Painting a New Gm Bumper

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El Toro

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Hi and thanks in advance. Long time SPI user.
Have a new from GM 2000 Pontiac Trans-am front bumper cover to paint.
Question is what process do most of you guys use? Inside lable reads "F car transam Mortn blck prm".
Is this cover have Morton primer on it and can I just base it and clear?
thanks Tom
 
I'm speaking for myself here, but I never paint directly over anyone's primer but my own. This means a coat of reduced epoxy at the very least.
 
I tend to use a sanding paste to prep them wet, then dry and as crash said, apply a sealer of some sort, on collision jobs I like to seal with 2k sealer or turbo sealer, but on a more important job I will do as crash said and use epoxy, either way i would not just spray base and clear, seems like any time that is done you can expect peeling in the future.
 
First of all unless you plan on stripping the primer on the bumper whatever you spray on top of it is irrelevant. Use the proper prep method you would use whenever painting anything.

Like I said...whatever you do is irrelevant unless you plan on stripping the bumper. Other wise scuff it and go!!!

BTW...most bumpers have whatever the factory sprayed them with in the first place. If you think your bumper is gonna out last the rest of the car...knock yourself out with extra primer, epoxy, sealer etc....but again.... strip it first!
 
I'd use scuff paste, a bit of epoxy, then base coat and clear.
 
Clausen;15559 said:
First of all unless you plan on stripping the primer on the bumper whatever you spray on top of it is irrelevant. Use the proper prep method you would use whenever painting anything.

Like I said...whatever you do is irrelevant unless you plan on stripping the bumper. Other wise scuff it and go!!!

BTW...most bumpers have whatever the factory sprayed them with in the first place. If you think your bumper is gonna out last the rest of the car...knock yourself out with extra primer, epoxy, sealer etc....but again.... strip it first!
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This is an old post, and I am certain the job is long done, but I would like to respectfully disagree with the opinion stated above. I don't think GM would put any primer on a new bumper that they couldn't stand behind from a quality perspective. That said, a sealer or primer will adhere better to the cured factory primer better than basecoat would. Basecoat will adhere better and thus be more chip resistant over a fresh application of primer or sealer. In this case, it's not an issue regarding the quality of the existing primer, it's whether the long-term durability of the job could be enhanced by the use of an additional product.

This advice is particularly relevant when refinishing factory e-coated parts, but still applies to new flexible parts as well.
 
crashtech;15597 said:
This is an old post, and I am certain the job is long done, but I would like to respectfully disagree with the opinion stated above. I don't think GM would put any primer on a new bumper that they couldn't stand behind from a quality perspective. That said, a sealer or primer will adhere better to the cured factory primer better than basecoat would. Basecoat will adhere better and thus be more chip resistant over a fresh application of primer or sealer. In this case, it's not an issue regarding the quality of the existing primer, it's whether the long-term durability of the job could be enhanced by the use of an additional product.

This advice is particularly relevant when refinishing factory e-coated parts, but still applies to new flexible parts as well.
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That's a good point and I partially meant what you are saying in your statement that the GM bumper will have a quality primer. I didn't understand what you meant until this post. Thanks for the clarification. Makes a lot more sense now to me!!!
 
I think the emphasis here is on maximizing quality. Sometimes I try and frame my advice to apply over a wider range of conditions, for example, someone might take this thread to mean they can paint their aftermarket or remanufactured cover in the same way. While you might easily get away with basecoating a OEM primed bumper directly, you'd be asking for trouble in some other situations where a lesser quality primer has been used. You seem like an accomplished technician, but you have to remember that many in our audience are just learning, and we generally like to teach the best and safest ways to do things without falling back into a production work mentality.
 
I like to always spray a sealer coat of epoxy on my bumpers before painting.
It reduces future rock chips a lot.
 
crashtech;15633 said:
I think the emphasis here is on maximizing quality. Sometimes I try and frame my advice to apply over a wider range of conditions, for example, someone might take this thread to mean they can paint their aftermarket or remanufactured cover in the same way. While you might easily get away with basecoating a OEM primed bumper directly, you'd be asking for trouble in some other situations where a lesser quality primer has been used. You seem like an accomplished technician, but you have to remember that many in our audience are just learning, and we generally like to teach the best and safest ways to do things without falling back into a production work mentality.
Click to expand...

Could not agree more crash!!!

Production work does not always have the highest standard in quality. While it may be acceptable to do it one way because that is what is allowed and the norm for a production shop, does not mean you can't improve upon that and make it better.
 
Most of the stuff I do is for car dealers. This may be a bad attitude but I work on cars that are 1 to 2 years old and almost all of them need paint work to the bumpers, so my attitude is..its gonna need to be painted in a couple years any way...so as long as the paint doesn't fail in that time frame I don't worry too much about it. (I had a customer back into the light pole at the end of my drive way after I just fixed his bumper...LOL)....also the car dealer isn't gonna pay any where near retail. If you are doing retail work and are going to warranty the work or doing work for yourself etc, I agree do every reasonable thing you can to make the job last as long as possible. SPI's epoxy primer is pretty amazing! I use that when I don't want a job to come back!

I know many people aren't going to agree with this but I just paint too many bumpers...and bumpers that have already been painted before I paint them so I just feel like it is kinda a waste. But if I was getting $300 a bumper I'd probably spray Epoxy primer my self especially since I like the stuff so much!!! ;)
 
Clausen, are you an on-site tech? Never mind. Just read your other post under "Introductions and questions". I had a feeling based on your comments. Was in the business myself for a number of years. Ahh the good old days ...
 
Phil, though I will be the first to tell you there are hacks in the on-site paint business, there are also very accomplished techs as well. I personally sell product to a number of on-site painters who do every bit as good a job as any fixed location shop. When i ran my on-site business, I personally prided myself in doing high quality work that met or exceeded the average production body shop. To make a general statement that all "dealer" painters work is garbage is frankly ignorant. For many on-site painters, the price many car lots are willing to pay for a spot repair or bumper refinish is shameful. If they were willing to pay for a little better quality, experiences like your friends would not be as common place. Ok, I'm done venting!
 
Yes, many refuse to do low price, low quality work, but there always seems to be some hungry tech that will fill the void by painting unsanded or minimally prepped surfaces with poor quality product.

I just can't do it. not only because of my reputation, but after so many wasted hours cussing out and correcting poor quality work, I could not force myself to be hypocritical enough to do it myself. So every nook and cranny gets scratched up or blasted, and low quality materials have long ago been banished. Much of this kind of rework gets done with inadequate compensation, (it's hard to sell the customer on just how much time it takes to correct previous work) but it is ultimately satisfying to know that we have set things straight with very minimal compromise.
 
I think everyone is right here for good or bad.

I would say we easily sell to over a 100 different guys that do nothing but on site lot work.
Some yes, the procedures sound pretty bad when I talk to them, some it sounds like a normal job you would get at any good body shop.
Then there are some or few I talk to are trying to do the job that will last 20 years, they are few and far in between but one is actually on this forum, and so paranoid I have actually told him he is nuts at least 20 times over the years.

It is a big business and at any given time there may be 4-8 tents set up at the Car-Max lot and the whole problem is the GM of the car lot, has one thing in mind, lowest price to get that bumper spotted in and all he cares about is the paint last long enough to sell the car.
 
Most people only own a used car for a few years before they get rid of it , and in that time it has a good chance of having its bumper(s) bumped again or its doors dinged .

Used car lot work is not restoration or show work, it is a car someone didn't like getting cleaned up for the next guy to not like.

No sense putting lipstick on a pig is what my Dad says.

just my nickles worth, lol.
 
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