does and he doesnt recommend it

800 sounds about right. With all the prep, paint, and clearcoating, it's a bit of work to do.

thi sbody shop does great work- he showed me a few test pieces he did on a mini cooper- looks awesome. Plus it has a clearcoat on it so it wont fade and is easier to wash and clean up.

finally getting closer to being done. should have it on this weekend

its super smooth and should turn out awesome.

finally got it finished...side skirts are still at paint shop.

not the best pics but you get the idea.

I like it!!

thanks david-

yeah that does look really good. I like how you kept the lower part black still, gives it a dividing line. great job bro!

the shop that did it for me only charged 150 to do it. he did a awesome job on it and that price i couldnt say no- so i jumped on it.