COMM101O- Painting a Replacement Bumper

Owning a car is great, but the costly repairs and maintenance are not. Ever been in a situation where a car was damaged before anticipated? Many of us have faced this dilemma and have also faced the uncomfortably steep prices to repair the damage. The good news is, I have developed an instructable that will explain the replacement of a damaged bumper. This instructable was designed based on past experiences with repairing a personal vehicle.

Two cans of factory matched automotive body spray paint, two cans of protective clear coat, a dust mask or respirator, 4 oz of wax and grease remover, a lint free cloth, and a spray bottle filled with water. These supplies are relatively inexpensive and can be purchased at nearly any local automotive store.

The first step in the process is to clean and prepare the bumper. The bumper will arrive with a pre-applied coat of black primer. However, even being primed, it will still be too rough to paint and contain minor flaws. To properly clean and prepare the bumper, wet sand it with 600-grit sandpaper. To do this, simply spray water directly onto the bumper and begin sanding. A key element to this is keeping the bumper wet, the spray bottle works great to accomplish this. After wet sanding the bumper, wipe it down entirely with the wax and grease remover. To do so, apply wet with a disposable towel and dry with a separate towel.

Second step in the process is applying the base coat. The base coat is the color of the vehicle, what everyone sees. To begin, shake your basecoat can for approximately one minute, this will activate the chemicals within the canister. Then, apply your first coating of basecoat to the bumper. The first coating should be sprayed approximately fifty percent lighter than the other two; this allows the paint to bond with the material it is being applied to. Allow at least twenty minutes of drying time before applying the next coat; the more time drying the better. The next coatings may then be sprayed onto the bumper; allowing time to dry between the coats. Some key elements to this step are spraying twelve inches away and overlapping previous sprays by fifty percent. Overlapping previous sprays by fifty percent blends the paint and results in an even coating.

The third and final step in the process is to apply a protective clearcoat finish. Clearcoat is a resin that is not pigmented; this product is designed to protect the paint. Applying clearcoat is a very similar process to applying the basecoat. Remember, to receive quality results, spray approximately twelve inches away and overlap previous sprays by fifty percent. The first coating of clearcoat should be sprayed fifty percent lighter than the other coats; again, this allows the clearcoat to bond to the paint previously applied. Allow approximately twenty minutes to dry. After drying, apply the following two layers of clearcoat; allowing twenty minutes drying time between each coat.

Following these steps will ensure quality results to your replacement bumper. If by some chance an error occurred during a step in the process, such as a scuff; simply wet sand the bumper again and reapply the process until satisfied with the results of the paintjob. Remember, time is a valuable agent in this project; maximizing the drying time alone will increase the results tremendously.