What should I do about painting this bumper?

[az_240]

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a229/livinglegendlll/IMG_1675.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a229/livinglegendlll/IMG_1677.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a229/livinglegendlll/IMG_1679.jpg
Just purchased this JDM rear bumper and did not realize how thick this paint/primer was... Its pretty damn thick and its cracked all over in that area and just kinda peels... Rest of the bumper is fine.

I was wondering... am I seriously going to have to sand the shit out of this thing until I am down to the plastic to get it even? Should I even attempt to use a body filler since its cracking?

Does anyone know of a good plastic filler so I can fill some of the scratches in without it cracking over time?

Any input is great appreciated.

Thanks

[Black240sxSD]

Have it media blasted and then go from there

[spoolandslide]

scrape all the paint off if its that crappy and then just sand it and repaint it

[HS13KLS]

^ yea...thats your best bet... i mean unless you slap fiberglass or somthign over it..although it wont flex well and will crack.

good luck though man

[az_240]

scrape all the paint off if its that crappy and then just sand it and repaint it

Wouldnt there be a little lip tho if I scraped just the bad paint off and tried sanding it the existing paint smooth? What about other places on the bumper where it is just crackes? Shouldnt I removed those portions of the paint as well?

Thanks for the quick replys

[Black240sxSD]

if you have it media blasted you will save alot of time, and it will just take it down to the bare surface where it began before primer and paint.

[GSXRJJordan]

If the bumper itself isnt cracking (meaning there's a painted surface underneath the cracked shit), I'd wire wheel it (4" wire wheel on a drill). That'll do the same as media blasting, just takes a little more elbow grease.

[5t341tH]

go buy a paint stripper for bumpers. its made by a company called BULLDOG. i was about to take that route but i got lazy. from other forums i've seen, it works very well

[kyoru]

Like everyone said, just get it blasted, if you sand that it will take you years.

[silpena]

get a paint stripper or d/a it.

[bo2o]

sand, bonda, glaze, paint and clear.... call it a day..

feather edge the chips...

[usajdm]

Your gonna have to take it all down since its already started lifting off.
Just sanding it in that one area will not keep the seperation of paint and plastic from continuing.
Media plasting would be great, and you could probably get a good price scince the piece is not that big, but if your trying to save the money then go with the Bulldog (by KLEANSTRIP)stripper that was mentioned earlier.
It works, messy as hell but it works.
Whatever the method, just be sure to strip the whole bumper.
Good luck.

[az_240]

I think im just gona get a tarp and go to town with some bulldog:)
Local paint shops should have that right?

Its not going to mess up the bumper or anything is it?

[DOOK]

I wouldn't use any kind of stripper that could damage the bumper, you never really know. I'd go with Jordans suggestion and wire wheels it, you can judge yourself and see not to go too awful deep. Once you get it down, use a thin layer of body filler and sand it all down smooth... prime.... paint.... admire...

[fbiphil]

If this bumper is OEM/ flexible plastic, have you tried bending it and flexing it around a bit? This might crack off most of the paint, saving you a bunch of work...
If you go with a chemical, just test a small area on an inside bottom corner to make sure it doesn't react with the plastic, then go to town!
Good luck!

[DohcKA]

Dont Use Aircraft Remover....

[JRas]

paint stripper sounds like a bad idea, I've seen that stuff melt plastic

if you do feel like risking it test it in a smaller area, don't want to ruin that jdm rear bumper

pictures of completed state

[thejapino]

I had an S14 with bad paint on the front bumper. Its like they bought a brand new (aftermarket OEM) bumper and sprayed color and clear on it without any primer or flex agent. It started chipping and it wouldn't stop. I got tired of it and took off the bumper and started twisting/flexing it. Threw it on the ground, beat on it and I got all of the paint off of it. I was left with an all black rubber bumper.

When you repaint it, bring it to a shop and have them spray it. They add something to the paint to allow it to flex with the bumper so that it doesn't chip as easily.

[axiomatik]

media blast it.

[mistamacadamian]

my friend with a z32 sanded his down and spray painted it, it actually looks really fucking good. if your interested i can see what products he actually used, PM me if you want to

[SleepySR]

theres a product called "peeler" for removing paint on non-metal surfaces use it to remove the paint .Then sand the old filler with 100-150 grit , after all the filler is gone use a heat gun to get it as close to the original shape as possible by heating it up and cooling it with cold water . Coat with some bulldog adhesion promoter , apply 3M™ Automix™ EZ Sand Flexible Parts Repair and finnish it out with 240 grit paper , apply urethane primer , wetsand with 400 grit paper .... refinnish as needed ....

[5t341tH]

Your gonna have to take it all down since its already started lifting off.
Just sanding it in that one area will not keep the seperation of paint and plastic from continuing.
Media plasting would be great, and you could probably get a good price scince the piece is not that big, but if your trying to save the money then go with the Bulldog (by KLEANSTRIP)stripper that was mentioned earlier.
It works, messy as hell but it works.
Whatever the method, just be sure to strip the whole bumper.
Good luck.
thanx for catching my mistake.
OP. the Bulldog is a stripper made for bumpers so it wont melt the plastic. lmk how it goes. i tried looking for it too and i couldnt find it locally anywhere i looked.

[az_240]

hm Im kinda scurred to use paint stripper now.... Im going to try to flex the bumper and just peel that shit off when I have a chance.... never even thought of that.

I am curious tho... what exactly is media blasting?


Thanks for the help guys

[DOOK]

media blasting is like sand blasting but instead of sand you use these little tiny glass balls... kinda cool... finding a media blaster big enough to fit a bumper inside of may be tough though

[I10cruiser]

dman that is some thick paint:Pgl

[az_240]

ohhhh yeah Ive used one of those before on an intake manifold.... Looked great after... you put your arms into these rubber gloves and blast away with this gun thing...

cool stuff but I dont have any idea who would have one big enough for a bumper

[usajdm]

Dont get spooked by everyone saying not to use paint stripper(aircraftstripper).
Thats not the same as KleanStrip Bulldog.
BullDog IS made for plastic bumpers, thats why its not called aircraft stripper.
Wire wheels and sanders will work, but its gonna mark up the plastic so much that youll have created way more work then needed.
Once again, media blasting would be best.
"Plastic Bumper Safe" chemical stripping would be my second choice.

....remember, not all advice comes from knowledge.

[az_240]

Just an update... I purchased that bulldog crap and it barely works...
I used an entire $16 can and just barely got the clear coat off after 30 minutes of scraping... Followed instructions and everything

So now I have to order another can to get the paint off... this stuff seems to have little to no effect on the bondo.

Moral of the story... dont buy bumpers with cracking paint and bondo everywhere.:smash:

[DRIFTSTAR INC]

Try your Auto Paint store for a product named "Peeler" it will take the paint of better than the bulldog stuff, but it wont touch the bondo/glazing putty

[sked707]

:eek: Damn thats thick! I'm working on my sideskirts at the moment cuz they started peeling too. I'm using a scraper with a screwdriver-type handle on it to get the thick paint & bondo off & it works. only thing that sucks is that it gets f***ed up when the blade gets in at a bad angle & sinks into the plastic which is not good. Other than that i'm also using like 80 grit sandpaper on a block to get the last of the paint off. Took a while & is a PITA but it's getting there.

[supergoob]

keep us updated..im sure alot of us run into similiar problems, i know i am

[az_240]

yeah it is a real pita...

Wish I woulda paid the extra $20 for a good bumper

I like the bulldog stuff because it is pretty mild... I dont think it will mess the bumper up. Just gotta work at it some more.