Quality painting and repair of the bumper with your own hands

Bumper - this is the part of the body that experiences enormous loads. The surface constantly suffers sand blasting (road dust), small stones fall into it. And in the parking lot can also rub it. Of course, the appearance of the bumper significantly affects the overall appearance of the car. And in order to return the car to its former, factory look, it will be necessary to repair the bumper with your own hands. Putty and painting are inevitable processes. Although you can do without them. Well, let's look at how the bumper is repaired and painted with our own hands.

Restore without painting

First, consider a method that does not require the presence of a spray gun and cans with putty. But at once we will note that the integral condition of a paint and varnish covering is an indispensable condition for this. Cracks and deep scratches can not be restored by this method. But pull out the dent is quite real. What do we need for this? Ideally, you need a building hair dryer. But in the absence of such it is possible to manage and home (a question only in duration of its use). First you need to provide access to the inside of the bumper. If necessary, we disassemble regular lockers (fenders). Then heat the area with a dent and smoothly, from the back, press on the surface. In this way we will pull out the plastic part outwards. This is the whole point of repairing the bumper without painting.

Please note that when using a hair dryer, the surface becomes very hot. Do not forget to wear protective gloves. Also remember that under the influence of hot air, the moldings can peel off spontaneously. It is rather difficult to glue them back. Therefore, it is necessary to exclude the ingress of hot air to their surface.

Recovery after severe damage

Sometimes it is required to repair a plastic element that was previously in an accident. The scale of the work can be different: from deep scratches to torn parts with cracks. In the first case, only local painting will help. The enamel is applied by the transition. In the second case, the bumper is repaired and painted. Well, let's consider how to restore this element in stages.

Preparation

For major damages, it is recommended to remove the element from the car and repair it separately. Surface preparation begins with a sink. It should be thoroughly cleaned not only from dirt, but also from bituminous stains (especially if it is repair and painting the rear bumper). Many forget to pay attention to the inside of the element. It must be cleaned no less qualitatively than the external one. It is from this side that the soldering of cracks will be made.

Pay attention to the degreaser. Not every solvent is well suited simultaneously for metal and for plastic. If it is a PVC-element, it can simply corrode an aggressive compound. Experts recommend using degreasers of two series:

• 3920S.
• 3871S.

The latter also is similar to ABS plastic. It is not aggressive to the material and at the same time qualitatively cleans the surface from contamination. Before processing, it is recommended to pre-heat the bumper to 50-60 degrees Celsius.

If the crack

In the case of a cracked bumper, you will have to work exhaustively. To do this, we will need sandpaper with different granularity and solvent. So, we scratch the paintwork a couple of centimeters wide from the crack. Remains of the enamel are washed off with a solvent (it is dipped in a soft rag). If there are remains of paint in the crack areas, the strength of the restored bumper will be in question. The repair pad is installed on a dry and carefully prepared surface.

The plastic is grasped with a soldering iron on both sides. So we will give the bumper the right shape. Next, we pick up the reinforcing mesh (such as in the photo below) and apply it on the back of the element. The most reliable way is to install the mesh on epoxy resin. The latter is mixed with the hardener and applied to the surface of the repair element. The grid will add extra strength to the site. The drying time of epoxy resin is about one day. In neglected cases, you can apply a grid to the front. But in this case, the part needs to remove some of the plastic.

Alignment of defects

So, when the reinforcing mesh withered, proceed to leveling the defects. Even with the formation of the shape of the element (when the parts are caught with a soldering iron), strong transitions will be visible. To hide them, you need putty. Mix it with the hardener and apply a small spatula to the surface. The composition is applied in several layers, with drying. Each new layer must be carefully sanded. To do this, we use sandpaper with fine grain and a bar (so that there are no noticeable run-ups in the effort). Remember that the smaller the thickness of putty, the better your repair will be performed. If the compound is applied a large layer, it can crack when drying. And this manifests itself over time, when the bumper is already dried and installed on the car. After 6-12 months, cracks appear on the surface. This is a sign that the repair was used too thick layer of putty.

Primer

After drying the finish coat again degrease the area. Next, you need to give the surface the best adhesion. For this, the soil is used. Note that the composition intended for metal will be useless on plastic. Therefore we buy a can with plastic primer only. We put it in 1-2 layers. Spray the composition as evenly as possible. When a shagreen occurs, the surface is leveled out using sandpaper. Remains of soil remove anti-silicone. This repairs and painting the front bumper does not end there.

Painting

Now go to the application of enamel. You can go in two ways:

• Buy an airbrush and a compressor.
• Use the can.

Now many companies "blow out" numbered paint in cans. Of course, this service is worth certain money. But it is still cheaper than buying a whole set of equipment for painting.

Apply enamel in a closed, not dusty room. If you hit the slightest pollen, you will see shagreen. We do not need this. Therefore, we hang the bumper (or put it on a clean, level surface) and paint it. First, a developing layer is applied. It should be the thinnest. Then the base layer of enamel is applied. It is important to distribute the paint correctly on the surface. Direct the torch strictly at right angles and at a distance of 30-40 centimeters (if nearer, there will be streaks, if further - blanks). We paint at a speed of 0.4-0.5 meters per second. Usually the composition is applied in 3 layers. How is the bumper painted and repaired? After the base enamel dries, the surface is covered with a colorless varnish. The application is similar to the previous one. First, there is a developing layer, then several basic ones. Speed, spray angle and distance are identical to the previous case.

Finishing

Painting and repairing the bumper is a fairly long process. From the time the paint is applied to drying it takes at least two days. After this period, you should thoroughly polish the paint. Better for this use a corner machine with a set of felt circles. After that, the bumper will be ready for installation. High pressure sink is contraindicated for 7-10 days. By the way, the bumper should dry out in the same place, in a dry and clean room. It is not recommended to move it and take it out on the street.

Transition painting: rules and recommendations

If local painting and repair of the bumper is done, the enamel is applied by the transition. To minimize this effect, we adhere to small rules. First, the enamel is applied to the damaged area itself. As soon as she moved to the edges of the factory, we increase the spray area. Now the distance from the torch to the bumper should be 50 or more centimeters. The farther we are repelled from the repaired plot, the greater the distance. Lacquer is applied in the same way.

So, we found out how the bumper is painted and repaired by our own hands.