Painting A Brand New Bumper - Need Some Tips

[EclipseG13]

Well, i ran into a little problem about a month ago. I decided to wait way to long to put my snow tires on and it bit me right in the ass. I ended up hitting a rock and my front bumper is torn up pretty bad on the passenger side. Luckily it only did damage to the bumper.

But, its hanging incredibly bad now and it looks like total shit so I am thinking about ordering a new front bumper becuase I cant find anyone selling a black one. I can get it for $98 primed.

What would you recomend for the painting? I am very nice with a can of spray paint but I do not want that on my car body.... Does anyone know what type of paint etc. I need for a spray gun.

Also, if anyone in the Rochester area is on here and knows how to paint... send me a quote.

Thanks.

[xavier3jr]

First off let me welcome you to AF. 2nd thanks for useing the right subforum and makeing a great post. very readable and good grammer.

you can go to any autobody shop and order car paint. i painted my whole car its acrylic enamel very easy to paint has the clear coat and paint mixed together. thats the wasy way to go or you can go base coat clear coat whitch is a little more dificult. first you spray the color then you spray the clear coat whitch is what gives your car the shine. I'd say if this is your first time painting with a gun use acrylic enamel all you will need is some thiner primer and the paint or you can always get someone at a shop to spray it for you shouldnt be more then $100 id say. hope this helped

[JoeShmoe]

Welcome to AF bro, best 1st post I have ever seen. Glad to have you here, lots of answers on this forum.

Yeah for mine I went with PPG Base Coat (purchased from paint distributor,) and also a Clear Clear Coat which I applied 15 minutes after the paint was dry. If you want to do it yourself, you want to make sure that you have a gravity feed spray gun (plastic hopper on top.) Spray side to side and don't stop halfway. Try to apply an even coat to the whole bumper.

Or you could pay about $150 dollars and have it done professionally. Heard boat paint is self leveling

[EclipseG13]

LOL I dont know about the boat paint but thanks for all the tips.

I think I am going to check at the salvage yard first and if worst comes to worst ill just buy a new one and paint it.

My car seems to have turned on me in the last month.... My driver side door lock is frozen (cant unlock with key from the outside) and my horn just stoped working <-- Just in time for inspection so I have some work cut out for me lol. I love my car but lately it does not seem to love me back

Thanks again.

[JoeShmoe]

No prob, GL with the inspection.

[SilvrEclipse]

You might be better off just paying someone to paint it. Paint can be expensive and will look shitty if you dont know how to paint with it. A bumper wouldn't cost much to have done. I would at least get a quote and see how that compares to the paint cost.

[1992eclipseGS]

some advice, if you buy a new bumper offline.. or basically anywhere else.. do the primer test.. take a cloth with some paint thinner, and lighly wipe down a section of the bumper... If the primer comes off, you have shit primer on bumper... I ran into this problem. I wasn't about to waste vaulable time washing down a whole bumper with thinner, I just wet sanded the primer off and re-primed it. painting over primer that wipes off with paint thinner will more than likely cause your paint to peel, chip, ect.. in the near feature.

[gthompson97]

Have a shop do it. If you've never done any bodywork like this before, it'll turn out like shit. Bad color match, imperfections/runs/fisheyes, paint not sticking, etc. Painting the exterior of a car (especially the bumper, which sees alot of abuse) is not for the beginner.

[vanilla gorilla]

I agree, get it done professionally.

Someone posted about painting it with a single stage paint...

Your not going to be able to match a base/clear painted car with a single stage painted bumber.

[Gsst98]

heres a 97-99 bumper thats black...http://www.dsmsource.com/classifieds...ate=1150467671

[EclipseG13]

Thanks for the link!

It looks like it would fit a 95. I am going to send him a msg or something to get some more details. If hes selling those $90 a piece painted he is a saviour lol.

[vanilla gorilla]

The bumper in the link is a 1997-1999 bumper. If your going to use it on a 95 you will also need 97-99 eclipse headlights

[gthompson97]

Definitely go with the upgrade if you're installing a new bumper. Yes, you have the added cost of another set of headlights, but it looks oh so much sexier than the 2ga style.