sprayin bumpers.

[cunliffe]

i am sprayin my bumpers but i have never dun it b4. n e tips.i have the primer and spray but it does not seem 2 go on gud. its all patchey like the plastic is soakin it up. n e 1 have n tips or if i should do n e b4 sparyin it. sand it down with 400 wet dry paper. or should i not do it. let the pros do it?

[Jim]

I'm spraying my rear bumper up at the minute.

What you will find is that it's all in the preperation as to how well they will come out.

I'm assuming your doing it with cans and not a compressor?

What i did was this...

1) I'm trying to get rid of the "dimpled" effect, so I started off with an electric sander and some fairly harsh sandpaper, not wet and dry. but try and get some decent sandpaper that won't clog up to easily.

2) once you've got it fairly smooth use p38 to fill any small holes there might be.

3) sand down with a finer sandpaper

4) get yourself some "spray filler" this is a mustard coloured spray and is thicker than primer. apply as even a coat as possible over the bumper. Allow at least 24 hours for any filler/paint to dry before you go back to the bumper.

5) once the first coat of spray filler is dry sand it down with wet and dry. I used 400wet and dry first. You might need to give the bumper another coat of spray filler once youve sanded it down once. Remember, be patient.

6) once your happy with the smoothness of the spray filler use Plasticote primer. This is specifically for plastic and bonds with the spray filler really well.

7) sand down the first coat of primer with 400wet and dry. Apply as many layers of primer and sand back with 1200 wet and dry until you are happy that you have a smooth enough finish.

8) spray with chosen colour. once you've done the first coat of the colour sand this back with 1500 wet and dry. then apply another coat. The trick with spraying with cans is to get as even a coat as possible. Use quick strokes of spray and try and spray in the same direction along the whole bumper. Spray in a clean, warm environment if you can. If you want spray with some laquer afterwards to give a better shine to the paint.

these are rough guidelines. I've found this method works pretty well for a DIY job, but you're not really going to get as good a job as the pros from cans.

Good luck

Jim