Dear all who read this thread,



I just pulled the front and rear bumper skins off a car in the wreckers today. THe bumpers are blue. My car is noble white.



My question is how should i go about refinishing the bumpers to mount on my car. Do i need to strip off the old paint in order to spray primer and matching paint for my car?



The paint is chipping and flaking off near the edges of the front bumper.



Any help is greatly appriciated.



Thanks all.



-Jason

cough *robx-7* cough

cough *yup* cough

if the paint is chipping and flaking off you should try to remove it, but

being its a plastic bumper you can look forward some sanding to get it

off. If its chipping and peeling because it was hit there and the rest

of the bumper is stable I would only feather in the bad part to the

good part. You may get lucky and the paint starts coming off in sheets

makig it easier to remove.



If the paint on the rear bumper is in good shape and bonded properly

leave it alone and dont strip it off. Sand any scratches out but dont take off all the paint off the rest of the bumper.



I cant tell you what to sand it with because that would depend on what

paint and primer you were using, there really arent that many primers

out there for plastic bumpers that work well, you cant use a primer that

has any build because it will shatter if you ever tap the bumper into

something. I use a 2 very light coats of DuPont VariPrime after properly

treating a new plastic bumper with certain plastic preps and what not.

And for used bumpers with good paint I do the same minus the plastic prep.

Rob,



Thanks for the tips



the paint is only chipping on where it got hit.



Can u give me more insight into plastic prep? the primer i plan to use is just motormaster (canadian tire, sorta like autozone) plastic primer.

if its just a small area I wouldnt worry about it that much, plastic prep

is usually only needed for new parts. Thats another reason I say not to

strip all the old finish if its in good shape.

but i should lightly sand the old finish and spray with a primer correct?

i would use a scotchbrite pad and some soapy water to scuff the rest of the bumper, easier to prep then wet sanding it due to the shape of the bumper. A light coat of primer on the whole bumper isnt a bad

idea.