How to paint and re-finish front bumper

[slingblade]

Hi everyone, total newb here.
I have a 95 Talon and have got a used blue front bumper to put on my grey car. Need paint and prep guidance?..Anyone done this..what grit sand paper?..What type of primer and paint etc..Have a compressor..and new paint gun(3yrs old still in package..)...help...I figured $250 to paint was a little steep..

 

[id_redneck]

In all honesty if someone will prep, paint, and clear your bumper for $250 do it . . . By the time you buy all the stuff to do it right it will be well worth the money. Plastic can be picky about paint and if it has any rock chips at all some of will have to be properly feather edged "sanded" with 180 grit then primed with a plastic adhesion promoter like PPG DX801. Then you need to spray at least those spots with a good quality primer sealer. I like Omni 282. Then that needs to be blocked down "sanded" ending with somewhere between 400 and 600 grit. Then rubbed with a grey scoth brite pad. Then spray 3-5 coats of color. I have always had good results with the ppg solvent based products. Then two good coats of clear coat. Again I like PPG. Now with that being said each of the products is multi part. The reducers and catylyst are usually not available in small amounts and are $25-$100 per smallest available quanity. Thats not to mention even in the cleanest garage known to man there is more dirt than in a clean paint booth. Which leads to nibbing "sanding" dirt out of your clear coat at the very least. The modern products are also picky about temperature and airflow. And only provide optimum results under optimum conditions. That being said if you don't mind spending probably the same amount to learn to do it yourself go for it but be prepared for a host of issues if it is your first time . . . hope that helps

 

[mezzio]

after you buy all the supplies, the paint, the time prepping it as an inexperienced painter, it would be much faster and cheaper just to take it to the shop and let the pros do it... The type of paint you would use isn't just as simple as putting it in a cheap gun and spraying it, there's a lot of technique to get that beautiful smooth finish.

 

[id_redneck]

So if a shop told you they would paint your bumper for $250 go for it. By the time you buy the plastic adhesion promotor, the primer surfacer its respective catylyst and reducer, the paint and its reducer, and the clear coat with its catylst and reducer you will prob be about the same amount. Not to mention the time and effort. If you would like a more indepth explanation please pm me

 

[mezzio]

So if a shop told you they would paint your bumper for $250 go for it. By the time you buy the plastic adhesion promotor, the primer surfacer its respective catylyst and reducer, the paint and its reducer, and the clear coat with its catylst and reducer you will prob be about the same amount. Not to mention the time and effort. If you would like a more indepth explanation please pm me

like he said ...

I would consider painting my own urethane bumper once the shop quoted me something like $400+... lower than that, let the shop do it and do it right.... and I have all the equipment and knowledge to paint, . I just don't have the time or the energy anymore

 

[bomexe]

I work for a body shop supply store that carries PPG and with the prices for the products that you need in order to do the job right you will spend well over 250. But if you want to do it yourself I can give you the list of products you will need and application instructions

 

[beachbum2185]

i'd have the shop do it. since you already have the gun and compressor, go ahead be buy some materials anyway and practice on some junkyard bumpers. no point in having a gun if you never use it. once you get comfortable using everything, go ahead and paint your bumper if it ever needs it again.