Painting the lower part of the rear bumper to match body color and some extras
 

I am not the first to think of this or even the first to do this but I thought I might paint the lower part of the rear bumper.

I've been an automotive painter for over 8 years now and I can never leave anything alone, I like modifying things but nothing over the top.

I took the rear bumper off my car tonight and I'm going into my work tomorrow to get a head start on Monday's vehicles and I thought while I'm there I would sand down the texture and prime the bare plastic to make it smooth, sand the primer smooth, and then paint to match.

The moderators may move this to the DIY section but for now I put it on the Exterior section.

I will post pics and you can follow my progress.


Thanks! :D:

Interested to see how the paint holds up to the exhaust heat... kinda why they're not painted to begin with.

Not to mention in my opinion, ruining that contrast and making that section body color looks terrible. Again probably why its not like that to begin with. However, like I said it's just my opinion.

I'm curious to see, too. The 8 has a rather large butt, and I suspect that part is black to help make the rear appear less massive.

I think this change usually generates really clean results... Especially on a white car. Heat may be an issue, though.

Turning the fake grill into a real one 'lightens' the rear view considerably, IMO.

https://www.rx8club.com/exterior-app...4/#post4283773

The lower part of my bumper has been painted for couple of years. No issues with exhaust heat either.

Good to know...I started working on it today. I'm going a little overkill on my procedures but that's just how I roll :rock:. Pics soon!

Can't wait for the pics, and the outcome of it.

i like it when its gloss black... on BB cars.

PERSONALLY... id rather chuck it in the garbage in replace it with a rear diffuser.

Just curious, what grit do you automotive guys sand the primer down to?

I was considering "prepping" a car to get painted in order to cut down on costs, is it required to shoot automotive primer through a paint gun? or are those automotive spray paint primers alright to use since its being sanded down?

sorry for the threadjack

i would say leave it up to a professional to sand your car and prep it out. rattle can primers will wrinkle if you spray automotive paint over top of it. primer should be sprayed out of a automotive paint gun as well.

I got the bumper sanded down and ready for primer but i saw HiFlte999's DIY post and now i may do that as well...Damn you HiFlite!

And now I may have to add a Lebren rear accent light.

Ah, well im studying as an industrial designer, so im very familiar with sanding. Just curious what grit you guys typically work up to?

Who me? So many mods, so little time. BB + smoked Lebren = :rock:

Yeah, after seeing your link, I will be doing the same thing...not to copycat, it just looks so damn sexy!

okay picture time...
I used DuPont's 2310 plastic cleaning paste and 3M's red scotch brite scuff pads to scuff the plastic. The cleaning paste contains grit to help scuff plastics and it cleans any oils or debris from the surface. Wear gloves with this stuff! It will dry your hands out like a mofo! It will look like this when done.

Then you wipe on DuPont's 2320 plastic cleaner. This cleans the surface even farther and it softens the plastic slightly to promote proper adhesion. Sorry I didnt take a picture of the bottle for reference.

Then I used DuPont's 2330 Adhesion Promoter over the now properly prepared plastic. This bites into the plastic and creates a proper coating for primer. It will be a grayish-milky color. Your bumper will look like this when you are finished spraying adhesion promoter.

After 10-20 minutes I sprayed 3 heavy coats of primer with flex agent in it. I will look like this when completed...

The longer you let the primer set, the better. As the solvents evaporate out of the primer, it will begin to settle into any pits or scratches created when scuffing or maybe any texture left behind. I would say to start sanding with 320 grit and finish with 500-600 grit sandpaper. One thing that may help is to use 3M's Guide coat. It's almost like a fine charcoal powder. What it basically does it settles into the low spots and shows you how much more sanding you have to do. Some people may choose to just grab some rattle can black and do a very light coat over everything but I've never done it, so i'm not sure if it holds on while you sand the primer.

I will continue my writeup when I go to sand the primer and paint the bumper. But first I gotta find some steel mesh material...I have some sitting in my garage but the diamonds are going up and down instead of left to right. I dont think it would look right like that.

Till next time.

Looks GOOD! I just had my whole car repainted and I wanted to do the same but my body shop guy told me it wouldn't be a good idea, same reason as everyone else.... blah, blah, blah.....

Please post pics!

As soon as I get the bumper sprayed, you guys will be the first to see

subbed. I find the concept of any kind of automotive painting to be very interesting. Can't wait for more pics!!

Totally agree! However too late. :( There's a reason for the design and color. One solid color makes the rear look large. That's why so many car companies create that kind of contrast.

I'm going in to work tomorrow to hopefully get it painted. I will post my results.