This isn't exactly a HAMB car but I figure there's enough good body and paint guys on here that someone could answer my question. We're sending my son's 94 Firebird in for a repaint. We're trying to do as much of the prepwork ourselves as possible and then have Maaco shoot one of their better grade paint jobs on it. I'm a little unsure about how to prep the plastic front bumper. The paint on the front bumper has some cracking going on; what's the best way to sand/prep this without messing up the plastic and do I need some kind of flex agent in the primer to keep it from coming back?
I don't have any personal experience with sanding on plastic, but I can say that any sandpaper too co**** will give you a rough stringy result (saw a gas tank gone wrong once). About using a flex agent...I've heard both sides. Some say that you only need it if the body part is off the car and needs to be installed (so it would be flexing quite a bit while being mounted). I would say it isn't a bad way to go just to use a flex agent if you're planning on working with the bumper much.
da out the cracks with 180 feathing it out then go over with 220 should not need flex agent if you keep the film thickness down on the primer.
If the paint on it now is cracked, it needs to be removed completely, or it will show through. SEM has a bunch of refinishing products geared for bumper and plastics, and they have flex primer in buzz cans. It might be worth investing in some of their chemicals. An adhesion promoter for p[lastics isn't a bad idea, either, something like Bulldog. Most of todays urethane paints are flexible enough that a flex additive is not needed in the top coats. Good luck!
220 grit is rough to prep paint on a bumper. your best bet would be to strip the bumper and take it all off. they make chemical stripper just for plastic. but if ur going through all that h***le. y waste your money at maaco?
We didn't go to Maaco after all; too many horror stories out there. I found a guy that paints for Carstar Collision Centers to come to my garage and spray it for a good price. He helped us with the prepwork and made sure it was ready to paint before he did it. I found out that my idea of when a car was wet sanded enough was pretty lame, so I got a good education out of the deal, too. We did a simple base/clear from Eastwood and the car looks great. I'm glad we decided to have it done at home. Ended up getting a new front bumper.
most of the time new parts are best in the long run . you can spend 10 or more hours sanding and bustin your *** on a rubber bumper to only have it peel or look horrible later. most of the time a hundred or 2 will buy a new one and an hour to put on and the results are tons better. i've done this for 34 yrs and been down that same road before. glad ya picked the right way
of a 94 Firebird? Wrong place dude.... Glad ya got the paint done... But I for one don't think we need to see it.
Yeah, I know. I shouldn't have stuck it on here. I just couldn't get a good answer to my questions anywhere else. thanks for the patience; consider this thread DOA.
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