Towncivilian Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 Anybody painted their bumpers & fender flares before? I'm thinking of painting them black along with the mudflaps, to mimic the look of earlier R50s. Any suggestions on what kind of paint to use? Since everything's plastic, how do I go about preparing the surface for paint? Do I use clear coat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 My flares are starting to peel (flake) a little. I too thought about pressure washing the paint off of the flares as they are "flat black" underneath the paint. The bumpers however ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 Duplicolor makes a trim paint that is made for doing this kind of thing, my friend used it on his 88 jetta gli. It came out really nice. http://duplicolor.com/products/trimPaint/ Here is what it looked like: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxanne97 Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 (edited) to prepare the surface, you want to sand it down with light grid sand paper, just so the paint doesnt run, wash it off make sure its clean no dust or dirt, then spray some primer, do 2-3 coats of course let it dry befor you do another coat, then paint with paint color chosen do about 3 coats again letting it dry befor each coat, then wait a day for the clear coat. make sure you spray in the same direction left to right, spray 10 inches away from the surface. another thing to ad if you dont want the shine to it then theres no need for the clear coat. hope to see pictures of the finished product! Edited June 16, 2011 by Roxanne97 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towncivilian Posted June 16, 2011 Author Share Posted June 16, 2011 Thanks for the informative and quick replies guys! Will that Duplicolor spray paint really hold up to the job long-term? I'd imagine it'd be ok for the fender flares and rear bumpers, but the front bumper would need to withstand rocks, bugs, etc... Could I possibly use some Rustoleum BBQ (high-temp resistant) paint with a spray gun? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrT Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 (edited) Could I possibly use some Rustoleum BBQ (high-temp resistant) paint with a spray gun? Planning on setting your bumper on fire? If you aren't terribly concerned with a little texture, spray can bed liner might be a good choice. Certainly is "rugged." And I'd personally use a red scotch-brite pad (3M 7447) instead of sand paper. It's easier to clean up after you're done and when it gets clogged you can just rinse it out with a hose. You could probably prep everything you're looking to paint with one but why not buy a box. You can use them for everything. Edited June 16, 2011 by MrT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 Thanks for the informative and quick replies guys! Will that Duplicolor spray paint really hold up to the job long-term? I'd imagine it'd be ok for the fender flares and rear bumpers, but the front bumper would need to withstand rocks, bugs, etc... Could I possibly use some Rustoleum BBQ (high-temp resistant) paint with a spray gun? The duplicolor trim paint is pretty strong. Plus it is easy to touch up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick13 Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 Could I possibly use some Rustoleum BBQ (high-temp resistant) paint with a spray gun? I used the BBQ Hi Temp to touch up my sliders (for rust control mostly) cause it was on sale and I know that rocks don't care what kind of paint/coating are on your sliders...they just like taking it off. IMHO it is good paint, but I've heard good things about Dupli-Color's Truck Bed Coating and Rust-o-leums "Hammered" finish products. Ditto, would really like to see a finished product... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towncivilian Posted June 17, 2011 Author Share Posted June 17, 2011 Hmm, so I guess I should use either the Duplicolor Trim paint or truck bed coating? Will any Rustoleum primer work fine? I think I'll forgo clearcoat as I don't need shininess from the trim. How do I take off the fender flares? Front bumper looks easy to remove, basically some clips and screws, right? I don't need to remove the grille or anything else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towncivilian Posted July 23, 2011 Author Share Posted July 23, 2011 I still haven't gotten around to doing this, but I decided I won't bother to take the fender flares off - I'll just tape them off and spray them, significantly easier that way. Bumper covers are easy to remove so I'll remove them to paint of course. I still haven't decided on a paint, either. I'm still wondering how long any typical spray paint will last, especially for the front bumper as that's gonna get the brunt of everything (wind, rocks, bugs, etc). And how will it hold up to washing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towncivilian Posted August 6, 2011 Author Share Posted August 6, 2011 A friend and I tried the Duplicolor on my rear bumper cover today. It came out rather light in some places... I'll try to get a picture in the afternoon. I cleaned thoroughly using some Windex, then sanded lightly with some 500 grit sandpaper and cleaned again. The step strip was taped off, since the primer black would be sufficient and I was concerned that feet, etc would damage the paint over time (should I have painted this too?). One coat of white Rustoleum plastic primer was laid down, and 30 minutes later we touched up the spots we missed with some more primer. An hour later, we laid down the first coat of the Duplicolor and added a coat roughly every hour, and sprayed a total of about 4 coats. There appear to be gray/whitish spots in some spots - were our coats not thin enough, or did we not provide enough time to dry the coats? Like I said, a picture will illustrate this better but my garage lighting is too poor for a good photograph at this time. If the Duplicolor comes out well enough, we'll probably move on to the front bumper cover and fender flares. I'd just hope it lasts a while - if it starts to flake or fail I'll just shell out for some Wurth paint and do a quick respray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towncivilian Posted September 2, 2011 Author Share Posted September 2, 2011 See the results here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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