[roger1]

I hadn't posted any close-up photos of the nose fit yet.

It does look very good at a little distance:



But here are the areas that will need some filler:









I went back and re-read what Barry (owner of SPI) recommends for Endura bumpers (and he's done several of these). He recommends 4 coats of epoxy primer and it should be done before any filler is put on.

Since blasting the bumper left it a little blotchy looking (may have been the coal slag media I used), I I sanded it with a D/A everywhere I could get to and by hand everywhere else to get it all uniform looking. And then I wiped it down with waterborne W&G remover. After that, I put it out in the sun to speed up the evaporation of the W&G remover that soaked in. Barry recommends that if you are going to shoot the epoxy the next morning.

Here it is in the sun yesterday. I also took a few photos of what appears like cracks in the rubber.









After analyzing them closely, I don't believe these are cracks at all. You can't make the rubber move independently on each side of these cracks no matter what you do. I think this is what happens to the rubber from oxidation when the paint cracks and allows air to hit the rubber along the cracked paint. You can hit this rubber with a hammer and it won't crack. But the slightest flexing of the rubber cracks the factory paint and primer. Add time and you get the oxidized rubber that looks and might even feel like a crack but it's not.
That tells me these cracks don't need to be ground out in a V shape and filled. I've seen that stated and I disagree. The 4 coats of epoxy will be all that's required to cover them up.

I got the 4 coats on this morning. Waited 45 minutes between coats.
Wow! It seemed as if I was painting a sponge with the first coat! Starts looking good after the 3rd coat though. I can see why he recommends 4.





I sprayed the rear side too.



I'll let this cure for a couple of days before blocking and adding any filler. I had to re-order the 3M Automix 05887 flexible filler but it will be here tomorrow. The first order (AutoBodyToolmart) had it backordered until December and didn't let me know until I called and asked why I hadn't received it yet. I wont ever order from them again.