Plastic bumper paint - do they "bake" it?
Discussion
Mrs D managed to scrape the plastic bumper of one of her cars against a masonry column today... It's gone right through to the plastic, but from a cursory inspection by torchlight I don't think there's any cracks or creases. I suspect the whole bumper as been shifted a couple of mm, but I'm hoping that's due to give in the mountings rather than anything more serious. It's certainly more than a "scratch repair" type job though, there's some deep gouges all the way through the primer and into the plastic.
I'll be taking it off to a recommended bodyshop when I have the time, but there's just one nagging, possibly silly question I'd like to have straight in my head before going...
Would a reputable bodyshop "bake" paint onto plastic bumpers? I ask because I had a plastic bumper repaired once, at an outfit that turned out to be less than stellar. They baked it (and told me as much), and it was never quite the same after. I will never know if the resulting sag was due to the plastic welding introducing some tension, or if it was due to being baked, but I'd rather avoid the risk.
So, would I get bemused looks if I asked a decent painter "do you bake plastic bumpers?"
Is it totally safe if done at the correct temperature?
I'll be taking it off to a recommended bodyshop when I have the time, but there's just one nagging, possibly silly question I'd like to have straight in my head before going...
Would a reputable bodyshop "bake" paint onto plastic bumpers? I ask because I had a plastic bumper repaired once, at an outfit that turned out to be less than stellar. They baked it (and told me as much), and it was never quite the same after. I will never know if the resulting sag was due to the plastic welding introducing some tension, or if it was due to being baked, but I'd rather avoid the risk.
So, would I get bemused looks if I asked a decent painter "do you bake plastic bumpers?"
Is it totally safe if done at the correct temperature?
^^^^What steve said.
They will probably use an adhesion promoter on areas of bare plastic, applied to the plastic then primer, colour & clear.
The operator needs to keep an eye on temperatures if using IR lamps as things can get very hot if the lamps are too close to the surface or id using outside a hot sunny day can boost the temp significantly.
Certain colours can also affect the amount of heat.
And yes, you can melt certain plastics!
They will probably use an adhesion promoter on areas of bare plastic, applied to the plastic then primer, colour & clear.
The operator needs to keep an eye on temperatures if using IR lamps as things can get very hot if the lamps are too close to the surface or id using outside a hot sunny day can boost the temp significantly.
Certain colours can also affect the amount of heat.
And yes, you can melt certain plastics!
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