# Respraying damaged plastic bumper - Advice guys



## RenoSport182 (Apr 1, 2006)

Alrite fellas 

Edit (07/10/10) - see page 2! ta

Can anyone advise on weather the following process is correct for respraying my plastic bumper?






Pic of the damage - not a lot but it  me off!










Background to the story in another thread here: http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=185128&highlight=spray+paint

I was looking out for T4RFY but he seems to have become a Guest now 

I've got some IPA which i'm guessing will be ok to prep & clean the area properly.

I know i need to use a plastic primer NOT an etch one, i'll be using one from Hycote and i've sorted the Paint from Paints4u (spot on colour match) along with some Upol #1 Clear aswell :thumb:

Any advice welcome, got all the gear just no idea :lol: nah i have _some_ idea! just looking for any do's/don'ts really.

Cheers.


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## andy-mcq (Sep 26, 2008)

yes thats pretty much how its done, however thats on a door trim which can be masked off , yours is the bumper, so your either going to have to paint the full bumper are do a blow in, which will mean you need a fade out thinner.


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## RenoSport182 (Apr 1, 2006)

andy-mcq said:


> yes thats pretty much how its done, however thats on a door trim which can be masked off , yours is the bumper, so your either going to have to paint the full bumper are do a blow in, which will mean you need a *fade out thinner*.


Duly thanked :thumb:

On that point, is it absolutely necessary? i couldn't just wet sand it to blend it? it really is pretty minor yet very annoying :wall:

p.s 44 views! come on guys... where's the replies!!


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## isctony (Sep 24, 2008)

I'd like to know more about this too, I have a small scuff and was wondering if wet sanding and polishing would blend the paint, negating the need for a whole bumper respray, cheers!


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## andy-mcq (Sep 26, 2008)

when blending the clear coat into the old clear coat its easier if you start at one corner so you only have to blend the new paint once.
hope this helps

do what ever repair is needed, after primer is flatted etc, u need to scotch the original paint for the new paint to ''grip'' to.
you have to scotch enough for the paint ''color'' to go on then the clear coat to overlap it, then the fade out will go slightly over the end of the clear coat and on the area that has been scothed down with some of the scothced area still left. when it is fully dry you can then flaten the clearcoat to remove orange peel are whatever, then using a not to aggresive polish polish the area which has had the fade out sprayed on, this should leave a nicly polished area with no marks to were the paint has been painted to.
black can be one of the hardest colors to get this right, if it doesnt work it will look like a line going thru the paint edge.

hope this makes sense


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## RenoSport182 (Apr 1, 2006)

andy-mcq said:


> *when blending the clear coat* into the old clear coat its easier if you start at one corner so you only have to blend the new paint once.
> hope this helps
> 
> do what ever repair is needed, after primer is flatted etc, u need to scotch the original paint for the new paint to ''grip'' to.
> ...


Thanks for that andy but i was told you don't blend the clearcoat you blend the basecoat colour then apply the clear 

On the second point, i would have to wetsand/ 'damage' more of the area in order to then respray the same area?

Sorry if that don't make sense!


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## andy-mcq (Sep 26, 2008)

I'll go into it more tomoz, I've got a bumper I'm repairing so I'll mark it out on that prob make more sense


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## RenoSport182 (Apr 1, 2006)

andy-mcq said:


> I'll go into it more tomoz, I've got a bumper I'm repairing so I'll mark it out on that prob make more sense


Any news buddy? eagerly awaited the update! found this in another old thread here http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=7592

That explain very well?? I'm just a bit confused with the blend stage - some say after you've applied the colour only others say blend after the Clear stage  surely Clear doesn't or shouldn't need blending as it's clear or is that just too simple!


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## andy-mcq (Sep 26, 2008)

what i mean when blending the clear coat is blending the clearcoat so not color into the original paint so you can then polish it up with no edges.
ive been ill today so havnt been up to much, hopefully better later and i can go into it more
sorry about the delay


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## RenoSport182 (Apr 1, 2006)

andy-mcq said:


> what i mean when blending the clear coat is blending the clearcoat so not color into the original paint so you can then polish it up with no edges.
> ive been ill today so havnt been up to much, hopefully better later and i can go into it more
> sorry about the delay


Get well soon mate! no probs with the delay pal, i'll keep checking :thumb:


