2010 Mustang Front Bumper Prep

rustover

Member
Hey guys, so I have a 2010 reproduction front bumper cover to paint. It's already primed, but not sure if that is to be trusted. Anyway what would be the steps to prep it for epoxy/paint? I guessing the first thing would be a good wash with dawn.

Thanks for the help
 

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Standard prep would be use a grey scotchbrite and some scuff stuff and water and scuff it down. Use light pressure to avoid going through the primer. Rinse, dry, then wipe down. When you wipe it down only use a waterbased W&G remover like SPI 700 as solvent based W&G removers will sometimes remove the primer. If you have bare plastic spots use some adhesion promoter in those areas as those covers are either TPO or PP or some variant of. They need ad-pro if they are bare.
 
The one I did last week I think used 3 mixed ounces of reduced epoxy. Didn't write it down so not sure. That 3 ounces is sort of what they average out when I do them.
 
I had to redo a job where a reproduction bumper was used. The factory primer fell off and took our paint with it. On the rare occasions where our customers can only afford a repro, they have to agree that there is NO paint adhesion warranty.
 
Elwood, so with 3 mixed ounces, are we talking about full coverage of epoxy? So for example with grey epoxy, will the whole bumper be grey or I'm guessing you would still see some of the black through it?

Thanks crash. Yea I'm a little worried about the factory primer.
 
If you're worried about the primer, test a spot by wiping with some reducer. If it comes off, then, take it all off. It's messy but still better to have a good ground to work with.

If you think you will need 3oz then mix 4oz. Trying to squeeze the last drops isn't a good idea.
 
I normally spray at a lower air pressure so others may need more than 3 oz mixed. I have used as much as 5 oz before. Depends on bumper cover.
 
Elwood, so with 3 mixed ounces, are we talking about full coverage of epoxy? So for example with grey epoxy, will the whole bumper be grey or I'm guessing you would still see some of the black through it?

Thanks crash. Yea I'm a little worried about the factory primer.
Sometimes I have to go back where coverage is thin. Example : white car gets white sealer then sometimes will have to do two layers on a black bumper. It all depends, no two are the same. As thin as paint is now days it's better to get good coverage with the sealer. Good discussion here btw.
 
I wanted to update this thread. I finally got the bumper painted. Wasn't too bad. I was happy with the results. I appreciate the help from everyone. I still got alot to learn with my gun setup, but I'm getting better. I'm using the DV1 setup, I like the clear gun, but need more expierence, especially with the base gun.
 

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I wanted to update this thread. I finally got the bumper painted. Wasn't too bad. I was happy with the results. I appreciate the help from everyone. I still got alot to learn with my gun setup, but I'm getting better. I'm using the DV1 setup, I like the clear gun, but need more expierence, especially with the base gun

Looks great. I have been using the DV1 guns for a little while now. If you have gun setup questions, I can tell you what works for me. That'll atleast give you a baseline, as every person and material is different.
 
Looks great. I have been using the DV1 guns for a little while now. If you have gun setup questions, I can tell you what works for me. That'll atleast give you a baseline, as every person and material is different.
Thank you. That would be great. The clear gun for me seem to work best at wide open fluid, I turn the fan in just a touch and was at 23psi. Both my guns are the digital version. The base I struggled with. Seemed to be too wet on a good test pattern through the whole pattern or dry in the middle only, with the top and bottom wet on the test pattern when I adjusted the fluid in. I was at 14 psi here. My wall pressure was at 60psi. Both guns, I'm using 1.3 tip
 
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Thank you. That would be great. The clear gun for me seem to work best at wide open fluid, I turn the fan in just a touch and was at 23psi. Both my guns are the digital version. The base I struggled with. Seemed to be too wet on a good test pattern through the whole pattern or dry in the middle only, with the top and bottom wet on the test pattern when I adjusted the fluid in. I was at 14 psi here. My wall pressure was at 60psi. Both guns, I'm using 1.3 tip
Gotcha. I run the clear gun wide open fluid and fan. Which clear are you shooting? I've been using euro 2020 so I can only really talk about that. But with that clear I started with the 1.3 tip and c2 cap but have switched to the 1.2 tip and that's been working well for me for this clear. 21 psi at the digital display. Running wall pressure around 90psi or so for all guns.
The base gun I'm using the b+ cap and 1.3 tip. Wide open fan and fluid. 16psi at the digital display.
I've always been a wide open gun guy and run all my guns as such. I've never liked the feeling of a spraying a choked up gun. Some people disagree. It's what works for me.
 
Gotcha. I run the clear gun wide open fluid and fan. Which clear are you shooting? I've been using euro 2020 so I can only really talk about that. But with that clear I started with the 1.3 tip and c2 cap but have switched to the 1.2 tip and that's been working well for me for this clear. 21 psi at the digital display. Running wall pressure around 90psi or so for all guns.
The base gun I'm using the b+ cap and 1.3 tip. Wide open fan and fluid. 16psi at the digital display.
I've always been a wide open gun guy and run all my guns as such. I've never liked the feeling of a spraying a choked up gun. Some people disagree. It's what works for me.
I appreciate the info. I will bump my pressure at the wall to 90. When I spray epoxy, I always set it high and use my RTI regulator at the gun (Tekna). My DV1 clear is the C1, I have the C2 but havent tried it. My base gun, its the standard one, it says B. Sounds like we are really close on the clear gun. A 1.2 would have probably allowed me to slow down some. Seemed like it went pretty fast on travel speed.

I have always been nervous about using epoxy as a sealer, but with my Tekna, 1.2 TE10, seems like it lays it down really nice, reduced at 25%.

I'm going to try to dial these guns in better, I just need more expierence. I really like how they feel in my hand. Ive got some old basecoat from a previous project that I need to use up.

I have sprayed alot of small parts with SPI epoxy using my lph80 Iwata, and I can set that gun up by sound and a couple of test sprays, not there yet with the full size guns. lol

As for the clear, this was SW FC720 4:1. I have some Universal that I'm wanting to get the hang of. I'm wanting to use it on my Camaro projects. I'm also wanting to try the Euro. Ive read good things about it here.
 
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