MazdaEight

So I was thinking about painting the rear diffuser. I know there are a few different threads on this, but I know a place where I can take my paint code and have them fill a spray can with it for about $15. I have done some painting before, do you guys think with the right preping and painting I could make it look alright?

On a side note...I wanted to got to the same place and get paint to do my calipers winning blue. Do you think the paint would hold up under the temps?

CTrx8

iTrader: (2)

i have seen the rear diffuser done and with the right prep it looks awesome. i wouldn't expect the calipers would hold up quite as well though.

MazdaEight

The diffusers you and I have seen were probally done at a body shop and painted professionaly. Do you think I would get a good result with spray paint?

jmc23200

If done correctly, it will look good. You will need to clean the diffuser, lightly sand it using a very very fine sand paper(to reduce and visible scrathces), clean again, apply multiple coats of paint and then apply some clearcoat. Paint does not stay on painted surfaces well. By lightly sanding, you add some grooves and swirls that the paint will stick to much better. I did this with my foosball table. All the foosball men were black so I painted the heads and chest different colors, lol I know its different but it would be the same procedure. Another idea, my local high school has an auto body vocational class. They have a full paint booth. If a highscool near you has that, you could have them paint it correctly for you for the cost of paint. Most schools do the labor for free and get better prices on the paint with their educational discounts.

sobamaflyer

Are you going to get flex additive put in that $15 spray can? There's a lot more to painting a bumper cover than a piece of metal or a model car.

90% of painting is in the prep work but this would scare me to do personally. A decent body shop will probably charge you $300-$500 to do it. They will probably charge more to reverse the less than stellar "can-job" you come to them with that drove you nuts till you got the $ to fix it

Calipers.....I'd guess the paint may not hold up but I'd be MUCH more willing to try that out and see, worst case you sand them down and paint them over w/ some high-temp paint, easy fix.

jmc23200

You would be charged $300-$500 not because of difficulty, but because of labor and the amount of time they claim it takes. It doesnt matter if you mess up a paint job or bring it in stock, it requires the same procedure and should cost the same amount. Sand, buff, clean, paint, bake is what most shops do. My father and I have been fixing damage to his truck that was caused by a falling branch. He got $1700 from insurance and we are doing the body work and priming the car. We dont have a big enough spot or clean enough spot to paint the car with color or we would. If you want to try it, take off the diffuser and try it to a part that is not seen when it is on your car. This way, if it looks bad, no one can see it. If it looks good, have a blast and finish it.

HaiDoGGRX-8

since its only 15 bucks for the spray can i would say give it a shot, who knows it might come out decent. But yeah test it out on a spot not visible first to see how it looks.

jangle

no flex and the paint will crack and come right off with fluctuating temps

MazdaEight

So do you think that a flex additive is possible to get in a spray can?

CarAndDriver

Well you're the one who is going to suffer with an ugly rear if it goes awry.