DIY Front Bumper Painting??

[slospyder]

Hey guys, I was just wondering if anyone has painted their own front bumper ever?? Is it hard matching colors?? Right now I have a stock 2g all sanded and I HATE dealing with paint shops, I have had bad experiences with them. Any experiences and/or pictures anyone can share with me?? or maybe discourage me from doing this myself.... thanks

 

[paranoidTSi]

Do you mean professional quality or ghetto temp work? I personally have rattlecanned my front bumper to match my vehicle, while it doesn't match completely it matches better than it did when it was yellow. If you are looking to rattle can it as a temp fix, then I could help you with that.

Here's my car when it was white, before I got it painted Graphite:
http://members.aol.com/paranoidxe/t01.jpg

 

[irjoshy]

you CAN get it to match... just wetsand the hood and the fenders a bit... and spray the bumper(off of the car with the nose up to let the runs go down) and spray just a little bit of color on the fenders and hood, let it dry, then clear the shit out of it... now you will get some runs so you'll have to wetsand with 2000 grit sand paper about a week later, then buff it all and it should look good...

but theres more to it than that... some is just hard to explain, you have to be experienced to understand.... i would suggest going to a paint shop..

and remember newer cars come factory with shitloads of orange peel.... so you want a little bit of orange peel(ripple effect) to get that nice sheen......


i'm half asleep but i hope this helps....

 

[jepherz]

Its impossible to get an exact color match. The main thing is how far it is off, and what color you are starting with. If you have a white car, and are off just a little, it will be hard to tell. If you have a bright red car, and you are off a little, it will probably be a lot more visable.

While painting, if you put spray the correct amt. of paint, you shouldn't have any problems with runs. same with the clear.

I don't think new cars today come with any more orange peel than they did 10 years ago; if anything has changed, the technology of spray equipment has gotten better so that the factory is able to get a better finish right out the door. If you decide to wetsand after the final finish, you will most likely end up with a better paint job when all the buffing is done.

also, if you go to an automotive paint shop, they should be able to get your paint code, and if you don't have the spray equipment, a lot of them will be able to put the paint in an aerosol (sp.) spray can.

Hope this helps

 

[WhiteCloud]

I've been pleased with Duplicolor auto spray products. On my buddy's wheels we sprayed on Duplicolor charcoal/gunmetal color. Good stuff, they still look sharp 2 weeks and a few hundred miles later. We used a rustoleum clear gloss over the top as a sealant. Painting a front bumper should work approx. the same way as the rims, just a different material.

 

[9D9 MITSU RS]

I wouldn't suggest using a rattlecan. You need a flex agent. Also, you don't need orange peel. Great paint jobs won't have any... but you'll pay for that. The shine isn't brought out by orange peel, it's brought out by clear coat.

 

[kaoticdeath]

I just painted my body kit in my basement 2 weks ago. I just whent into a local garage that doese body work took the small fender cap peice with me along with what i thought was the color code (the under hood sticked was almost faded away but i got it right) and had them mix my paint. I also purchased hardening agent and thinner while i was there also. The hardening agent is pritty pricy but i figuered it would let me get my kit on quicker. Next i whent to the local hardware store and picked up a gravity feed spraygun and inline filter along with some paint strainers. Everything all together cost me about 120 bucks witch i dont think is bad but i didnt get enough paint to do my rear bumper so its not on my car yet. Anyway i did all the nessessary body work to the kit then primed it real good then let it set for a day then whent back and painted each peice 1 at a time allowing about 1/2 hour between coats. I put 4 coats on the front bumper and 2 on the side skirts. After that i wet sanded the runs (i hate spraying mettalic paint its hard to even out the color with out getting runs) then i just spayed a light coat over where i sanded to gloss it up and avoid having to buff it. The next day i slaped it on my car it wasnt hard at all but i recomend if you are going to do it in your basement like me cove anything you dont want paint on cause all off my tools now have a copper tint to them. And get a resperator to i didnt feel high till i smoked a cig after the first coat and damn did i have a buzz but paint will make you sick when you come down. So i just wraped an old t-shirt around my face and whent back to it. The t-shirt only stopped more paint from collecting on my nostril hair angd making it harder (laugh now but you wont be when you are in front of a mirror trimming out all of your nose hair). But anyway the pics of my car are in my profile.

 

[slospyder]

Oh wow i didnt know ANY of this information! Thanks to everyone who replied....

I think right now I think I can get access to a spraygun and a paint booth.. so from the posts, i think i will bring my paint code to a paint shop and have them mix my paint for me.... its stock white btw....

so is it ok to just use a rattle can primer?? and what is the best way to clear coat?? Should I ask the paint shop about that too?? Thanks

 

[kaoticdeath]

glad to be some help i say #### paying some1 else to do it if i can do it myself or learn to do it

 

[jepherz]

Rattle can primer will probably work fine, and will be cheaper and easier to deal with.

No matter what, if you are using base/clear, you should have a respirator; a t-shirt isn't going to stop the chemicals from doing damage.

you can also add a flex agent, which may cause the white paint to darken and not totally match. If you think the bumper wont be flexing at all, this isnt 100% necessary.

Make sure you have clean surfaces, and hopefully you can get ahold of a paint booth to minimize dust.

Other than this, you should be able to wet-sand any blemishes out of the CC, compound, buff and smile.

Good luck, PM me with more questions on specifics

 

[DSMRevolution]

On a old car I had in the past I repainted the truck and some of the exterior body moldings. It actually looked near factory when I was finished. So from my expierence you can make a rattle can job look good!

 

[L2RTSiAWD]

I'm also considering doing this as well. My only problem is I don't have access to a big enough compressor to use a paint gun.

 

[jepherz]

How much are you planning on painting? If you use a conventional spray gun (Non-HVLP) you can get away with a pretty small compressor. The only reason you need a larger compressor is with HVLP or if you are painting a large area (ie. the whole car) at one time.