Need Help Painting my own Front Splitter

[Spencer]

Yesterday I bought a used Racing Dynamics DTM front splitter (like the lightweight one) for my 95 M3. It was painted red (my car is white), but i decided to bolt it on anyways to see how it looks. After driving around for only one day, it is already scratched and dinged on the underside from driveways, and steep slopes from hanging so low. I was going to get a body shop to professionally paint it but now, I dont see why I should spend around $200 for a pro job when it will get torn up so quickly. So I have decided that I am going to try to paint it my self and see how it turns out. If it is really bad, I will get a professional job, but it doesnt hurt to try for under $30.

Anyways, I have a few questions on the process. And if it matters, the splitter is fiberglass.

How should I go about removing the red paint already on it? Wet sanding?

Once I remove the paint, what are the correct steps? It is just primer, then paint, then gloss coat? Any other steps?

How many layers/coats should I use for each step?

Also, can anyone recommend a brand and a color code that will work good. Something over the internet would be helpful. I am not sure what shade of white will match my alpine white. (most brands have frost white, super white, etc).

Any other help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[C.Yang]

Im not sure the extent of the damage, but I wouldn't try to paint it yourself. I actually asked the same question to a paint shop a while back about the moldings, and tons of different paints are required to do it well. I believe it was around 12, but that includes 3 paints which primer the plastic, so you can just cut over those. If you want it clear coated, you must apply like 3 different clear coats, and some prep paints, etc. If you don't clear coat, then its gonna chip off so fast, you wondered why you bother. Since Im guessing you scraped below your splitter, don't worry about it. Unless your car is a show car, its not that important. If its just a few scratches here and there, just use touch up paint to hid the scratches. Otherwise, bite the bullet and take it to a shop.

[Scott Yu]

Hey Spencer,

I can understand the desire to save money! :)

DISCLAIMER: I don't do any sort of commercial painting, I'm just seriously dedicated to finding new ways of being a cheapass.

I know there are chemical paint strippers that might be more suited to your needs than sanding - have a look at eastwood automotive products http://www.eastwoodcompany.com

Problem is, you're going to chew away some of the primer layers, no matter how you do it. But you just wanted to get an idea of how it looks, right?

If I was nuts enough to try it myself (I might... I am kind of nuts), I'd strip the paint with a chemical stripper, to w/in 1-2 base primer layers. I'd sand it down with high-grit (1200-2000) paper to get a smooth surface and repair any bumps. I'd probably put down 2-3 layers of primer, and then I'd spray Sikkens paint (you can actually buy Sikkens paint in spray-can form, I've seen it listed at dealers) in 3-4 coats, lightly wet-sanding between each coat to ensure a smooth surface. Finally, I'd spray at least 2 layers sikkens clear coat and wet-sand each one using micromesh polishing cloths.

As for the additional steps that someone mentioned above, it's likely you won't need to worry about special plastic primers and getting it 'baked' (to remove any leftover mold compounds, etc), as your piece is fiberglass.

just a few cheap suggestions and I've never worked with fiberglass before, so please take with a large grain of rock salt.

scott

PS - oh yeah, you said you dinged it up a bit, right? You'd probably want to smooth that over before you get busy. I know people sell fiberglass repair kits, but I haven't had the chance to try one out. It would probably be a good idea to practice on a piece of fiberglass scrap first.

PPS - have you ever wet-sanded paint? You're not going to get a very even spray with the can, and it will take a lot of work and patience to get a coating that approaches the smoothness and glossiness of your factory coat. Any remaining 'orange peel' from the spray will have to be wet-sanded - I think it's a good idea to try painting and wet-sanding some fiberglass scrap before you do the real thing. It will also give you a chance to play with different fiberglass primers, if you strip yours all the way down.


Originally posted by Spencer
Yesterday I bought a used Racing Dynamics DTM front splitter (like the lightweight one) for my 95 M3. It was painted red (my car is white), but i decided to bolt it on anyways to see how it looks. After driving around for only one day, it is already scratched and dinged on the underside from driveways, and steep slopes from hanging so low. I was going to get a body shop to professionally paint it but now, I dont see why I should spend around $200 for a pro job when it will get torn up so quickly. So I have decided that I am going to try to paint it my self and see how it turns out. If it is really bad, I will get a professional job, but it doesnt hurt to try for under $30.

Anyways, I have a few questions on the process. And if it matters, the splitter is fiberglass.

How should I go about removing the red paint already on it? Wet sanding?

Once I remove the paint, what are the correct steps? It is just primer, then paint, then gloss coat? Any other steps?

How many layers/coats should I use for each step?

Also, can anyone recommend a brand and a color code that will work good. Something over the internet would be helpful. I am not sure what shade of white will match my alpine white. (most brands have frost white, super white, etc).

Any other help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Spencer]

Is sikkens the paint that bmw uses on their cars? If so, does anyone know of an online store or anywhere that might sell this paint in spray can form? Thanks for the help

[eurospeed]

Hmm, I thought it was Glasurit, but I'm not sure on this one (it could be just for the VW/Audis). Can someone confirm the paint?

[Scott Yu]

Hmm... I'm not sure if it's Sikkens or Glasurit now. Wait - didn't they change midway through M3 production? Now I'm confused.

Regardless of this, call circle bmw or even your local dealer and ask about getting factory touch-up paint in spray form. I know I've seen it at Circle somewhere.


Originally posted by Spencer
Is sikkens the paint that bmw uses on their cars? If so, does anyone know of an online store or anywhere that might sell this paint in spray can form? Thanks for the help