I saw a DIY on how to paint the stock grill and make it black or flat black using spray can primer, paint and clear coat.

That looked easy to me so I was thinking about buying cans of primer, paint and clear coat and paint my own bumpers. Painting a bumper at a reputable shop in Atlanta is $300.

My plan is to sand the bumpers. Put 1 coat of rubberized primer on. 1 coat of Bulldog adhesion promoter, 1 coat of paint and then 2 coats of clear coat. Is this going to work out?

This what I'm buying to paint them from https://www.paintscratch.com/

 

lol, that would be a disaster painting body parts with rattle cans... dont be a cheap a$$, pay a body shop. $300 is average for painting a bumper.
-GP-

 

Have you ever painted car parts before? It is not as easy as it looks.

There are tons of things that can go wrong when paintng car parts, you can get fish eyes in the paint, runs, drips, tons of imperfections. And you need to be able to wet sand all of the defects out.

Its not a simple job, and you should practice on simple parts like the grill first.

 

I never painted anything before.

Is this the correct steps in painting a bumper?? I would much rather learn to paint now since it wont be the last time I'll need things painted.

 

add wetsanding to the end of the list as turbotom mentioned

 

I might actually go through with this. I'll have to check state laws about driving a car with no bumper cover

 

^^ is that ur daily driver?

 

Trust me, if you have never painted anything before it will come out bad. Painting car parts is a skill you learn from doing it over and over, and over again. Its something that you need to do and learn from your mistakes, and you will make alot of mistakes.

One of my friends has been doing minor paint work on his cars for the past few years, and even with all of the tools he has, still has a hard time getting it to come out. You need to have the surface of the paint CLEAN, and I mean to the point where not one spec of dust is on it. Paint shops have spray booths for a reason, its to keep dust and debris off of the paint. The prep work is hard, and if you mess up the entire job will look like crap.

Also you will need to wet sand after you paint, you will get alot of imperfections, and using rattle cans will mean a TON of wet sanding.

Painting car parts is not easy at all, thats why shops get paid so much money for what seems like such simple work. If you think you are up to the task then give it a try, but I can tell you it will not be easy, and it will NEVER look as good as the work a quality shop would do.

Here are some of the defects you might, and probably will get if its your first time painting.

This is orange peel



Fish eye

 

paint your whole car! go for an orange peel car, in bright ORANGE !!

 

Agreed. Without a lot of practice I can't imagine this ending well for you.

 

Spray cans are great on small pcs/jobs. To try and paint an entire bumper would be rediculous. Don't even attempt it, unless you have another bumper to replace it with.

There are too many factors involved to even consider doing this.
You really need a dust free enviroment first off, all the crap that will end up in the paint will make your attempt a failure.

Trust me, I've painted alot of things in my day, and I know not to even attempt something as large as a bumper.

If you want to learn, then spend the money and buy a compressor and a good Paint gun....devilbiss or comparable.

A spray gun will put down a thicker more even coat of paint. You have more control as well.

To do it right, you would need to sand down the bumper, do any repairs, prime, sand, touch up any spots with final bondo, then spray your flex coat, then several coats of color and finally clear. Then it should bake in an oven for an hour to help cure the paint.
Then after that is done, baring any imperfections, you need to wet sand,then polish/compound and wax.

Then, maybe, just maybe you will have a decent looking bumper to put back on your car.

Trust me, spend the money, and then invest in some equipment and find a place to practice body work/painting .....but not on your G.

 

This is a FAIL waiting to happen

 

Like all others have said don't do it. Your attempt at saving a few dollars will cost you more in the long run to have repainted. It will also create a lot of work and time for you ending in a terrible job.

Learn to paint on a small and less critical job. Painting a bumper with spray bombs in your own garage is ridiculous.

 

I know the title states he wants to paint his bumper but in his description he said he wants to paint the grille.

If that is the case, go for it. It came out great for me with spray paint.

 

I think you better re-read his post......