Both front and rear bumpers on my car are starting to flake bad, have large marks from previous owners etc. So I've decided to respray them both myself, I know how to paint fairly well, it's the types of paints and amounts I need some help with.

Do I really need a primer? I've read the paint sticks well enough to the factory plastic after sanding to dull. As for the paint, supercheap sell 4L for $120, which is a little pricey.. the 1L on the other hand is only $40, will this be enough for a couple of coats, and I presume I will need to mix it with thinners?

Cheers!

1L should be enough, you're just doing the tops of the bumpers? Actually 1L mixed properly should be plenty to do the whole bumpers if you wanted.

because its plastic you will need to use a good primer.
otherwise when you wash it, the water will get under it then when it mixes with heat it will react, causing it to lift and then flake off!!!

just get a few cans of premixed white cans and colour code while you're at it?

the colour is paris white?

Thanks everyone for your input, I actually might colour code it fer0x, but not full white. Quick chop of what I'd like it to look like..

http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/3261/sv102081.jpg

Colorrrrrr Codeeeeee ittttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt.......and do your mirror's too;)

Your right Tuffy! I've decided I will colour code it, and the mirrors. Rather than buy the spray cans I will buy the tins + thinners and use a spray gun. I want to do this properly :D

The bumper and door strips look better in white, trust me, I've done 2 cars like this.

Plastic needs rubbing down to a solid base, but be careful rubbing it back as the plastic, once exposed, is very soft. Use plastic primer, and paint with plasticiser in it. See your paint supplier for details. I use Protec products and have had no flaking or cracking in the bumpers in either car in over 12 months. Skimp on the preparation and the paint peels off when it is fully dry, after about 3 months. The cost of the paint is nothing to the "cost" in time - it takes me a full 5 day week to do 2 bumpers.

1L of colour - assuming you use acrylic lacquer - is plenty for 5 coats on both bumpers. You will have plenty left over for touchups later.

Hey Madmax, I am looking at doing same, where do you get protec products in SA please :)

Thanks MadMax!

For the bottom half that I will be painting white, since I want it to match the body, will I need a coat of clear too? Or is the paint itself glossy enough. Also what is the ratio of paint/thinner, so I can get an idea how much thinner I'll need.

Says high gloss on the tin, but I've been caught by that before :confused:
http://www.septone.com.au/detail.asp?item_cat=6&item_number=234&page_num=1

Damn, if you were in NSW, I have a set of colour coded front and rear Verada bumpers......

yep, colour code is WP if i remember rightly, its on the plate on the firewall in the engine bay
**** i really need to do my own one day instead of just getting everyone else to do it on their cars

Does anyone have a rough idea how much a 1L of acrylic paint + 1L of thinner + 1L primer filler is? I'm sure that would be more than enough I just hope it's not to $cey.

Damn, if you were in NSW, I have a set of colour coded front and rear Verada bumpers......

damn peter i want them! come down to vic!!!!

White acrylic lacquer = $40/L, Thinners $25 for 4L can. (approx)

The factory white on a TS is called Scotia white, but I think there are other whites for the Magna.

Protec is available from many independent paint suppliers in Adelaide, let your fingers do the walking and ring them. I get mine from a small paint shop in Salisbury, Adelaide, SA.

You need to look up the proper prep method for plastics, primer filler is not a good idea, unless you can get some for plastic bumpers. You need flex aid as well. Not cheap, but only a small amount is needed 250 ml tin. Plastic primer needed too. Half a L will do.

My method (As per "Spray painting" by Donald Wait, a Gregory's book, somewhat modified)

(1) Remove bumpers, remove metal bits.
(2) Clean - detergent wash, prepsol or turps on heavy gunk. Include the insides.
(3) Wet rub with 400, then 800 wet and dry. Don't rub the patterned texture off!
(4) Backfill (ie from behind) any cracks with fibreglass resin and metal plates. Galv iron will do. Where metal can't be placed over the back of the crack, I use tissue paper soaked in resin. Sand front of bumper if the resin flows through.
(5) Another detergent wash.
(6) Hand putty any small dents, cracks with hand putty, with a little bit of plasticiser added.
(7) Let dry, sand, repeat as needed.
(8) When happy prepsol wash and wipe.
(9) Mask chrome strip with half inch masking tape. Fits exactly!
(10) 2 light coats of unthinned plastic primer. Let dry between coats. Do the whole bumper, not just the bits where the plastic is showing.
HINT: Prepare your mirror backs at the same time as you do the bumpers, avoids the need to clean out your spray gun too often.
(11) Colour plus thinners, ratio 1:3. Add flex-aid (5% of total mix)

EDIT: experiment with the mix, start at the recommended 1:1.4 The best mix depends on your compressor pressure, spraygun nozzle, air temp and humidity. Spray the inside of a bumper, and aim for a wet coat that flows a bit before it dries. A rough dull coat when dry means more thinners is needed. The mix is right if you get a shine without runs. Worth getting right as it saves sanding and buffing. I went as high as 1:3 because the temp was like 35 plus . . . .
END EDIT.

(12) Set the bumper up on a trestle in a well lit area - you dont want shadows over it, but full sunlight on a warm day can be a problem with the paint drying too quickly.
Spray away! errrr, don't go mad - do the hard to reach areas first, light coats. Do the big areas with high volume cover, you want the paint to smoothen out before the thinners evaporate.
If done properly you get a high gloss at this stage.
(13) Repeat with the other bumper and mirror backs while the first dries.
(14) Go back to the first bumper and repeat the whole process 5 times.

HINTS:
(1) Wear a filtered mask and overalls - toluene in the thinners can stress your liver/kidneys. It is absorved through your lungs and skin. Dry overspray can get in your lungs and cause coughing fits in the middle of the night. (No, I'm not telling you how I know this)
(2) When finished, wait til night time and use a torch to check all nooks and crannies for poor cover.
(3) Leave in Sun to harden for a few days. Paint is soft and is easy to mark if assembled in a hurry.
(4) Leave for a week or two, then hand buff

PS Never clear coat a solid colour to get a shine, the clear coat changes the colour under it and it looks yukky!

my 94" ts is WP, paris white :cool:

Yeah, ok - The Scotia white as actually off a 04 lancer belonging to my wife.

The ex-green metallic 3L auto TS wagon and ex-maroon metallic 2.6 manual TS up the drive now match my wife's car. Paint on both died from sunburn and peeling.

I like to colour match our cars. I'm kinda weird like that.....:bowrofl:

Thanks again Madmax, awesome guide! I went to super cheap today but didn't end up buying any materials, however I did buy an electric spray gun, looks pretty nifty.

They were out of stock on some of the materials I needed, and I was convinced by my sis to find out the proper shade of white and try get a hold of that rather than the generic septone white. Her husband knows a few good paint specialists so I'll get it what I need from one of those.

Gives me time to get acquainted with my new gun :D