 |
| If you drive a late Seventies Corvette, one area that always needs attention is the blackout trim area around the windshield, backglass and also the bumper guards. Under normal use these areas get chipped and scratched which in turn gives the whole car a generally poor appearance. Now Zip Products, Inc. has the answer: a Bumper and Trim Blackout Spray Paint. With this paint you can easily redo your windshield trim and bumper guards and give them a brand new look. Our Project 77’s windshield trim and bumper guards needed some attention so we decided to use Zip’s Black Out paint. The results speak for themselves. Not only was it easy to do, we did not need any special tools. Follow along as we give our 77 Corvette a new blackout treatment. |
 |
01: Here is what you will need: Zip’s Black out spray paint, 3/4” Masking Tape, Masking Paper, a fine scuff pad or 600 grit sandpaper and some 3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner #08984. You may also need some Plasti-Kote #1855 Bumper and Trim Primer, if your bumper guards have some light scratches or cracks.
Note: Spray cans from Zip may differ from photos.
|
 |
02: This is one of the bumper guards that we have to redo. Notice the scratches in the top. We are going to have to remove these before we can re-spray it. |
 |
03: Start the bumper guard touch-up by taping off the surrounding area with masking tape. This will help to protect the painted surface around the bumper guard. Now take a fine scuff pad and scuff the surface. |
 |
04: Next paper and tape off all of the surrounding areas. You do not want to get any overspray on any other body parts. I also recommend covering all of the body just to be safe. Old blankets or sheets will work just fine. Now take the 3M Cleaner and thoroughly wipe the bumper guard. If there are no scratches, go on to Step 6. If there are, follow Step 5. |
 |
05: To fill slight scratches and cracks, spray on Plasti-Kote #1855 Light Gray Sandable Primer. Apply 2 to 4 light coats as needed to fill. Allow 5 minutes between coats. Hold the can 8 to 10 inches away and overlap each stroke. Allow approximately 30 minutes drying time after the final coat, then sand lightly with 600 grit paper. Use a tack rag and wipe off the guard. |
 |
06: Now apply 2 to 3 light, even, overlapping coats from 8 to 10 inches away of the Black Out Paint. This spray dries in 15 to 20 minutes to the touch but takes approximately 24 hours to cure. So do not drive the car until it has cured. I recommend carefully removing the paper and tape after 1 hour. After the paint has cured, do not use any wax, sealants or top coats on it. NOTE: Do not forget to do the rear bumper guards. You want them to look just as good, don’t you? |
 |
07: To do the windshield or backglass trim, start by taping off all of the surrounding areas. Now use the fine scuff pad to remove any loose trim coating and to rough up the surface. |
 |
08: Use the 3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner to thoroughly clean the trim. Do this 2 or 3 times so that you have a clean surface for the paint. |
 |
09: Now spray on the Blackout Paint. Hold the can 8 to 10 inches away and spray 2 to 3 light, overlapping coats. Allow about 5 minutes drying time between each coat. Here is a trick we used to spray the windshield pillar area: Cut a piece of cardboard the length of the windshield pillar. Place it into the pillar channel. Now the rubber weatherstrip is covered and you can safely spray the pillar molding. |
| {mosgoogle} |
 |
10: Here are the finished guards. The windshield moldings look just as good. We gave our Project 77 a new Blackout Treatment in just one afternoon. After it was done, the before and after appearance was amazing. |
|
BLACK OUT TOUCHUP :
HOW TO TOUCH UP CORVETTE BUMPER GUARDS AND WINDSHIELD TRIM
SOURCE:
Zip Products, Inc.
8067 Fast Lane
Mechanicsville, VA 23111
(800) 962-9632
PARTS LIST:
ZMG-103 • Black Out Touchup Paint
WS-4483 • 3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner
Masking Tape and Paper As Needed
Fine Scuff Pad As Needed
600 Grit Sandpaper As Needed
Bumper and Trim Primer
The Author would like to thank Scott Coral of Greg Donahue Collector Car Restorations, Inc. for his assistance with this article. |
 |
Tech. Articles