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## andy-mcq (Sep 26, 2008)

right i hope this makes sense as feeling like a bag of  im not up to much .
this is a chavved up focus that once was owned by a friend of mine.
as you can see on the bumper theres a scuff the size of a jeremy beadle hand (roughly).
the yellow area is the area the repair and primer would most likly take up.
red section is the area once the primer has been flattened down you would need to paint the basecoat (color) blended out over the primer .
basically, get the color to completly cover the primer then flick the color out to blend it into the old paint, lighter coats as you go further away.
the area marked off in green is were the clearcoat would get painted , once the basecoat has dried, the blobs of green were the middle of the bumper is , is the smallest section which keeps the blending of clear to the smallest area, the green blob is were the fade out thinner has been dusted over the clear coat, this helps take the edge off the clearcoat and if done right makes it look like you havnt just stopped with the clear coat.
hope this helps some more, any more questions feel free to ask


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## RenoSport182 (Apr 1, 2006)

andy-mcq said:


> right i hope this makes sense as feeling like a bag of  im not up to much .
> this is a chavved up focus that once was owned by a friend of mine.
> as you can see on the bumper theres a scuff the size of a jeremy beadle hand (roughly).
> the yellow area is the area the repair and primer would most likly take up.
> ...


Bump! right guys got all the gear now so i'm ready to give this a go! weather is pretty good too

I'll be trying to follow andy-mcq guide above but i'm wanting a little more detail in the steps involved - for example, do i wetsand the metallic color coat? heard yes and no for this.
How do i apply the Fade out correctly? Do i apply to the basecoat color and/or Laquer?

I want to make sure i do this properly.

I'm basically after a in depth step by step guide from people who know how to do this properly!

I want to make sure i do this properly hence all the stupid questions!!

Cheers.


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## andy-mcq (Sep 26, 2008)

basecoat- no need to flaten it down before laquer. just make sure dry!

laquer- try a nice dust coat first, slowly building it up, leave for a few minutes between coats. as previos coat goes tacky, should be ok then.

fade out just dust onto edge of laquer, few dust coats should be enough,

leave to dry 

make sure fully cured before flatting/polishing etc

need any more info just let me no


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## RenoSport182 (Apr 1, 2006)

*update...*

Well that was harder than i thought! anyway, i _think_ i did ok here's a pic as it stands now



Now it looks bad on that pic and i'll admit yes there is obviously work still to be done and i'm hoping i can refine the finish tomorrow after it's had time to cure.

The issues in that pic are these, the fade out spray has made the Paint or Clearcoat run - not sure which i think it's the clear which has resulted in the blobs and bits of sticky mess near the edges :wall:

I will be tackling this tomorrow as i said so looking for some advice in order to get rid of these problems - just to add i'm pretty confident they can be sorted as i (very gently) had a go at the edges with my nail and it started to peel away without any damage being caused :thumb:

I'm going to Wetsand using 2000-3000 then Polish up with Menz IP.


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## andy-mcq (Sep 26, 2008)

did you paint that to the edge of the masking tape to leave a edge??


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## RenoSport182 (Apr 1, 2006)

andy-mcq said:


> did you paint that to the edge of the masking tape to leave a edge??


Yep, i masked off the damaged area and it's left a slight edge as in the pic - that a bad move then?


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## andy-mcq (Sep 26, 2008)

RenoSport182 said:


> Yep, i masked off the damaged area and it's left a slight edge as in the pic - that a bad move then?


Certainly is , you need to blend the paint out to no edge at all, were the damage is on your bumper it would be easier to paint the full bumper. I'm on my phone now so when on laptop later I can explain more but what's your next step going to be?


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## RenoSport182 (Apr 1, 2006)

andy-mcq said:


> Certainly is , you need to blend the paint out to no edge at all, were the damage is on your bumper it would be easier to paint the full bumper. I'm on my phone now so when on laptop later I can explain more but what's your next step going to be?


Hi andy,

Hmm... next step, i think i'm going to try and wetsand the area where the rough parts are and see how that goes, failing that i'll start all over again and try again!

Question regards the Fade Out spray, can i still use it even though the clear/paint has cured for 24 hrs or so? thinking i may have to apply it again and see if that helps before i go back and start over again.


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## andy-mcq (Sep 26, 2008)

the fade out is used when the laquer is wet.

your best bet now is to wet sand the full paint job you have done with 800 wet with a rubber block, go over with 1500 wet,
scotch the full bumper up, color paint any areas that have had paint removed then re-laquer the full bumper.


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## RenoSport182 (Apr 1, 2006)

andy-mcq said:


> the fade out is used when the laquer is wet.
> 
> your best bet now is to wet sand the full paint job you have done with 800 wet with a rubber block, go over with 1500 wet,
> scotch the full bumper up, color paint any areas that have had paint removed then re-laquer the full bumper.


