joe80055

Hey Guys, I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this thread, but since it's the "Problem and Fixes" section, I might as well try. Well, here's my story, I have a 99 TL, Heather Mist; some NY taxi cab side-swiped my car while i was PARKED and scratched my bumper pretty moderately; There are no dents though! the fender's slightly bent in a little and has paint marks on it as well.. not too much though.. Question is, I'm searching for DIY's on repainting the bumper, and I was wondering, do you guys think it's worth the effort to try to fix this myself or should I just bring this to a body shop?

flydog

Painting in itself is easy. Making it match the factory finish is another story. A body shop may charge you $300-$500 and by the time you buy paint, clearcoat, catalyst, reducer and misc items you will probably spend $150 and wish you had gone to a body shop. If you do decide to do it yourself i suggest removing the bumper and painting the entire thing so you dont need to blend. The scratches may even buff out with a high speed polisher and the right compound.

joe80055

Sweet... Thanks for the input.. I'm actually thinking of doing everything myself since everything seems cheaper than the shop... I know the color code for the factory finish...

I could try removing the bumper, but that would consist of stripping everything to the bumper's bare surface and priming it, am I right? If so, what tools would I need and what are the required steps in performing this task? ... That is, if you don't mind me asking. I'm very willing to learn.

One more thing, what compound do you suggest I should look into for removing/buffing out the scratches on my fender?

flydog

You are going to need an air compressor with an inline water filter and a touchup gun. You dont need to go down to the primer. Just scuff the whole thing with 320 grit until its dull, then clean it with reducer and wipe it down with a tack rag. The trick with the painting is having the right amount and type of reducer. Usually if you get orange peel it means too much paint or not enough reducer. Pinholes or fisheyes mean too much reducer causing the solvent to pop off or contaminated surface. If you can rent an HVLP sprayer (for car finishes not houses) it will be much easier.

My opinion is you will have a difficult time making it look the same as factory without a paint booth and the experience in diagnosing issues with the reducer/pinholes/fisheyes/etc. The likely issues are going to be contamination (dirt particles sticking to the finish) and orange peel. Getting it glass smooth takes the right combination of reducer, temperature, paint flow, gun pressure, etc. Then you need to repeat the process with the clearcoat.

If you want to try buffing it out try starting out with some 2000 grit paper and wet sand the scratches until its even with the rest of the paint. Then use some of the 3M compound they sell in stores like AutoZone. They make a fine cut and a heavy and you want to start with the heavy then finish up with the fine cut then wax it. See how that goes before tackling the paint.

fsttyms1

That color is going to be alot more difficult to match. You may need to take off your gas door and have them mix paint to match, or your going to have to spray test panels to see how many coats and the amount to reduce. If you dont have the equipement it would be cheaper just to bring it in. Buying the paint material isnt cheap.

flydog

Like I mentioned before I dont suggest this as a DIY. I have a lot of experience painting + the right equipment and I wouldnt do it just for the simple fact is it will end up costing more time and money than just going to a body shop

You can buy factory paint that is a perfect match from some online vendors but like fatty said its expensive. Roughly $250 per gallon, $80-$100 for quarts and you need both base + clear and the reducer and catalyst.