Repainting bumper...prep work?

[mmzcee]

I've done some searches, but most deal with how to paint a grey bumper. I am going to repaint a bumper from my 328i, which has seen some better days.

I want to paint over the factory paint, so I don't think primer is necessary? but I do believe I still need to prep it, such as sanding ?

attached are pics to let you see what I'm up against, mind you the flash from the camera makes it seem 200x worse than it really is.

btw I am getting a new nose panel and painting that as well, so don't worry about all those bloody rock chips

questions.

1. how do I remove the trim mouldings off? including the 'mesh' in the middle of the bumper

2. is a primer necessary for repainting the bumper? I plan on painting on top of factory paint.

I am going to be using custom matched spray paint from tower, and getting a couple of cans of clear spray from duplicolor...I've seen it done before with amazing results, no worries.

[Robstah]

make sure you use degreaser on the bumper. after that, sand it down using 600grit to make sure that the paint will adhere nicely. i would still recommend a primer though just for safety. gl with your venture.

[mmzcee]

what's a good degreaser? any home products..? like 409 or something

[Daved]

You need to primer it, even if you're going over the current paint. And you need to take the clear coat off first (sand it down 'till you remove it completely).

[jonjon0nline]

Damn, I want to do this too. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread.

[tilley]

start by wiping down with a spirit wipe to remove all bts then rub down with p600 wet and dry using water if there are lots of chips use p400 to get rid of them all finishing off with a p600 or p800 is even better . prime bumper to be on the safe side as this showsup any small imperfections that u may have missed when primers dry rub down lightly with p800 again degrease with spirit wipe again and paint
hope this helps

[choffa]

To do it correctly, you should remove it & put it on saw horses. Degrease with a commercial wax/grease remover (basically naptha) available at a body shop supply (yellowpages). Sand with 400 grit wet/dry paper to highlight bad spots. If you cut through to the original plastic don't worry, you'll be priming it. Fill chips and gouges with a flexible filler made especially for flex bumbers, apply to small areas with a single edge razor blade. Block sand to ensure perfect smoothness. Prime with a flexible bumper primer & block sand again with 600 grit. If you cut through to the original surface, prime & sand again. Degrease before finishing. The paint used should have a flex additive and adhesion promoter to ensure that it works on a flexible plastic piece.

CJH

[slavko]

prep work, like sanding? you better be sanding it down if you want the paint to stick to the bumper.320 grit is good for a finish before spray.if you don't wanna primer it then you can just use a sealer.using spray paint to paint a bumper and clear coat in a can is the ghettoest thing i ever heard. From reading your post i am 100% sure you are going to fork your bumper up.heres my advice take it to a good body shop and pay the extra money to have it done right.may cost more but its worth it.

[RRdawho?]

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...=death+rebirth

Enjoy.

[jonjon0nline]

Any luck with the project? I think I want to try this to my nose panel first.

[mmzcee]

got the bumper off and primered. so many imperfections on the lower part though, deep scratches, rock chips...probably would need like 200 grit sanding to get em all out, but I'm lazy so I just primered over it after lightly sanding with 400 grit.

what I did was:

1. 409 degreaser and rinse
2. 400 grit wet sand, very quick. probably not good enough
3. rinse
4. dry
5. two primer coats, waited 10 min in between.
6. sand again with 400 grit.
7. wipe off sand residue
8. last light primer coat

used 2 spray bottles of 10 oz. primer bottles just on the bumper, used only about 1/2 of a bottle for the nose panel. I used the cheapest primer I could find, $2.79 a can.

pics

[mmzcee]

ehh

if you look closely you can see the rock chips and scratches that were primered over, but it doesn't really matter, as you can't see it unless your head is 1 feet from the bumper. So I plan to just paint over it and we'll see what happens. I might go and buy some filler primer tomorrow and give it 2 more coats of primer...lol thats like 5 coats of primer!

[jonjon0nline]

are you going to paint outside? spraygun or just can? keep me updated as my bumper/nose panel was just as bad as yours.

[mmzcee]

heres the nose panel primered and ready to be painted. this is the new one btw.

I'm going be painting in my garage with custom matched spray cans, I got two 16 oz cans of my paint, and just bought two more cans of 12 oz duplicolor clear coat..ripoff, $5.79 a can for clear!!!

the clear coat and custom matched cans come with that new designed tip, so it sprays paint like a spray gun, for even coats, so there really isn't a need for a gun, except that the gun has the hardener stuff in it.

[jonjon0nline]

Ever thought about removing the old paint first? With aircraft remover or something? Just so paint chips wouldn't be an issue? anyone have thoughts on this?

[dmurray14]

Really anxious to see how this turns out...I would like to try this on my bumper as well. Where did you get your custom matched paint from, and how much if you don't mind me asking?

Edit: Also, where did the nose panel come from? I need one of them, too!

Thanks,
Dan

[G. P. Burdell]

For those of you who have repainted your own front bumpers and nose panels - how's the chip/scratch resistance of the materials you used?

I'd really like to repaint my car's front end, but I also want the end result to be durable.

[mmzcee]

removing old paint using a sand blaster would warp the bumper plastic, as with the fragile nose panel.

if you want to remove old paint, the only way would be sanding it down completely, which would take forever.

DAMNIT!!! towerpaint just shipped my paint via UPS, sch. delivery on dec 28th??? what the hell...can't drive my car till then I guess, too lazy to put everything back on and off again.

[mmzcee]

Really anxious to see how this turns out...I would like to try this on my bumper as well. Where did you get your custom matched paint from, and how much if you don't mind me asking?

Edit: Also, where did the nose panel come from? I need one of them, too!

Thanks,
Dan

I got my paint from towerpaint.com, they have custom matched paint cans 16oz for $15 each.

I got the nosepanel from partstrain.com

[dmurray14]

I got my paint from towerpaint.com, they have custom matched paint cans 16oz for $15 each.

I got the nosepanel from partstrain.com

Thanks - which paint did you get - the lacquer or enamel? I have jet black if that makes a difference. Also, what did you use for primer and clear?

Also, does anyone know if you can bondo over the rough spots before you primer? Or will that not work on plastic...


Thanks,
Dan

[Robstah]

they sent me enamel. the stuff works wonders. i have 3 extra cans sitting right next to my pc waiting for some more touchups to my car, but 30degrees is just a tad bit too cold to do so.

[dmurray14]

What kind of clear and primer did you use?

Thanks,
Dan

[jonjon0nline]

What kind of clear and primer did you use?

Thanks,
Dan

Refer to post #11 and #14