Repro bumper cover prep.

C

CK-2

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I’ve done a few of these but it’s been a while. Anyway aftermarket plastic bumper cover for my buddies 2004 accord needs painting. Sticker on the back says it’s already been primed with a water based primer and to scuff with 1000-1200 or equivalent, clean and spray basecoat. Is this sufficient? Also would that 1000-1200 be wet or dry?
Thanks.
 
Don't guarantee it, the primer can occasionally peel off of aftermarket bumpers.
It needs sealer before basecoat.
The grit recommendations are okay, but we use gray pads and prep paste for that application.

P.S. You might need 800 sandpaper to smooth texture, OE bumpers are typically pretty smooth but yours might not be.
 
crashtech said:
Don't guarantee it, the primer can occasionally peel off of aftermarket bumpers.
It needs sealer before basecoat.
The grit recommendations are okay, but we use gray pads and prep paste for that application.

P.S. You might need 800 sandpaper to smooth texture, OE bumpers are typically pretty smooth but yours might not be.
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I use the the SEM paste and gray scotchbrite pads on raw plastic or bumpers I’m painting. So pad with paste, sealer, then paint?
 
That's standard procedure as far as I know. Sometimes if the primer is thick you can even use a red pad imo, but most are just a piss coat.
 
CK-2 said:
I’ve done a few of these but it’s been a while. Anyway aftermarket plastic bumper cover for my buddies 2004 accord needs painting. Sticker on the back says it’s already been primed with a water based primer and to scuff with 1000-1200 or equivalent, clean and spray basecoat. Is this sufficient? Also would that 1000-1200 be wet or dry?
Thanks.
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I sell several hundred aftermarket bumpers a year, and although I rarely get feedback about adhesion issues, I know the main problem with the aftermarket covers is that there are several different company's that make bumpers for the same application, so you can get different qualities of primer on bumpers for the same car. If they are CAPA certified they are at least batch checked as to the primer consistently from one to another. When asked by my customers this question, I normally recommend sanding and sealing (especially front bumpers) before base coat.
 
Kinda off topic but related, anyone ever use a jamb gun to paint something as big as a bumper cover? I normally use my lph-400, but I have an lph-80 that sure gets into tight spots easier.
 
Every once in a while I break out my mini gun and use it in concert with a full size gun on a bumper that has tight spots. The mini gun is to "cut in" all the tough spots and the full size gun gets the rest. The problem I would have with using just my mini gun is that it has a 3oz cup to be compliant with shop floor spraying, so it would need to be refilled at least once (probably twice) getting around the average bumper cover.
 
crashtech said:
Every once in a while I break out my mini gun and use it in concert with a full size gun on a bumper that has tight spots. The mini gun is to "cut in" all the tough spots and the full size gun gets the rest. The problem I would have with using just my mini gun is that it has a 3oz cup to be compliant with shop floor spraying, so it would need to be refilled at least once (probably twice) getting around the average bumper cover.
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I use mine in tandem with my full size gun too. Just wondered because on this little Honda bumper by the time all the right spots are cut in there’s not much left. It’s an older car that has that dull white paint that looks like single stage to me. I’ve read about Honda and Toyota using single stage around 20 years ago on some solid color stuff. And my 04 Tundra (white) is definitely single stage.
 
Keep in mind that if you break through to bare plastic anywhere you will need to use some ad-pro on those areas. If I have small sand/scuff throughs
on a bumper I will just ad-pro the whole thing. Don't see the need for a mini gun on one. Just would slow things down.
Aftermarket primers on BC's usually fall into two categories, a crappy acrylic coating that will come off with solvent W&G remover, and a decent coating that does not. I use waterborne W&G on all of it now.
 
Another thing is as Chris said if you brake through in a few spots i have problems useing U-tech 460 sealer. Looks good untill I base and then base lifts the sealer in spots just like a striper so now if sand thru will epoxy primer let sit a day suff and epoxy sealer as a sealer. Time lost in a collision work but that's what we have to deal with after market junk. Other times just a old quick job I clean with waterborne cleaner gray pad and base and turn out ok. it's a toss up and yes the primers on these covers range from smooth to corn cob .
 
El Toro said:
Another thing is as Chris said if you brake through in a few spots i have problems useing U-tech 460 sealer. Looks good untill I base and then base lifts the sealer in spots just like a striper so now if sand thru will epoxy primer let sit a day suff and epoxy sealer as a sealer. Time lost in a collision work but that's what we have to deal with after market junk. Other times just a old quick job I clean with waterborne cleaner gray pad and base and turn out ok. it's a toss up and yes the primers on these covers range from smooth to corn cob .
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Yes you gotta be careful scuffing a cover to try and not have those scuff throughs. The SPI ad-pro doesn't seem to do what Toro is describing. Activate it and it helps sometimes too.
 
Chris_Hamilton said:
Yes you gotta be careful scuffing a cover to try and not have those scuff throughs. The SPI ad-pro doesn't seem to do what Toro is describing. Activate it and it helps sometimes too.
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So you recommend scuffing with paste and gray scotchbrite?
 
@CK-2 , I actually don't use SPI sealer at the present, hopefully someone will come along with direct and current experience with the product. If I was forced to guess would say 4:1:1.5 to 4:1:2. Don't quote me on that...
 
Follow the Tech Sheet. 4:1:1. You are just covering it, one wet coat. You can denib if needed in 15-30 minutes. Make sure you get base on within 4 hours. After that you need to scuff it. So get that base on as soon as you denib.
 
crashtech said:
Thanks, Chris, somehow I'd gotten the impression that the sealer was pretty heavy-bodied, but deviating from the Tech Manual is not a good idea.
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4:1:1 it performs like most sealers. Lays out well in my experience with it. I would imagine you could reduce further but i haven't done it. Haven't used it since I worked collision a couple of years ago.
 
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