My dirty little secret...

[dghii]

I had a rock chipped front bumper repainted last year....under $400.

I should have replaced my water pump while I was at it.

Sorry, just had to.

[Timco]

Originally Posted by Mark_T

Did you soap the gas fitting joints to check for leaks?

Wonder what the combustion numbers (CO output) are more importantly.....they are altitude sensitive......

[jb92563]

It is possible to do a great DIY job if you buy good equipment and practice first.

I resprayed an airplane in my garage. Turned out really nice except for a run that developed on an underside of the fuselage.

I spent $450 for a decent HVLP sprayer and another $400 for the presurized suit fresh air suppy.

Built a plastic tent inside the garage and it worked out alright. I practiced quite a bit though beforehand.

I saved myself about $8000 and now have equipment for my next project

[PorscheBound]

Didn't read entire thead so sorry if this is repeated info. I I work at a body shop. Saw someone say something about 80-100 bucks an hour and for labor..... Most shops are 42-50 an hour. 85-100 are mechanical rates. That job is tops 500 bucks . That damage is so minimal it would take a tech 20 mins to have that thing to the painters. Also saw something about having to paint the whole bumper for a clean job.... Again not true. Blending out the color and full clear is all that is needed.

[particlewave]

The cracks went all the way through the base coat.

After wet sanding past some of the chips and cracks...



I've already done several coats and smoothed everything out, but don't have a picture because it's dark out. Blending, clear and polish tomorrow

[epapp]

Shehadehd should follow your steps in this thread. He's got some dirty secrets of his own


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[particlewave]

The lighting in this picture sucks, but this is after a couple coats and some wet sanding.
Still a way to go on base coat smoothing, but getting there

[particlewave]

I still have a little way to go, but it looks like it's going to blend nicely

[Jamesp]

Looking good. You'll want to get the masking tape off quickly as it will "become one" with whatever it is stuck to. I like the blue painters tape as it is less sticky over the long term.

[Nine8Six]

Originally Posted by particlewave

I still have a little way to go, but it looks like it's going to blend nicely

a million time better looking than it was before the touch up Charles. Nice move!

I'm guessing you'll need to buff the fresh paint with a buffing wheel of some sort to even the paint with the old? how does that work

[particlewave]

Originally Posted by Jamesp

Looking good. You'll want to get the masking tape off quickly as it will "become one" with whatever it is stuck to. I like the blue painters tape as it is less sticky over the long term.

I know what you mean...however, I despise blue painters tape as it can actually bleed blue into your paint and it doesn't hold for crud (it always, ALWAYS lets paint bleed under itself when I've tried to use it). This stuff was constantly getting wet, so had just enough hold.

Originally Posted by Nine8Six

a million time better looking than it was before the touch up Charles. Nice move!

I'm guessing you'll need to buff the fresh paint with a buffing wheel of some sort to even the paint with the old? how does that work

I sanded the clear coat off extending out about 1/2 meter on each side of the repair. I then carefully feathered and blended the base coat with the repair.

The old clear was feathered at the edges and new clear blended over top, extending about 10-15 cm over the old clear. This left some clear "speckling" from the oversparay that is then buffed and blended in with the old.

It could have been done better by a pro, but for $30 worth of paint and clearcoat, I'm happy with it for now.

Naysayers say what?!
Yeah, I got some paint on my bumperettes and on my potato, but it scrubs off easy.
I think I'll paint the bumperettes next

[BruceH]

Nicely done Charles

[markskyline]

Lookin good buddy. I could use a respray on my bumpers too. Spring project number 1003. lol

[cardiffgiant]

Fantastic job!

Also, I love the use of the potato to hid the license plate

[Troy.Boxster]

Looks fantastic! Well done my friend.

[Nine8Six]

wow.... just like that huh. Nicely done Charles, can't tell

(hrrrr you and your potatoes lol)