Anyone restore the front end of a Nissan Xterra before?

RaysWay

RaysWay

Autopia Specialist
I detailed a 2002 Nissan Xterra last weekend and the front end is in horrible condition:

20150118_100647.jpg



I didn't touch the front bumper because I knew it needed a lot of work, but I'd like to completely restore it the next time I get my hands on this Xterra. I'm thinking of removing the front bumper so I have full access to the headlights and so I can scuff/paint the front bumper with flat black paint.

I just like challenges and getting this front end 100% would be a dramatic improvement.

Any ideas?

p.s. the bumper is a hard plastic and the owner told me she tried using a few products so far and nothing has worked.
 
Don't scuff the bumper at all if youre planning to paint. You will never get the scuff marks out. Painting plastic is a completely different world from metal or previously painted surfaces. And if you go straight to paint you will have problems as it simply won't adhere.

If painting is the route you want to take, clean the bumper as if you were going to apply a coating. You want bare plastic without anything that would impair the paint from adhering. Before you paint it, get some adhesion promoter. You can get it in a rattle can at most auto parts stores. This step is 100% necessary for proper adhesion. Using straight paint without the adhesion promoter will not work. The paint will peel. Just spray 2 very light coats of adhesion promoter on the plastic. Don't go for full wet coverage, that's overkill. Just get complete coverage with 2 light coats. It will dry clear and dull almost as if you didn't spray it at all. Once its dry then proceed to use your flat black paint, or whatever paint you like.

If you get a flat black paint that says its specifically for plastic (krylon), you can skip the adhesion promoter as its already mixed in.

But whatever you do DONT scuff it up first. You will scuff up the texture of the plastic and in order to restore a even consistent texture after painting you'll need to spray some sort of textured paint to make it look decent
 
Great reply and information, Shane..

Another thing that needs to be considered is using a Flex Agent with the paint so it will not break off easily when bumped, etc., in the parking lot or wherever..

At the shops I worked at, we always put a Flex Agent into the paint just for that reason..

The plastic parts are flexible to a degree, you want the paint to be the same so it wont crack or break off..

Just looked at the picture again - you would want to if possible, to match that original color or it will look way different.. It looks like a dark gray not flat black on the front bumper, right ??

Dan F
 
I have one sitting at the shop that I did an entire interior resto on.

The front end looks exactly the same...faded trim and horribly yellowed headlights. I'm thinking about using a product from SEM to restore the front bumper. I'm not sure any trim restorer product will fix that but I can try and chime back in this thread.
 

What about using Solution Finish? This would be a great resto project and test.

So far I have found SF to work very well. And the best results are when I using something like DLUX to seal the SF in. I know SF is working on a sealer product as well.

 
TroyScherer said:

What about using Solution Finish? This would be a great resto project and test.

So far I have found SF to work very well. And the best results are when I using something like DLUX to seal the SF in. I know SF is working on a sealer product as well.

Click to expand...

This would be a good time to test SF. I have used the SEM bumper coat years ago on a 88 Honda Civic. Turned out real nice and lasted several years never garaged...or washed lol.
 
I would like to see you try a strong APC like a taw let it sit, hit with bhb the rinse. Let dry really well and use a product like GTech trim. If it worked on that it would be a great test. I used it. On a faded cowl over the summer and it still looks good.

Vega@Autopia said:
I detailed a 2002 Nissan Xterra last weekend and the front end is in horrible condition:

20150118_100647.jpg



I didn't touch the front bumper because I knew it needed a lot of work, but I'd like to completely restore it the next time I get my hands on this Xterra. I'm thinking of removing the front bumper so I have full access to the headlights and so I can scuff/paint the front bumper with flat black paint.

I just like challenges and getting this front end 100% would be a dramatic improvement.

Any ideas?

p.s. the bumper is a hard plastic and the owner told me she tried using a few products so far and nothing has worked.
Click to expand...
 
I did one some time back...not quite as bad as this meaning the black hard plastic part. I used PB PP by hand and got OK results..That said the plastic is clouded and nothing is going to bring the luster back to 100% it's in the plastic not on the plastic like oxidation. As a detailer you have to know when enough is enough and these are the best results. The grainy plastic was much easier for me and came out real good...wash with soap and APC with a good plastic brush..then applies several coats of PB TR..The over all look was very good and the customer (neighbor) was very happy.
 
I have seen some videos on YouTube restoring plastic trim with a heat gun. Personally I haven't tried it but it's a suggestion. I don't think you could make it any worse than what it already is.
 
I've had a fair amount of luck buffing similar plastic with M105 on a MF pad....follow with a thorough cleaning with APC then IPA, and coat/restore with product of choice.
 
I vote heat gun. I've used it on trim at a used dealership worked at when detailer cars. Start with a good degreaser and a horse/boar hair brush and clean very well. Then pull out the heat gun. Be careful not to heat the paint as it will bubble especially paint on bumpers. Then you can probably hit it with a good protectant like 303 to smooth it all together.

It doesn't take too much heat with the gun. Just like using buffer, keep the source moving. Try not to hit one spot too long until you get the hang of it. Start slow.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top