Here's where i am now, been hard at it for hours!! Wetsanded with 1500>2500>3000 then DA with Menz PG anf FF - improved but still way off as you can see





Will have to re-do it as you point out, can i use 1500 or 400 as i've got no 800 and will i have to use Primer again or can i just sand until dull then lay the color down then Clearcoat?


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## andy-mcq (Sep 26, 2008)

yeah 1500 will do , just flatten down til all smoothed, primer is only needed if you do a repair, eg with filler, are you go down to the plastic itself also on any imperfections to cover them up.


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## RenoSport182 (Apr 1, 2006)

andy-mcq said:


> yeah 1500 will do , just flatten down til all smoothed, primer is only needed if you do a repair, eg with filler, are you go down to the plastic itself also on any imperfections to cover them up.


Nice one, let me get this right... so i can just rub the area down again with 1500 until the gloss has gone dull then apply color straight away, it seems as smooth as a baby botty to me just wondering if i'd have to sand off the paint iv'e just put down thats all.


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## andy-mcq (Sep 26, 2008)

paint you have put on is fine to paint over, just make sure no edges.
you dont go to the edge of the masking tape with paint.
the amount of times i see this is amazing lol

as long as paint is all matt, eg flatend down with 1500/scotch pad its a ''key'' for the new paint to ''lock'' onto


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## andy-mcq (Sep 26, 2008)

try them , may help


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## ianFRST (Sep 19, 2006)

just get the bumper painted properly. ive bet youve spent a fair wack trying to fix your mistake, but its only going to cost you more!! so whats the point?

you could have got that blown in as a cheap job for 60 odd i reckon


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## RenoSport182 (Apr 1, 2006)

andy-mcq said:


> paint you have put on is fine to paint over, just make sure no edges.
> you dont go to the edge of the masking tape with paint.
> the amount of times i see this is amazing lol
> 
> as long as paint is all matt, eg flatend down with 1500/scotch pad its a ''key'' for the new paint to ''lock'' onto


Excellent, thanks again.



ianFRST said:


> just get the bumper painted properly. ive bet youve spent a fair wack trying to fix your mistake, but its only going to cost you more!! so whats the point?
> 
> you could have got that blown in as a cheap job for 60 odd i reckon


Your probably right bud but i want to do this myself now seeing as i've got the gear for it and time and besides i know i'll be chuft when i've done it right eventually


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## ianFRST (Sep 19, 2006)

fair enough mate, its your car  but what if you make it worse? its not like its a knacker of a car


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## andy-mcq (Sep 26, 2008)

ianFRST said:


> just get the bumper painted properly. ive bet youve spent a fair wack trying to fix your mistake, but its only going to cost you more!! so whats the point?
> 
> you could have got that blown in as a cheap job for 60 odd i reckon


good point and i was thinking of saying the same thing but this is how you learn.
i was lucky enough to be in a actual body shop learning my ways but got to start some were.
ive been showing a friend of mine how to do the same and hes doing great:driver:


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## andy-mcq (Sep 26, 2008)

ianFRST said:


> fair enough mate, its your car  but what if you make it worse? its not like its a knacker of a car


mistakes are how you learn, believe me ive done plenty in the past


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## RenoSport182 (Apr 1, 2006)

ianFRST said:


> fair enough mate, its your car  but what if you make it worse? *its not like its a knacker of a car*


It isn't your right  but i know if i do balls it completely i'll take it to a pro, just thought i'd try my hand at it.



andy-mcq said:


> mistakes are how you learn, believe me ive done plenty in the past


Agree with that already made some there which i shan't repeat on my next go - main ones being, which i think totally screwed my attempt there 1. Masking then Painting right upto it leaving an Edge and using the Fade out spray to close to the Clearcoat resulting in a Run :wall:

I think with this sorted i'll get a great finish - the Paint match is spot on from Paint4u :thumb:


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## andy-mcq (Sep 26, 2008)

RenoSport182 said:


> 1. Masking then Painting right upto it leaving an Edge and using the Fade out spray to close to the Clearcoat resulting in a Run :wall:
> 
> I think with this sorted i'll get a great finish - the Paint match is spot on from Paint4u :thumb:


black is the easiest color to paint match

the fade out goes 50/50 over the laquer/scotched edge you no

tbh it would be alot easier for you to get a pro to do it but fair play on having a go, you only get better thru mistakes as said:driver:


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## Alsone (May 19, 2010)

First I have to say I'm not professional but for very small touch ups anywhere on the car I use a Badger airbrush instead of a spray gun attached to a compressor via an adaptor.

