whosniffedme

I have a decent Craftsman siphon feed spray gun that's never been used, and I have a good place to spray paint. I have no experience in this other than the time I was 16 and took a rattle can to the interior of my truck, which if I had primed it would have come out pretty well. The previous owner of my car definitely hit a few curbs so the front bumper and chin spoiler look pretty rough. Every time I see it I just think of how much better it would look with a fresh coat of white and it drives me crazy that I have the materials but not the knowledge.

There's only one dent that I can see needs to be fixed, but I'm not sure how to fix those on plastics. I'm wondering if there's any good tutorials or anything that can help me out on this. I've found a few online but I'd like to see if anyone has anything that's definitive to my problem. I'm also wondering if I should attempt this or just pay n' spray. I have all the time in the world to work on this, and I would love to confidently go in and get a can of paint mixed and all the other materials and have at it, I just don't want it to look like it's been done by an amateur. Thanks!

Jivefive0

I would say if you have some extra scrap metal or another bumper to practice on, go do that first.
because honestly, if you want a really good looking paint result, you need to consider drying time, dust in the area you are working in, temp, etc.

you did mention that you had a ton of time to do this, so if that is the case i would
first set up the place you are working in. i think the time you take in prep will show a great result after.

have you gotten any quotes on how much it would be to get it painted?
you could also remove it and just prep your bumper, ( sand, light plastic filler if necessary, then prime) and see how much that is vs. having to buy all the materials your self.
and then just have them paint it.

teepee542

I just had my front bumper done when the hood was painted. the pulled it off, fixed the scuffs and painted it for $325. I had them quote it seperate from the hood in case it was too much. I don't think I got a discount because they charged me $90 to fix a large door ding which is about what I paid on a previous ding.

07BLACKGT

This is some great advice right here.. well thought out and true on all counts!

With something like a front bumper, I would just have it re-painted professionally so it will last. Rattle can clear coats take a very long time to fully cure. Bugs will be HELL on that soft clear coat, and may make it look worse than before.

Tanner05

I rattle canned a section of my rear bumper. The paint job actually don't look bad, but I personally wouldn't do an entire bumper.