Bumper painting

[TerryMason]

I'm getting a new unpainted bumper in a few days, and I wanted to see what you guys think I should do for paint. I don't want anything textured, just a standard semi-gloss black.

So what type / brand of paint should I use? I do have a paint gun, so I could buy professional paint if I wanted to, but that would probably be more expensive than just a rattle can.

 

[Utah_jeepster]

I rattle off several professional brands names of paint, but as you said costs.
The main thing that I have found is that it doesn't matter what brand nor color...for bumpers, sliders, and rocker knockers its all in the prep work.
Getting your primer base down after throughly cleaning the bumper after good 220 grit random orbital scuffing lays a good foundation for a epoxy type of primer. After a good 24hr dry time in the sun, just about any type of rattle can works as long as you lay down nice smooth layers.

Personally I have found that bumpers take the brunt of most road chips and off-road beatings. Every year I was touching them up to keep the rock chips from rusting till I went with Dupi-colors truck bed liner.
It held up better for several years till I went with Herca-liners roll on and didn't dig up the bottom of the can as I was mixing it. The rubberizing has held up better than I could imagine on and off road.

 

[jps4jeep]

Paint it PINK

IMHO, use some 3M pads to skuff up the metal, wipe it down with some MEK and then apply 2 coats of a self etching primer with 10 minutes of tact time between coats, then 2 coats of PINK rustoleum... OK you can use what ever color you want.

 

[elevatorman]

If you want a tough finish, easy application,and good looks
Try "MERCRUISER" phantom black.
This is the color of mercury outboadrs and out drives
It is available at most boat shops and looks like powder coat when dry.
I used it on a few parts restoring a 1969 toyota fj40 and could not tell the difference between the actual powder coating and the paint.
Its about 9.00 a can

 

[TerryMason]

wipe it down with some MEK

What's MEK? I've never heard of it.

I do have quite a bit of Metal Ready - from POR 15. It's a metal etcher that leves a Zinc coating. I may use it, as it claims to be a perfect base for any paint.


elevatorman - There are a couple of boating places near me, I'll spin buy and take a look for that. It sounds like a good idea.

Thanks for the tips Utah - I've done great paint with poor prep in the past, and I think you've exactly right - it just doesn't work.

 

[pitbulld45]

Short of powder coating I think you will be touching it up alot so just about anything will do. I also like the rustoleum.

 

[Utah_jeepster]

What's MEK? I've never heard of it.

methyl ethyl ketone is an industrial base solvent that you can pick up in any home depot or Lowell's store.
It will eat some plastic base PEP and some PETE types of plastics.
A less aggressive cleaner will work but MEK will clean anything down to its base.

 

[sledd]

Bumper painting
powder coating i think would be worth the extra $$$. No touch up needed. Good hunting....

 

[jps4jeep]

Thanks Utah.. MEK is pretty aggressive, and smells pretty good, but don't smell too much, make ya all loopy. Mineral spirits are pretty much the same thing, but a little less harsh on plastics.

 

[TerryMason]

I ended up just using what I had:
Metal Ready from POR15 for the initial cleaning
then mineral spirits to give everything a good wipe down.

I shot it with rustoleum gray primer, then top coated it with gloss black. It looks pretty darn good.

I'll post photos here once I get it installed.

 

[pitbulld45]

Sounds good, cant wait to see the pics.

 

[TerryMason]

It's been raining for days here, so I haven't been able to mount the bumper, but hopefully I'll get a chance tonight.

 

[TerryMason]

I ended up using metal ready from Por 15 to clean and etch the metal, then I used mineral spirits with rubber gloves on to clean everything down. I then shot it with rattle can primer and then rattle can black.

You can see photos of my bumper here:

http://www.jeepz.com/forum/cj-yj-tj-jk/24975-my-new-ground-pounder-fab-jeep-bumper.html