The front bumper is damaged more often than other body parts. But regular trips to the car service do not bring joy to anyone. Fortunately, modern technology allows you to independently repair damage in a few hours. How to paint the bumper yourself is described in detail in this article.
Money issue
For painting a small scratch from the border in any car service, they will take at least 3,000 rubles. Repair and full painting of the front bumper from an expensive foreign car can cost as much as 15,000 rubles. And this is not surprising! For example, on a huge toyta-land-cruiser bumper, only paint and varnish will cost 3,000 rubles, not counting other expensive supplies. Therefore, the question of how much it costs to paint the bumper, without reference to a specific car model and the degree of damage, does not make sense.
However, it is easy to make an approximate calculation for the independent repair of the same scratch from the curb. Here is a list of necessary and sufficient:
- Sanding paper waterproof, gradations: P 80, P 120, P 240, P 600, P 800, P 2000 - one sheet at a time. The cost is about 30 rubles per sheet.
- Adhesive tape gray (abrasive sponge) - 10 centimeters. About 30 rubles.
- Universal polyester putty - 0.2 kg. It can cost about 300 rubles.
- Acrylic gray primer in an aerosol can. The average price is 300 rubles.
- Paint in an aerosol can, according to the color code of your car. Up to 600 rubles.
- Transparent automotive varnish in an aerosol can. Not more than 300 rubles.
- Masking tape (paper duct tape) - 1 piece. About 80 rubles.
- Large abrasive polish "3 M" No. 09374 - 50 grams. Sold by weight, about 150 rubles.
- Dust-absorbing cloth, antistatic - 1 piece. Another 50 rubles.
- Adhesion activator for plastic (plastic primer) - 50 grams. Sold by weight, about 100 rubles.
Total: approximately 2,000 rubles.
It is important to note that all of the above, except, perhaps, polishes, will not be consumed at a time. Practice shows that it can be enough for three times. As you can see, the game is worth the candle, and the answer to the question how much it costs to paint the bumper, it becomes quite ridiculous.
The main technological secret
On modern cars, the front and rear bumpers are made of plastic. In 90% of cases, it is black polypropylene. The main task when painting it is to ensure reliable adhesion (adhesion) of the first coating layer with plastic. To solve this problem, a special product has been developed - an adhesion promoter, which is often called "plastic primer."
In fact, this is not soil, but a clear liquid, ready for use. It is applied to bare plastic with a very thin layer. After a fifteen-minute exposure, any paintwork material can be applied to the bumper thus treated. Excellent adhesion guaranteed.
How to paint a bumper
Even if you need to paint the bumper completely, it is quite possible to do this using only aerosol cans. But there is one limitation! This is the sale of a suitable color paint in aerosol form. In addition, it is important to understand that the finished paint in the container may not coincide slightly in shade with the color of the machine. For spot painting somewhere at the bottom of the bumper, this is acceptable, as it will result in a smooth transition of one shade into another, and no one will notice it. But with a full painting of the front bumper, such a mismatch may be unacceptable.
In this case, there is only one way out - to order paint in a color matching laboratory and paint with a spray gun. For this, it is not necessary to buy an expensive gun and a large compressor. A small option is quite suitable at a price of about 1,000 rubles and a compressor with a receiver volume of not more than 20 liters.
Front bumper painting technology
If you bought a completely new bumper that was not primed at the factory, then first you need to wash it with laundry soap, and then saw off all the sharp edges that remained after the factory molding with P 800 abrasive.
The next stage is the thorough grinding of the entire bumper with a gray abrasive scotch tape-bright sponge. During grinding, water is not used, it will interfere with the visual control of the process. When the plastic becomes completely dull, wash off the dust with water, blow the bumper with compressed air and finally dry it.
Then wipe the entire part with a sticky anti-static cloth and apply an adhesion promoter. The activator can also be used in aerosol packaging.
After fifteen minutes, you can apply the primer (if there were scratches on the bumper) or paint (if the bumper is in perfect condition).
If your front bumper is painted in metallic or mother-of-pearl colors, you will need to apply clear varnish, but not earlier than 40 minutes after applying the last coat of paint. If it does not completely dry, then the varnish can subsequently fly off in pieces from the bumper.
All information on the use of any paints and varnishes is reflected on the packaging in text form or with the help of pictograms.
How to polish and wash the bumper after painting
At a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius, polishing can be done a day after application. In the case of a complete painting of the front bumper, polishing is needed only to remove dust particles stuck in the varnish. They are cut off with an abrasive 2 000, the risks of which, in turn, are polished with 3M coarse-polishing paste.
In open areas, you can polish with a drill and polisher mounted on a Velcro disc. Such discs are sold in many household goods stores.
In hard to reach places it is better to use a piece of cloth with polishing paste. Residues of polish are removed with a cloth from a fiber cloth.
Freshly painted plastic parts can be washed gently with water and a sponge 12 hours after applying varnish or paint. Pressure washing is only permissible after 6 weeks.