Black Infiniti I30 bumper repair & detail

[RickRack]

Originally Posted by LightngSVT

Holy crap you have "skilz"!!!!! Did you spray bomb or use a gun? Froma what we can see in the pics so far it looks excellent!!!

All this was done with spray bombs. I got Dupli-color sandable primer, Dupli-color acrylic lacquer paint and Dupli-color clear laquer. I got all the supplies at a local Auto Zone.

Basically after the first coat of primer I let it sit for 10 minutes before I added another coat. After 3 coats, I let it cure for a half hour and started the 1st coat of paint, which I used the same rule of thumb (let each coat dry for 10 minutes before adding another). I wanted to let the paint sit over night to cure because there was some sanding involved and I didn't want to jump the gun and chance ruining the paint. The next day I wetsanded the area I painted as well as the top piece of the bumper and cleared it to blend my tape line and so the texture of the paint would match. When I was done clearing I let it sit so it could cure while I detailed the rest of the car. After it dried I buffed the bumper with 3M microfinishing compound which smoothed out the paint considerably and reduced some of the orange peel. After compounding, I poilshed it with some Optimum Polish using a foam finishing pad. I didn't put any kind of wax or sealant over it because the paint has to cure for 30 days.

I wish I had more after pictures, but my battery died and I didn't have my charger handy so thats it.

What do you guys think?? Should I switch trades to a body man?? Just kidding, I think I'll stick to detailing for now.

Thanks for looking.

~Rick

[Mad iX]

When I was looking at the pics of the damage I definitely wasn't expecting to see such a process. I don't know of any detailer who would go that far, you're the first!
Working with black helps, but the color still matches 99.9% from what I can see.

[4830Deuce]

Very nice work...great improvement!!! You have ballz...i would ahve never tried that...

-Justin

[gmblack3a]

Rick, That is amazing! Thanks for laying out all the steps as they will be helpful to someone in the future.

[roadmaster_Tx]

Great job!
I did have one question tho, did u re-clear the whole bumper? if so what grit sand paper did u sand the rest of the bumper down with? 1000?
And this was done using a spray can? or a actual spray gun with compressor?
thanks

[ceiol]

wow .

great skills.

[Pontman43]

Man! Nice job buffing that out. lol Geez though, thats a lot of work and it turned out great! I dont think he will be taking it to a body shop now.

[mrecktid]

Wow you are insane!! How much did you charge???

Where did you learn to do all of that?

A+++++++++++++++

[RickRack]

Originally Posted by roadmaster_Tx

Great job!
I did have one question tho, did u re-clear the whole bumper? if so what grit sand paper did u sand the rest of the bumper down with? 1000?
And this was done using a spray can? or a actual spray gun with compressor?
thanks

I didn't re-clear the entire bumper, just the top piece above the chrome trim because when I did the work on the passenger side I masked off the other half of the bumper which made a tape line. When I wetsanded the side I did the repair on, I just continued over to the other side and sanded down the tape line so it wasn't raised up. I used 2000 grit wetsand paper on both sides (so the clear would stick) and laid down the 2 coats of clear 10 minutes between each coat. With the clear laid over both sides, the tape line disappeared.

I did all this with Spray bombs.

[ebpcivicsi]

Man, that's *really* impressive, props to you for attempting(and for successfully completing) that repair!!!

My question is: After the black was laid, you said that you sanded it lightly before adding the clear. Did you buff the bare paint (sans clear) to remove the marks before adding the clear?

You should at least offer this service if you do any dealer work. I know there are guys around here that *only* do that sort of thing. You could be a one-stop-shop for the delaers.

[klnyc]

All that from a spray can? Unberfreakinbeliveable.
I can't imagine if you get your self a spray gun Paint that black I30 to white

[LightngSVT]

So you would have had to have a tape or blend line on the drivers side of the bumper cover. What did you do to eliminate that? Once again, you have serious talent!