[Rich J]

Well like the title says, the previous owner messed up my front bumper. I can't tell if it hit something and it left a paint mark on it or something but it resulted in him trying to repaint it and it came out terrible. Its not noticeable from about 4-5 feet away but once you get a little closer you can see the disgustingness of it. Every time I look at it it makes me sick honestly. So since its already messed up with a bad paint job I figured why not try my hand at it right? It would definatley look better than this persons job which would make me happy. I will get pics when its brighter to show what it looks like now.

And yes I would be using a rattle can unfortunatley. And I noticed rustoleum makes paint with exact manufacturer paint codes, so I bought a can because I got sick of my interior trim being blue and even though I heard of it not looking good I started to make it the color of my car (with the paint rustoleum says is the exact match to my cars color via paint code) and I am not going to lie, it's a pretty damn good match if you ask me. When I take pics of my bumper how it is now I will take a pic with one piece I painted with the stuff next to my actual car color to show you all.

Now I know a lot of you don't like rustoleums products but the way I see it, why get pissed off looking at the previous owners messup when IF I mess it up I can at least say I did it, even though I am 99% sure when I do it, it will look better than what he did which would make me happy. So here come the questions.

For starters how the hell do you exactly take off the front bumper? There is no way in hell I am doing this without taking it off lol.

Next what grit sand paper do you guys think I should use to rough it up enough for painting? Any other prep things that should be done as well?

Is there any exact kind of primer that should be used? Or just any typical primer?

Since the bumper is urathane think there will be a problem making the paint stick? This stuff from rustoleum is essentially touch up paint in a rattle can, so I would THINK they would take precautions because of that and make a paint that would stick to that material. Is this something adhesion promoter couldn't fix?

If adhesion promoter is a good idea, would it go... wash, sand, wash the sanding grits off, 1-2 coats of adhesion promoter, primer, 1 more coat of adhesion promoter, 3 coats of color, 2-3 coats of clear, wet sand, 1 more coat of clear?

Now this was just an idea because I am SICK of looking at my bumper like this and I know I can make it look better even doing something like this. And I don't have the funds right now for something professional. So someone help me out a little? Especially Zat get your ass in here lol

[Six Banger]

oh and please stay away from rattle cans. they're decent but if you really care about cars you'll notice the difference especially if you clear coat it out of a rattle can and don't do the entire bumper or are really good at blending... it will look dull and just off overall. Wait for a $99 bumper special at Macco and prep it yourself. They offer a weird clear/color coat thing I got on my 94 F150 for the entire truck and it looked great for the price. Macco is good for painting, prep work, not so much

If you insist on doing it all yourself, the prep work is what makes or breaks it. This is where pics can help us. Is the bumper cracked at all? Did the previous owner rattle can or brush it on? How big of a blemish is it? Your best bet is to strip off as much paint as possible since the stuff he put on is probably crap. You need to be careful that you don't damage the bumper plastic though, so don't go too crazy with the sand paper. Then get a good filler primer. this can actually build up and fill small imperfections. wet sand in between coats with 800-1000 grit and do 2 or 3 coats if there are small scratches from sanding in the bumper. Next do you rustolemum color. Do 3-4 coats of it and let it dry to see if it covers primer (lucky for you your car is grey) wet sand it with really high grit (1500-2000 even) and then a couple coats of clear. You can wet sand the clear with 3000 grit very lightly if you want then buff it out after its good and dry (after a week of so)

I'd offer to drive down and help you, but works a killer right now

[anthonydalrymple]

Honestly, you're best off taking the "fresh" cover to a reputable paint & body shop to be painted too match. Give them "all the time in the world" to do the job and it'll be very inexpensive. best part; they can install it after the paint has cured for cheap as well IMHO..... p.s. P.S. Yes, I've done this with my cowl hood & smooth trunk lid with very good results....

[Six Banger]

+1 I agree if he is repainting the whole bumper. If he is just doing a spot job then doing it at home is cheaper. Worse comes to worse he messes up and then gets it redone professionally. He's only in it for some rustoleum and sandpaper so it would be that expensive of a screwup

[mcqueen]

Originally Posted by Six Banger He's only in it for some rustoleum and sandpaper so it would be that expensive of a screwup

Ew Rustoleum

Krylon is much better
If nothing else, their nozzle is 100x better

[Zatrekaz]

A little paint theory

Honestly... this will not turn out very good with rattle can. Rattle can is good for smaller projects, but the small spray coverage will not allow you to get a uniform smooth finish.

However, if you must heres a quick list of materials:

1. Sand paper: 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 2000, 3000 if you can find it
2. Paint: Adhesion Promoter, Primer, Color, Clear
3. Other: Rubbing Alcohol, Microfiber Towels, Spray bottle with water, Hair Dryer/Heat gun to assist in drying (not nessecary, but helpful)
4. Finishing: Buffer (not an Autozone el cheap'o), Compound Polish, Finishing Polish, Polishing pads.

Refer to the linked thread for what sand paper to use when. If you want a good reflective finish, you WILL need to a buffer to polish out the wetsanded final clear coat.

If you want to continue with the project, let me know and I will assist your further on the process.