Can I spray paint my black bumper properly

[ViperACR]

I wanted to know if it was ok and whether a good paint job could be had to paint a black bumper on a car with spray paint. The bumper has many stone chips so what I was going to do was go through the process of painting the bumper in the following fashion.



I was possibly going to remove the bumper but maybe I might be able to do the job with the bumper on the car but of course it will be harder but I do have a hoist that I can use to make it easier. I was going to mask the car and then sand the car with 600 grit sandpaper but taking care not to take all the paint off to the metal as I wanted to keep the factory paint on as the initial base. From there I was going to use several cans of black basecoat paint and give it 2 or 3 coats of paint. I would then wet sand the bumper with 1000 grit to 1500 grit sandpaper to remove any over spray and orange peel before I spray paint the bumper with 2 or 3 coats of clear coat.







My question to you is can this be done effectively with spray cans and will it work if I take the time to do it right. Please get back to me and let me know your opinion on this

[70fastback]

I have used a product called Trim Paint from a company called SEM on black metal trim parts of my car (wiper arms and pillars between front/rear door). I scuffed the area with grey (fine) scotchbrite pad, masked, cleaned with paint prep solvent, and sprayed. The spray pattern out of the can is awesome. It dried great and looks brand new. I purchased from local body supply store for $9 usd. I think SEM also has a product called Bumper Black. So, I say yes give it a try. As for the chips, you could try sanding to feather or fill with some green spot putty.

[ViperACR]

Thanks for the reply. So your saying that this product would work well on a bumper. Your are saying that the product came out so well that you did not need to wet sand the paint. What about a clear coat. I wanted to give it a high gloss finish. if i use this product can i also spray paint it with clearcoat or does this company have a clear coat that can be used.



Thanks

[safetyman2010]

Originally posted by ViperACR

I wanted to know if it was ok and whether a good paint job could be had to paint a black bumper on a car with spray paint. The bumper has many stone chips so what I was going to do was go through the process of painting the bumper in the following fashion.



I was possibly going to remove the bumper but maybe I might be able to do the job with the bumper on the car but of course it will be harder but I do have a hoist that I can use to make it easier. I was going to mask the car and then sand the car with 600 grit sandpaper but taking care not to take all the paint off to the metal as I wanted to keep the factory paint on as the initial base. From there I was going to use several cans of black basecoat paint and give it 2 or 3 coats of paint. I would then wet sand the bumper with 1000 grit to 1500 grit sandpaper to remove any over spray and orange peel before I spray paint the bumper with 2 or 3 coats of clear coat.







My question to you is can this be done effectively with spray cans and will it work if I take the time to do it right. Please get back to me and let me know your opinion on this

First of all what type of car are you working on and is the bumper plastic or metal? Secondly - you don`t wet sand the base coat only the clear. A proper procedure for painting a bumper would be to sand any damaged areas with 220 and then 400 grit wet/dry paper and then prime those areas. you would then sand and feather the primer with 600 grit paper. Inspect the bumpers surface for imperfections and fill minor nicks etc.. with quick dry glazing putty and sand with 600 grit. It is a good idea to use a "guide coat" when sanding the primer as it will show high/low spots in the surface so you can correct them before you go to paint. After the surface is fully sanded and prepped you can scuff all areas to be clear caoted with a 200o grit scuff pad and then clean the entire work area with wax/silicone remover. Layer the base coat in light coats over the primered areas and when coverage is complete feather and blend the base coat into the surrounding paint after the base coat has dried apply your clear coat and remember clear coat should look how it will look finished when you are applying it. If it looks too dry apply a wetter coat or wet sand to smooth it out but be careful not to put too much on or you will get runs.

