painting bumpers

oilspot

My 91 rt4wd has the bumpers that are paint matched to the body. I really like the look of all black bumpers though. From what I can tell in pictures they look almost rubberish.
I've seen bumper restore type paint that gives that look. Could I rough up the paint and get what I'm looking for using that?

If it requires taking them to a body shop and paying big $ for the change I probably will not do it.
Thanks for the help with my low budget project!

BillBoard

^^ i did exactly as you described...

quarters

maybe better to get new bumpers? just a thought.

wagodizzle

black bumpers are basically just bare rubber... sorta haha.

oilspot

BillBoard wrote:

^^ i did exactly as you described...

red, black bumpers, some dents, tint, lowered. Your car pretty much shows me what mine will look like when I get everything done I want to. I've got some acura wheels I was thinking about painting white also. I really like the white wheels on yours (they're way nicer than the ones I've got though).

oilspot

Just came home with two cans of bumper paint. Only took 15 to rough up the bumpers, another 7 to tape the painted body, 2 minutes to pull the front turn signals. 20mins painting.
Looks great. Really freshens up the car a lot!

Now I'm eyeballing the trim!

judebert

I know it's been almost a year, so I'm not expecting a response from oilspot. But I am diving in to painting my bumpers and trim, and I wanted to verify what's been said here. bam-bam advised against "back-to-black", so the plan is:

Fill gouges in the bumper with an epoxy (if I can find something flexible, I'll use that) and sand to level.
Scuff bumpers and existing paint with Scotch-Brite.
Scuff trim with 300 grit sandpaper.
Shoot everything with plain black paint.

Any other advice? If not, I'll let you know how it goes in a few days.

bam-bam

There's a 2-part epoxy JBWeld looking kit you can get at Advance etc. to fill big gouges. Instead of "plain black paint" get flexible bumper paint. All 3 of my projects have been done with Dupli-color brand from Advance. SEM brand is better, but 2-3X the price.


Here's the big one: after sanding on the bumpers, it's nearly impossible to get a smooth finish, UNLESS you use SEM flexible primer, then wet-sand. If you look at my bumpers(without) and pebbles bumpers (with) the difference is plain. Somehow the bumper plastic gets fuzzy when you sand it, no matter how fine the grit. You'll think it's slick, then it'll look like crap when painted. The SEM primer is ~$18/can, takes 2 cans per bumper. Worth it.

Jaker

I'm painting my whole car with the SEM stuff, and I bought it off ebay for about $8.50 per can. Shop around. It's great stuff, and it covers really well. I echo what Bam-Bam said about sanding. Even the green Scotchbrite I used left enough scratches in the plastic of the bumpers that it took 4-5 good thick coats of SEM to cover them. I'd suggest a red Scotchbrite with a light hand at the most. The key for me was de-waxing/de-greasing the bumper before painting. However, don't go anywhere near the SEM paint with the de-greaser. It will lift the paint like it was dust.

judebert

Family activities kept me from accomplishing anything this weekend (heck, this week). I'm looking for the SEM stuff, but it's not at Advance or NAPA. I'm heading on down to Discount now, and from there to Ace. SOMEBODY's got to have it in stock.

bam-bam

I have to go get it from a real auto-body/paint store. I need to check with Jaker on his source...that's < 1/2 price!

Jaker

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SEM-3910 ... veQ5fTools

The key is the "best offer" part. I bought 12 cans at once, and the seller accepted my offer of $8 per can.

judebert

Yeah, there's no SEM paint in any of the auto parts stores around here. Next up: paint stores.

Alphaxomega

Wont you just be able to get the smooth black paint?
the non-gloss kind
that looks kinda rubberish to me.
My friend used it on his CRX can't tell the difference.
Just my 2 cent though. :?

CivicDeMayo

bam-bam wrote:

There's a 2-part epoxy JBWeld looking kit you can get at Advance etc. to fill big gouges. Instead of "plain black paint" get flexible bumper paint. All 3 of my projects have been done with Dupli-color brand from Advance. SEM brand is better, but 2-3X the price.


Here's the big one: after sanding on the bumpers, it's nearly impossible to get a smooth finish, UNLESS you use SEM flexible primer, then wet-sand. If you look at my bumpers(without) and pebbles bumpers (with) the difference is plain. Somehow the bumper plastic gets fuzzy when you sand it, no matter how fine the grit. You'll think it's slick, then it'll look like crap when painted. The SEM primer is ~$18/can, takes 2 cans per bumper. Worth it.

I know this is an old thread, but.. thank you!! This is very helpful.