View Full Version : Repaint bumper DIY


DrLivingston
02-22-2008, 08:52 PM
I posted this over on S14 but figured someone may find it useful here too.

Hey guys I have my M parked for a week or so waiting on misc parts( motor mounts, wires, cap, baffle kit) so I decided to tackle a repaint of my front bumper and wing. Now the paint on this car to begin with is a 6/10 anyways so I don't feel so bad tackling this in my garage as it won't be compared to showroom paint on the rest of the car. The bumper had so rash on the bottom from speed bumps im sure and looks like it caught something on the side so with some sandpaper, elbow grease and some rattle can ( wait before you say anything!) "we're gunna do some work". BTW upon sanding I found some silver underneath my diamondshwartz. So i looked and I guess the bumper was replaced at one time and I have a vin ending in AE13439. Sterlingsilber is what it looks like...anyone missing a bumper?! lol

Now this write up is not really how to repaint some small items but I'm reviewing the company called http://www.automotivetouchup.com as they offer pre mixed color coded BMW paint in pints for guns and spray cans for the smaller jobs. With an Alpine E30 I had before I had good luck so this time around I will try this method and write it up so you can see what it can be to have a decent job for 60 bucks in supplies.

So I started by sanding by hand the whole bumper with 80 grit purchased at advanced auto. I grabbed a few packs and some thick Duplicolor black primer to cover any imperfections. With as much time as I spent I think i smoothed it all out though.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/straitedgx/bumper5.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/straitedgx/bumper3.jpg
Now this is where it gets tricky I had to smooth out the parts where the black was coming off to blend with the silver already there. I did not want to sand through layers of paint/primer as it's not needed. So as long as I bring to a level surface all the peeling it should stay....until I actually spend the money to spray the whole car right. ;)
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/straitedgx/bumper1.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/straitedgx/bumper2.jpg
Now after doing that I will wash it off with some soap water and then when dry tack cloth it. ( Normally you should use a degreaser/ wax remover but I didn't feel the need wearing some gloves and the nature of the job, a good tack will do.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/straitedgx/bumper4.jpg
Now I will wait till it dries and then proceed to the primer stage.

DrLivingston
03-03-2008, 11:01 PM
OK so after a solid night and some day I got the bumpers ready for paint! I used some Primer....
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/straitedgx/repaint8.jpg
and these are my sanding materials...
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/straitedgx/repaint9.jpg
So I went to town, and my girlfriend actually prepped the wing....not bad i do have to say....
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/straitedgx/repaint4.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/straitedgx/repaint7.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/straitedgx/repaint5.jpg
Then I worked on the front bumper....one of the dividers was broke off so with some ABS plastic adhesion I applied some and let it set....
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/straitedgx/repaint.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/straitedgx/repaint2.jpg
Sanded down the rest....
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/straitedgx/repaint3.jpg
Then on went the primer....
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/straitedgx/repaint10.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/straitedgx/repaint11.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/straitedgx/repaint12.jpg
With reading other members and some DIY articles I first took down the big stuff with 80 grit...then I smoothed it out with 120 and primed again....then I hit it with 320 and did a final coat of primer. Then when it all dried i lightly hit it with 800 to prep for the paint. I will tack cloth it when the paint arrives it is getting mixed as we speak and coming from Cali. Hopefully this will do good enough till I repaint the whole car properly, but for 75 bucks in materials and some labor hours and showing my gf how to sand and prep it should be worth every penny.

RoverBMW
03-21-2008, 03:05 AM
Any updates on this?