How to restore my bumpers to former glory?

[Apolan]

Hi!

Because my car has changed hands many times before it got to me, the bomper hve gotten red from the original black-plastic-unclored..

as i want to make the car to look stock, i would like to "scrub" the paint off the bumpers, make them black again.. maybe paint the top in color and leave oly the bottom black.

But i dont know how to recondition them? Should i sand-blast them or what? And i dont want them to be smooth and shiny black, so i would like not to color them, or i dunno use black- very mat color?

please do advise.

tnx,s.

[firehawk]

At least some industrial paints are available in different levels of glossiness so you could choose a semi-gloss black paint as a base. You'll probably need to add a bit of elasticity additive to it to keep the paint from flaking if the bumper gets bent or hit. Finally, some paint manufacturers have a "texturizer" additive which causes the paint to cure with an uneven surface, much like what the original plastic molded surface looked like. I think this would result in a surface that's pretty close to stock as you can get by painting.

At least Spies-Hecker has this additive which is being advertised for repairing bumpers, etc. They also have an elastic additive which is probably a good idea to use on a bumper. I've been using Tikkurila paints and they have similar products available - however, they're a finnish manufacturer so their paints may not be as commonly available.

[Apolan]

Thanx, for the info, hopefully they'll have something similar here..

Still the question remains, how do i get the paint and the kit off? My rear bumper started cracking, and big thick chunks of kit and paint are falling off. I really dont wanna die sanding off this thick layer of kit, could i sand-blast the paint off? or use some (di)solvant that would not disolve the bumper? And also what should i use for primer on the bumpers, so the new paint sticks well?

[Ivan141]

I believe brake fluid does wonders for stripping paint without damaging plastic parts (like thinner would). Just use a testspot somewhere inconspicous and give it a go... I use it on models some times.

[Max_Misawa]

brake fluid huh thats a great tip

i know they have this stuff for black trims
its call BACK TO BLACK
that might work on the bumpers

Max

[Apolan]

thanx for the tips guys, i'll give it a go, see what ill find.