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Model S Front Bumper Refresh Instructions

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as anyone done this conversion that has AP1? since the lower grill isnt a plug n play and that is where the radar sensor is, what did you guys end up doing?

where was the sensor moved to in AP1 refresh cars? can that be used?
 
Good question... I have not filled it yet but I was thinking just regular automotive weather stripping (see below). Also, I need to figure out the how the manual frunk latch will work. I had to remove the little push button plastic. The lever is still there. i will also be posting a video on youtube with what I did.



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SOLVED!!!

"WHAT ABOUT THE GAP?" I have attached a picture of what I did last night. I try to keep things simple and life is not perfect. The picture shows that I bent the plastic upward to fill the gap on the left side (noted by raised plastic height) and left the right (driver's side) untouched. It took about 45 min with a heat gun and moving back and forth, bending upward, letting it cool, closing the hood to the check gap. The plastic is filled with fibers so it's a little more difficult to bend than regular plastic but IT BENDS. The awesome thing is--as it bends upward it tucks behind the plastic cover piece at the same time so any texture change to the plastic surface is hidden from view. FYI- the sun was in the way so my fingers were trying to stop the auto dimming of the phone camera.
plastic bending.JPG
 
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Awesome! Remember when you go to the automotive paint store to verify the base color is exactly matching your color. Do this by blotting some paint on your hood (denatured alcohol can remove it without hurting your paint) or by a paint card. I used a high fill spray can primer. The used bumper will have little dents from small rocks and its best to sand rough (220 grit) then prime the whole thing (assures proper adhesion) to fill all the holes you cant see. The easiest way to sand the primer is a 1/4" sander with 600 grit wet (allows the sand paper to not get clogged)-move quickly enough to flatten the primer and verify its super flat. Its way better than hand sanding (not flat) and faster than block sanding. At this point you could accidentally burn through the primer and its easy to fix (spray primer takes 10 min to dry). Dry the bumper and verify its perfectly flat and sanded.
 
Awesome! Remember when you go to the automotive paint store to verify the base color is exactly matching your color. Do this by blotting some paint on your hood (denatured alcohol can remove it without hurting your paint) or by a paint card. I used a high fill spray can primer. The used bumper will have little dents from small rocks and its best to sand rough (220 grit) then prime the whole thing (assures proper adhesion) to fill all the holes you cant see. The easiest way to sand the primer is a 1/4" sander with 600 grit wet (allows the sand paper to not get clogged)-move quickly enough to flatten the primer and verify its super flat. Its way better than hand sanding (not flat) and faster than block sanding. At this point you could accidentally burn through the primer and its easy to fix (spray primer takes 10 min to dry). Dry the bumper and verify its perfectly flat and sanded.
Thanks for the info. I picked one in the matching color that seems in good condition. Who knows until you see it in person. I'll likely pay a body shop to install and fabricate a gap filler, but your info is very helpful.
 
Below are some pics of the car yesterday/today. Allow me to go into more detail about the plastic bending eliminate "THE GAP". Heat only the top of the plastic that you want to bend. I put on leather mechanix gloves and heated the plastic while applying upward moderate pressure (checking for movement in the plastic) -repeated the process with bent into shape.I CUT a slit on the left edge, right edge, & middle edge to ease the plastic (Highly recommend this). Afterward the left and right cuts cannot be seen so they dont nee to be fixed but the middle cut is directly above the T symbol and can be seen. I grabbed my plastic welder (see attached picture) and used "fiber flex" plastic to bond the cut closed as well as fill the 2 screw holes that are above the T symbol. I test fit and noticed the middle had about a 1 cm gap to be underneath (completely) the upper plastic piece so I added "fiber flex" plastic to elongate the plastic piece upward underneath the trim piece. (see pic).
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plastic welder.JPG
 
this is where you can choose to stop where you are or try to make things perfect. So i continued...I sanded the plastic weld area down a bit and cleaned with denatured alcohol. Then used matte black "Marsh" spray paint to make all the plastic uniform in color.Detail about the "T" symbol modification: I cut approx. 1 cm off the back plastic using my Dewalt oscillating tool (wood bit). I cut exactly in the middle of the 2 screw holes for reference.
IMG_2591.JPG
t symbol.JPG
t symbol2.JPG
 
this is where you can choose to stop where you are or try to make things perfect. So i continued...I sanded the plastic weld area down a bit and cleaned with denatured alcohol. Then used matte black "Marsh" spray paint to make all the plastic uniform in color.Detail about the "T" symbol modification: I cut approx. 1 cm off the back plastic using my Dewalt oscillating tool (wood bit). I cut exactly in the middle of the 2 screw holes for reference.
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So Awesome and Informative !

Thanks for sharing all this info. Looks Great !

Can you indicate where you made the cuts ?