how too?????

[teejay1]

the black bumpers are faded on my 89 lx. i put armor all on them AND THEY will look ok for a while, but i would like to paint them. any advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks

[ejp2fast]

i'd remove the bumpers to paint... first clean very well, then paint primer... then regular paint with your choice of gloss, even a flat looks pretty good.. actually for mine, i just primered it black and left it.. see my sig picture.

[b8kedbeans]

It is hard to get paint to stick to the bumpers if there is any wax or sprays on the surface. If you can get the surface perfectly clean then you may get decent results by using black interior dye. It does not chip or peel and holds up very well over the years. I used VHT SP942 from Summit Racing on mine.

[Levitan]

Mothers Back in Black or Back to Black. You will be happy, trust me. The info I'm passing on to you came from Packrat427, and it works very well!

I misread your post. Use the above method until ready to paint, then use below method when ready to paint.

For painting them, I recommend you view Tulsacarman's, I think that is his name, posts, because he painted his and he is a bodyman.

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18398

[festivaWES]

I would make sure you put a flex additive into the paint. Just straight primering over a raw cover and then paint topcoat/clearcoat will peel in time. Whatever you do make sure you use a prep cleaner to clean all that armor all off. Anything that has silcone in it will cause the paint to fisheye/crater. If you scuff/sand that bumper cover before you wipe it down you will only send that silcone product into the scratches......a bad thing.

[bravekozak]

Please read the thread on painted bumpers

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17326&highlight=paint

I described the two special OEM paints manufactured by Dupont and Bee Chemical.

[deathegg]

Are you wanting to paint the bumpers to get them to be black again, or are you painting them to change the color? If you just want them black again, just use the products already mentioned here, but be sure to clean and SCRUB your bumper clean before you use them.

Now, if that's not good enough for you: If you prep the bumpers the right way, you can just use automotive spray paint, and get very good results. Here is how i did it:

Proper prep is the key when you paint the bumper. Scrub the heck out of it with strong soap solution, then scrub it with degreaser. Then I scuffed it good with a 400 grit paper. A light coat of primer, then I scuffed the primer with a scotchbrite pad. I used automotive spray paint (2 good coats). When it dries, scuff it again with 400. Give two good coats of clear. I used lacquer spray paint, so I wet sanded it with 1500, then polished the clear.

My bumpers, painted this way have NOT peeled or even cracked in 5 years. I guess some people say a flex agent is necessary, but in my experience it's not necessary if you prep the part correctly. And auto spray paint is not too expensive and easy to use.