One similar to this with bottom feed:

http://www.badgerairbrush.com/PDF/Model 200NH Bottom Feed Instruction Book.pdf

I don't know if thats the best type but I've had some decent results.

They allow you to touch up very small areas with very little overspray making touching up and blending a much smaller job.

The only possible problem you can have is with metallic paints - sometimes the force of the airbrush isn't enough to lay the metal particles down correctly in which case you need to turn the pressure right up. Otherwise they're great for very small defects as the paint goes on very thinly and can be built up in layers.

Here are some parking sensors I sprayed with the badger albeit off the car. Difficult as silver metallic as well:


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## RenoSport182 (Apr 1, 2006)

andy-mcq said:


> black is the easiest color to paint match
> 
> the fade out goes 50/50 over the laquer/scotched edge you no
> 
> tbh it would be alot easier for you to get a pro to do it but fair play on having a go, you only get better thru mistakes as said:driver:


Like a dog with a bone me :lol: but if a mess up this time i'll call it quits.



Alsone said:


> First I have to say I'm not professional but for very small touch ups anywhere on the car I use a Badger airbrush instead of a spray gun attached to a compressor via an adaptor.
> 
> One similar to this with bottom feed:
> 
> ...


Looks good that mate, i'd try that but i'd have to buy Paint again and then the Air brush/Compressor etc


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## st185 (Jan 17, 2008)

ianFRST said:


> just get the bumper painted properly. ive bet youve spent a fair wack trying to fix your mistake, but its only going to cost you more!! so whats the point?
> 
> you could have got that blown in as a cheap job for 60 odd i reckon


Because it's fun to do stuff yourself, and each time you learn something! i resprayed a car with aerosols once, it looked crap. I bought a spray gun and compressor, did it again, learnt the mechanics of painting and it was alright. 3rd time, I spent absolutely ages, really put myself out, bought a devillbis gun and it was better than a factory finish.

Just takes time to learn really.

Spraying is one thing where you can't cut ANY corners whatsoever.


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## st185 (Jan 17, 2008)

RenoSport182 said:


> Like a dog with a bone me :lol: but if a mess up this time i'll call it quits.
> 
> Looks good that mate, i'd try that but i'd have to buy Paint again and then the Air brush/Compressor etc


Nah you can get a good finish with an aerosol. It's still paint afterall.

Just don't expect a good finish straight out of the can, after each layer of paint, rub it down with 2000 grit until there is no dimples left in the paint.

It helps to stick the cans in hot water for 20 mins or so.


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## RenoSport182 (Apr 1, 2006)

Just come in for a break! it's looking ok at the moment, just put the Clearcoat on and would you believe the wind got up and blew it against it :wall: now i know why you need a booth! gonna wait till it dries then rub it down with some 2500 and see what it looks like.

Apart from that it was going alright although we shall see when finished.


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## st185 (Jan 17, 2008)

RenoSport182 said:


> Just come in for a break! it's looking ok at the moment, just put the Clearcoat on and would you believe the wind got up and blew it against it :wall: now i know why you need a booth! gonna wait till it dries then rub it down with some 2500 and see what it looks like.
> 
> Apart from that it was going alright although we shall see when finished.


Have you sanded it before you put the clearcoat on?

Otherwise you'll just have orange peel under a nice clearcoat


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## RenoSport182 (Apr 1, 2006)

st185 said:


> *Have you sanded it before you put the clearcoat on*?
> 
> Otherwise you'll just have *orange peel *under a nice clearcoat


Happened while i was on the 3rd coat :wall:

Orange peel, yeah i think i've got that! but that's pretty normal isn't it and easy ish to sort.

Here's a few pics, been drying for 30mins or so used a hairdryer to help it dry lack of gloss at the min but i'm hoping after a going over with 2000-3000 then a polish it will gloss up nicely  i hope anyway!!

Pics





 <----------- wind blowing my masking into semi dry Clearcoat  apart from that i'm quite happy.


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## RenoSport182 (Apr 1, 2006)

Not sure if anyone's still interested in this but just thought i'd post my latest and most probably last update on this, god it's been hard work!!

Still not 100% but relatively pleased with it bar the orange peel and the clearcoat indent caused by the wind :wall: but i can live with that...for now:lol:

Pics

Orange boooo


looks ok here


now this did  off bigtime but as i had virtually done all the work i left it...for now maybe



All in all i did enjoy the experience believe it or not, just a bit peeved about the probs i ran into.


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