Hey, my car is extremely low and the front bumper has been chipped to ****.. The entire car's paint job is pretty fresh and clean so I figure if I just spray the front bumper it still should blend perfectly... I am a novice at painting but I am always up to learn a new trade. Here is what I think I would need to do to get out the chips and make bumper smooth for painting:

Apply Filler to the entire front bumper to cover up chips?
-Sand down with 80 grit? then 150
Then cover bumper with acrylic glaze?
Then spray a coat of primer wet sand with 250 grit?
Spray another coat of primer then wet sand with high grit.

Car is now ready for paint?

This is all I think I know, Please leave suggestions and tell me what is right, wrong, or missing from my list here. I searched the forum but couldn't find a write up on painting.

 

anyone here painted before?

 

I'd sand the old paint off completely. Your wasting your time trying to use a laq. fill on that poly bumper in my opinion. I would start fresh. I think you might need a poly prime to seal up the pores. Dont quote me on that one. Ask your local paint supply and they will tell you what you want.

So start with primer. Sand that smooth with 400. Then clean it all off well with a prep solv. Shoot a black (assuming your car is dark) base coat over the prime. After that flashes sand that down with 600. Then clean with the prep solve again. Go ahead and shoot the color base coat you want to use. Let that flash for about 20 minutes then go straight to laying out the clear coat. Give it three good coats or so but watch out for runs. Let that cure for about 24 hours.
Then you can sand with 2000 grit and buff it out.


Have fun.

 

Been away from it for a number of years but........If there is no adhesion problems with the current paint, and there it's not already a quarter inch thick, there's no need to remove it ALL. The only time I would use anything as coarse as 80 grit would be in the immediate areas where I intend to use filler to feather the edges of the chips. Be conservative there, don't make things worse. Afterward, nothing coarser than 180 to 220. Finish prep with 400 wet. There also used to be (and I doubt it's changed) specific fillers, primers and flex additives for bumper covers.
Look in the yellowpages or talk with a local shop for a supply house that sells to collision shops. Avoid getting the stuff from Advance Auto etc. Many of the desk clerks at the professional supply houses are former techs themselves and may have better advice or more tips.
For best results, IMHO, remove the cover from the car before you paint it to avoid masking edges where the cover meets the fenders. It will also reduce the possibilty of moisture getting under the paint at those edges. And if you intend to use aerosol cans for the color coats, just save your money and pay to have it done professionally.
My .02.

 

its actually really simple. if its just chips u have, start with 360! u dont have to sand off all the paint either. small chips will sand right out. others that dont quite sand out will be filled by primer. (dont sand too far because if you get to the plastic too much you will get this fuzzy **** that will show up thru the primer and even the paint! annoying as hell to fix) after you sand you can go ahead and fill the big chips you know will still be there with filler. JUST the chips not the whole area. after that dries sand it smooth. THEN put a couple coats of primer and sand over that with 400. make sure its smooth with the rest of the surface. if you missed any chips they will be way easier to spot now so fill em and smooth it down with 400. and thats about all. this will also work with scratches, but hopefully most will sand out. its really easy stuff.

 

Thanks for the replys guys, what about stress marks by the bottom of the bumper... Would primer cover those up too? I was wondering because I didn't want the paint to still look like a skeleton over that bottom part where the stress marks are...
Thanks

 

if you have the stock urethane front bumper, you might want to add the flex agent to the paint (not sure if you already planned on that).

 

Chips are one thing, but those are a different story. If they are severe "stretch marks", no. Depending on how visible they are, you can try stripping the finish and then covering the area with a skim coat of filler. But personally I would look into a another cover. Even if stripped, they tend to show back up in the new finish.