Painting my bumpers, alternate color?

[Aaronbrook37]

I've tried the Krylon fusion, and it gets dusty and rubs off when I have tried it on Festiva bumpers...

Interesting. Maybe light coloured bumper coating underneath might do the trick. The other option would be to dye them with something, but that's a little more permanent obviously.

[lessersivad]

^ dude, shut your hole and learn something.

Bob, first, an enamel paint won't flex and expand/contract with the bumper, so you're looking at cracking soon after it cures unless you add a flex agent to the paint.

DO NOT use MEK to clean the bumpers, it's really agressive and can melt the many plastics quickly. instead, use a powerful degreaser like purple power and follow up with denatured alcohol to remove the remaining residue.

I know whenever I've painted flexible surfaces in the past with ACRYLIC enamel I've had no issues with cracking or peeling.

Using the hardener intended for the paint would make it flexible in the case of acrylic.

I used to have a piece/chunk of paint that cured in the bottom of the mixing container of one paint job. That piece stayed flexible for years and I would use it to demonstrate to "customers" so they knew what sort of paint was going to be applied.

After close to a decade the chuck finally got to the point where it would crack when folded over on itself. The thickness was approx. 1/4".

[FestYboy]

^ right but a straight enamel paint loves to crack... hense the flex agent, be it acrylic or otherwise.

as for the "shut your hole" comment, I'm not aware of any color shop that WON'T paint a bumper. it's just a matter of proper prep and paint. also, i've had very good experiance with the Duplicolor products: no cracking/pealing/chiping. no if you're bumpers have started to break down due to UV/weather damage, that's another story because the composition of the plastic has now changed.

[lessersivad]

I think I'll have to experiment with the oil base hardener I have. Maybe It'll flex as good as the acrylic hardener.

[Flyin4stroke]

bullydog they sell it at Walmart. It's an adhesion promotor you can spray it on anything and it makes anything stick basically. It's also flexible.

[Flyin4stroke]

[scitzz]

no if you're bumpers have started to break down due to UV/weather damage, that's another story because the composition of the plastic has now changed.

I dare say that that is the issue I face. What should I use then?

[FestYboy]

you have to get back down to the undamaged plastic... or a new bumper via sleezebay. if you're to use your "damaged" bumper, don't be affraid to be agressive about getting down to good plastic. and you MUST make sure there's no dust when you're done (use tac cloth).

[Team Lightning]

My local parts store sells Nason brand and can mix the stock colors with flex additive.

[bobstad]

What about an electric wire brush? Curing/northern maritime climate?

I'm trying to imagine the best, least expensive method of getting down to some healthy plastic in my grey bumpers; to prep them for some sort of, as of yet to be exactly decided, purple?

There are of course a variety of wire brush choices as the first choice which comes to mind, so I wonder where to start my experiments?* Guessing, a new brush seems one imperative?

Maybe renting a more powerful set-up an afternoon would work; while besides that, I imagine very useful is knowing which wire brush to use, while also knowing the scale of abrasiveness these are available in, where, etc? Using hand brushes is another idea, that seems likely to be a lot of work-if even feasible reasonably?

With some good enamel already around-including red, blue & white. Were I to use the enamel with an additive as advised here; I think several thin coats rather than fewer thick ones best, while also wondering about the humid north Puget Sound maritime climate curing the coats...in the past with other projects often discouraging! Probably bringing everything inside somewhere would be best, though yucky to imagine in the apartment!


*I already have one of the least powerful rechargeable electric drill type units, a six volt Black & Decker Target was selling for around $12; when they were out of them, I paid about $23 for, at another chain store in Eureka selling mostly lumber yard stuff.

With this unit, I'd be going at a "by the square inch per minute" pace; if even that quickly, is a theory: An internal battery, so idle sixteen hours to charge that only labors a modest time afterwards; great for most of my needs, mostly punching bolt &/or screw holes in the furring strip, 3/8" plywood & cedar fencing slat shelving I build.

[bravekozak]

I used to tech flexible paints for car bumpers at the OEM supplier paint line. They used some paint from what used to be Bee Chemical (now foreign owned) and Dupont. The Festiva bumpers are TPO (thermo plastic olefin). They are solvent (gas) resistant, and have a low glass transition temperature. In other words, they flex without cracking at very low temperatures. The special paint is acid catalysed heat cure. When I say heat, I mean low heat (148F), so as not to distort the plastic. TPO will deform at high temperatures. If you take the lid off the paint, it will not skin over. The solvent will start to flash off. Did I mention that this paint is expensive? The best place to paint a car bumper is in the experimental kitchen at Rimply (the OEM bumper paintshop) in Newmarket. Just buy him supper, and he will put your bumper skin on a buck and elctrostatically hand spray in factory position. Or, take your chances with the spray robots on the production line.

[deathegg]

It's interesting to me to see people recommend flex additives, special paints, etc etc to paint a Festy bumper; it's not that hard folks! And to the person who said painting a Festy bumper is impossible - yeah, you're wrong.

When I painted my bumper, I prepped it as though it was a metal surface on a car, including degreasing, sanding, primer, etc. Used regular automotive paint in spray cans - I used Duplicolor lacquer. That's right, not enamel-LACQUER. I used no adhesion promoter or flex agent or anything of the sort. Prep, prime, paint. Then I wet sanded and clear coated it.

The paint never -NEVER- came off the bumpers; it adhered like it was a factory job, with no flaking or peeling at all. Many years later, I had chips in the front bumpers from about 6 years of driving, including two cross-country trips. And the tops of the bumpers started to fade after a few years in the SoCal sun and heat. Otherwise, no problems.

[wikinger]

krylon fusion works fantastic on plastic bumpers,had it on going on 3 years,no problems.

[B3Festiva]

Re: Painting my bumpers, alternate color?

I painted my bumpers with krylom 50/50 flat black, looks and works amazing no problems runs or chips i recommend it highly.

170k+ B3 Festiva L slo-kart.