[ViperACR]

I have a 2000 black lincoln LS with a plastic bumper. so your saying that you never wet sand over clear coat. What you did not mentio was whether it is ok to use spray paint instead of a spray gun. I am assuming that if you wet sand over the base coat and it is a small area that using spray paint of good quality will work. Can i paint over the existing paint or do i have to sand the original factory paint completely off. It sounds from what you are saying that if properly sanded the primer will stick to the original paint. What kind of primer can i put on from a spray can and what kind of paint can I use



Thanks

Originally posted by ShineShop

First of all what type of car are you working on and is the bumper plastic or metal? Secondly - you don`t wet sand the base coat only the clear. A proper procedure for painting a bumper would be to sand any damaged areas with 220 and then 400 grit wet/dry paper and then prime those areas. you would then sand and feather the primer with 600 grit paper. Inspect the bumpers surface for imperfections and fill minor nicks etc.. with quick dry glazing putty and sand with 600 grit. It is a good idea to use a "guide coat" when sanding the primer as it will show high/low spots in the surface so you can correct them before you go to paint. After the surface is fully sanded and prepped you can scuff all areas to be clear caoted with a 200o grit scuff pad and then clean the entire work area with wax/silicone remover. Layer the base coat in light coats over the primered areas and when coverage is complete feather and blend the base coat into the surrounding paint after the base coat has dried apply your clear coat and remember clear coat should look how it will look finished when you are applying it. If it looks too dry apply a wetter coat or wet sand to smooth it out but be careful not to put too much on or you will get runs.

[safetyman2010]

Originally posted by ViperACR

I have a 2000 black lincoln LS with a plastic bumper. so your saying that you never wet sand over clear coat. What you did not mentio was whether it is ok to use spray paint instead of a spray gun. I am assuming that if you wet sand over the base coat and it is a small area that using spray paint of good quality will work. Can i paint over the existing paint or do i have to sand the original factory paint completely off. It sounds from what you are saying that if properly sanded the primer will stick to the original paint. What kind of primer can i put on from a spray can and what kind of paint can I use



Thanks

If you have no experience or equipmet I would recommend taking this job to a quality body shop. It is not really a DIY type job unless you have some serious training - I know because I just completed training for minor paint repairs (bumper scuffs and minor body damage). You could paint it from a can but I think you would find that the results will probably be less than acceptable (especially on a nice car like yours and on an unforgiving colour like black). To answer your question, you only need to completely sand out damaged areas - not the entire bumper. Let`s say you scuffed the DS corner of the bumper - you would first clean the affected area. Sand the actual damage with 220 until the damage is removed. Follow up with 400 in the opposite direction you sanded with 220 and once again only in the affected area. You would then primer the damaged and sanded area until you achieve at least 3 full coats of coverage. Sand the primer with 600 and check for imperfections and fill with glazing putty if necessary and resand with 600. Scuff the entire area with 2000 grit scuff pad to ensure a good bond for the clear coat. Spray base coat in light coats covering the primer until you achieve complete coverage. Blend out the basecoat into the surrounding area a few inches to blend the reapir into the rest of the paint. You then spray your clear coat in 2 coats (1) cover coat - in which you spray a light coat to cover the entire damaged area and blend (2) wet coat - a nice even wet coat of clear which gives even coverage and a nice shine. The clear will look the way it will look done when you spray it so if it doesn`t look right you are doing something wrong. Immediately after clearing the area you hit the edges of the clear with blending solvent to make the edges of the repair "melt" into the original clear and blend the area for an even finish that does not look noticably different than the original paint. The paint will need to dry and cure for a few hours and then if necessary wet sand with 2000 and buff out to a beautiful shine.



Like I said earlier, if you don`t have the necessary equipment I wouldn`t recommend you try this but thought I would give you a little insight into what goes into a repair of this type. I have all the equpment for small reapirs but send all major work to a local body shop. Good luck.

[ViperACR]

I appreciate your help. I wnated to first try to do it myself and if that did not work then I would definitely send it to a body shop. I was just curious as to what kind of job I could do. It sounds like you definitely do not recommend spray painting it. If it has been done before does anyone know what kind of a lasting job spray painting will give.



One last question is how long do you wait after you have painted the basecoat before you can paint the clear on.



Thanks

[safetyman2010]

Originally posted by ViperACR

I appreciate your help. I wnated to first try to do it myself and if that did not work then I would definitely send it to a body shop. I was just curious as to what kind of job I could do. It sounds like you definitely do not recommend spray painting it. If it has been done before does anyone know what kind of a lasting job spray painting will give.



One last question is how long do you wait after you have painted the basecoat before you can paint the clear on.



Thanks

You can spray the clear as soon as the base coat is dry. The base coat should look dry and have little to no shine so when it looks like that you should be ready. A word to the wise - preparartion is the key to success. Always use wax and silicone remover in the entire area to be painted before you are ready to paint or you will be introduced to the dreaded fisheye.