Painting my Trim

[dkalleck]

I decided that the gray trim on my explorer was pretty generic. So, i decided to pull the trim and paint it. Looking to do the same color (black). Though, i'm going to check the paint code to match it up.
I'll upload some pics of the work i did today: removing the trim.
The bumpers are going to be the hard part.

 

[V8powerbaby]

i did the same thing to mine. my grey had waves in it and just looked like crap so i went all black and havent had any problems. make sure the area is clean and scuffed and u use a quality paint

 

[dkalleck]

sweet

Yeah, i just bought the paint. Some gloss black. I just have to find somewhere to do it since i live in an apartment.

 

[dkalleck]

Hold up

Painting was postponed for a little while. Bumped into a Nissan and my front bumper bent. So, i took some pics of the brackets. You can see the difference easily.

Here's the my truck minus trim and front bumper.

Hopefully with the extra day off this weekend i'll finish it up.

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

nice sport

 

[71cutty455]

Painting was postponed for a little while. Bumped into a Nissan and my front bumper bent. So, i took some pics of the brackets. You can see the difference easily.

Ouch. I did the same thing when I first got my Explorer, except I hit someone else's car ... I just took off the bumper and brackets like you did and got out the BFH (Big F*ckin' Hammer for those that don't know) and knocked the crap out of the brackets until they were straight. Put it all back together and you couldn't even tell anything happened. Have fun...

 

[dkalleck]

Ouch. I did the same thing when I first got my Explorer, except I hit someone else's car ... I just took off the bumper and brackets like you did and got out the BFH (Big F*ckin' Hammer for those that don't know) and knocked the crap out of the brackets until they were straight. Put it all back together and you couldn't even tell anything happened. Have fun...

Luckily my insurance company cut me a check so i could buy the new bumper and brackets. It saved me the trouble of painting the bumper.

 

[dfisher8871]

ya i panted mine to. the plastic was like a skin tone and the body red. so took it all off and panted them all black using that krylon paint for plastic. now the x looks great with black trim and red body

 

[Paraphoe]

Just FYI, http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=216871

Good luck! Makes a world of difference.

 

[dkalleck]

sweet

Just FYI, http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=216871

Good luck! Makes a world of difference.

thanks. there was another thread where someone did the same stuff. Both a big help

 

[71cutty455]

Luckily my insurance company cut me a check so i could buy the new bumper and brackets. It saved me the trouble of painting the bumper.

So did mine :biggthump I just kept the money since you couldn't even tell there was damage after I fixed it.

 

[dkalleck]

pics

UPDATE!!!!
Here is the new pre-painted bumper, installed, minus trim.

Thought it would be neat to spray my tail pipe with truck bed liner

Trim drying on my porch. Luckily it was a low wind/dust day.

Rear fender flares sanded

Bumper trim and valance. Sprayed the valance with truck bed liner.

Rear bumper painted

Rear cover and step prepped. I sprayed it down with truck bed liner after the pic.

So shiny, but no clear coat yet

Everything is clear coated now. Just waiting till the weekend to polish it up and bring out the gloss.

 

[BlakeGordon]

i thinkin about painting my bumper to. the same thing happend to my front bumper brackets but i hit a fire hydrent when i was driving threw tall grass... lol

 

[dkalleck]

i thinkin about painting my bumper to. the same thing happend to my front bumper brackets but i hit a fire hydrent when i was driving threw tall grass... lol

going all black? i think that would look pretty rockin' with the forest green

 

[smurfxlt]

ive wanted to do this for a long time. i think i might soon. im also gonna black out the tail lights and front windows to match the back, and black american racing rims with 31s and a 2 inch lift. its gonna be sick!

 

[BlakeGordon]

yeah black and green is what im goin for. did u sand the crome on ur back bumper or just spray it?

 

[dkalleck]

ive wanted to do this for a long time. i think i might soon. im also gonna black out the tail lights and front windows to match the back, and black american racing rims with 31s and a 2 inch lift. its gonna be sick!

That'd be pretty sweet. I've been looking for taillights. Haven't decided if i want to put the effort into blacking them out. I kind of want a more flush design also.

 

[dkalleck]

yeah black and green is what im goin for. did u sand the crome on ur back bumper or just spray it?

My rear bumper wasn't chrome. It was already painted gray. I wet sanded everything with 400 grit. 2 or 3 coats of Krylon Fusion gloss black. 2 coats of clear coat.

Now i just have to polish the trim to bring out some shine and wax the car.

 

[voss24]

looks great! Just curious, you did the valence in bed liner and the rest in black spray paint? how many cans?

 

[dkalleck]

looks great! Just curious, you did the valence in bed liner and the rest in black spray paint? how many cans?

4 or 5 of black, about 3 clear coat, and two bed liner.