Guinea pig needed for plastic spray paint

[J. Kennedy]

I've seen a lot of talk about this for some time. It seems all the plastic paint out there is either the flat black rubber stuff for 1980's import bumpers, or Plasikote's stuff that only dyes PORUS plastics, like seats, headliners, etc. Both are useless on hard plasics, like dashboards and the plastic trim on explorer bumpers. VHT also makes one, but not for hard plastic either

Now, Wal-Mart has this stuff for $6/small can that claims to be able to dye HARD plastic!!! Anyone try this yet? I want to paint my grey bumper trim black, but the front gets a lot of stones, and the rear I drag cargo over.

If anybody is willing to be a guinea pig please post your results!

 

[Mike 92 XLT]

Already did it. Did the whole freekin' car in fact. All the black trim, bumpers and all with SEM Trim Black and SEM satin clear coat. It looks really good, and with a coat of Zaino on there, it looks even better. Not quite as black as I wanted (I was looking for a really, really deep jet black), but rather a more satin black look, like OEM. I think with a few more coats of Zaino I'm going to be really happy with it. I took some pics of the process that I need to get developed, but when I do I'll post 'em.

peace

Mike

 

[Jason94sport]

Where did you get this stuff? & how much was it? I need to repaint my mirrors, & the black sport trim on the sides of the X.

 

[espnfreak]

should've read this before i posted the same question in the the general explorations forum, oh well, ya i want it to match the color of my car, i just got a 99 bumper and want to get it black. i'm not very artistic and am not sure what i should do. myself or professionally

 

[Mike 92 XLT]

I got it at an auto body paint supply place. I got two cans of paint, one can of clearcoat, and one roll of blue painter's tape for about $36. Of course, I ended up buying about seven more rolls of tape to do the whole car. You definitely won't need that much. It's a really, really good OEM match. I think that with the clearcoat, it ends up looking not as black in direct sunlight, but I am really happy with it.

peace

Mike

 

[espnfreak]

so for the bumper will i mess it up?

 

[J. Kennedy]

Thanks Mike! How well does it seem to adhere? How long has it been on your 1992? I'm looking for something to take a beating...

 

[espnfreak]

how hard to apply and will it be easy to put on a 1999 bumper for a sport and match to a 1996. how much discoloration will the 96 have

 

[Mike 92 XLT]

The cool thing about this stuff is that it is really hard to mess up. I cleaned all the black trim with rubbing alcohol first to remove any wax and contaminants. The directions are on the can, but what you basically do is spray multiple light coats, waiting about five minutes between each coat until it looks how you want. Mine has been on there about three weeks or so, and I have had no problem with cracking, peeling, fading, etc. With the clearcoat and the Zaino, I should never have the trim fade again. I just put my second coat of Zaino on today and it looks even better.

What I would suggest you do is what I did: practice on your front license plate bracket. Pull it off the truck, set it on some newspaper in your garage, and give it a shot. If you mess it up, you can get a new one. This way you can get a feel for how the paint works. But like I said, it's really hard to mess up.

peace

Mike

 

[espnfreak]

well this is a new bumper and i'd feel HORRIBLE if i messed it up and i want it to look professional, do i get masking tape for the car or should i dismount the whole bumper when i spray

 

[01EB5.0]

READ!

Guys, i don't think any poor Guinea pig will like this stuff sprayed on him. Those poor aniumals get so much crap tested on them and more then likely they die. lets just spare one poor helpless guinea pig...PLEASE! I'm no animal rights activist, but if you guys keep spraying animals next thing we know there will be animal rights activists on here. Thanks for understanding!

 

[jasonf83]

painted bumper

jas84, if you mess it up(ie a run in the paint) just get some 300-500 t=grit wetsand paper and wet sand the run out. then repaint. for good looking finish that wont crack(assuming fiberglass or plastic) use a flexitive in your paint. the key to any paint job is preperation. !st you ned to wash the bumper(cover) with a mild deteregent(car wash soap) dry it of with a lint free towel. lightly sand it w/ 500 grit (wet)sand paper until it is "scuffed"(it must be smooth, so no brillo pad) when you are done w/ this, wipe the entire bumper down w/ grease and wax remover(rubbing alchol will work to) i recomend taking the bumper(cover) off the x to paint. paint as you normally would(not with a brush)

 

[pmassche]

Hey Guys,

I have a 1997 2 door, and also have that stupid brown/grey plastic trim on my front and rear bumper.

I want to do the exact same thing this spring,
paint the plastic trim black with some sort of flexible paint that won't peel off the plastic.

Do any of you have pictures of the finished product?

I can be e-mailed at pmassche@hotmail.com

Thanks,

Phil

 

[Hartman]

I've bought three cans of gloss black bumper trim to get rid of the ugly purple-ish brown color of the trim, but I've held off because I don't want to take the bumpers off. Did you guys, that have already done it, take the bumpers off when you painted, or did you just leave the trim on and mask everything off?

 

[Mike 92 XLT]

I just masked everything off but the black trim and then sprayed away. I have some pics of the car under a ton of newspapers and blue tape. It looks pretty odd! I'll have to find them when I get back to Cali and post them.

peace

Mike