Front bumper re-spray
Discussion
Hi All, I'm looking for a little advice, during the summer I re-sprayed my front bumper (removed it wet and dried all the stone chips out carefully, re-primed it, base colour coated it and then finally cellulosed it before cutting and polishing it) I was really quite pleased with the finish for about three months, but unfortunately it doesn't seemed to have lasted, having become dull and worse, road grime and especially dead flies have left permanent marks on it (the flies appear to have eaten into the surface!) It seems to me that it is therefore too soft. I have had two suggestions as to why this might be, firstly that the primer was not good enough and secondly (more likely in my view) that the cellulose being a one part aerosol just isn't hard enough to stand up to the job and that I should re-do it with a two pack final coat as this will be much harder.
So I have a few questions - is this likely to be true? and if so should all the layers of paint be two pack or just the final clear one? obviously spraying with a two pack paint means that I'll have to mix it so can't be done with an aerosol, therefore can I get away with buying something like this;
www.paints4u.com/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=782
or this
www.paints4u.com/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=2227
Rather than a compressor driven item and would they work ok with a lacquer like this;
www.paints4u.com/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=1449
plus would this lacquer do the job any better.
Sorry for all the questions, I'm just trying to learn without just taking the thing to a body shop!
So I have a few questions - is this likely to be true? and if so should all the layers of paint be two pack or just the final clear one? obviously spraying with a two pack paint means that I'll have to mix it so can't be done with an aerosol, therefore can I get away with buying something like this;
www.paints4u.com/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=782
or this
www.paints4u.com/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=2227
Rather than a compressor driven item and would they work ok with a lacquer like this;
www.paints4u.com/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=1449
plus would this lacquer do the job any better.
Sorry for all the questions, I'm just trying to learn without just taking the thing to a body shop!
Hi Charlie,
With a clear-over-base finish, only the clearcoat is exposed to the elements. So, provided that the paint you clear over is a) properly applied with good adhesion to the primer, b) fully cured, c) properly keyed and prepared for the clear and d) compatible with the clear,
then it will make essentially no difference if the paint itself was activated (ie a 2 pack paint) or one pack. It will benefit from the protection of the 2k clear regardless.
With a professionally-prepared custom aerosol, and then a suitable clearcoat, you should be fine.
I would suggest that neither of the items of spray equipment you have linked to are suitable for spraying a 2-pack clear onto an entire bumper. IMHO, spraying on that scale would require a compressor-driven spraygun, or at the very least a spot repair/touchup gun. In addition, 2k lacquer is nasty stuff. The one you have linked to in your message requires a full air-fed mask - which in turn requires a compressor. Messing around with isocyanates (present in 2k hardeners) without extensive protective equipment can quickly and permanently damage your respiratory system.
If you don't have the equipment and experience to spray 2k safely, don't spray it at all. It's genuinely not worth it.
There are 1k clears from respectable automotive paint manufacturers, which won't be as durable as 2k, but will still give a decent finish. However, again, they really require a decent size gun, and a compressor as an air source. Alternatively, there are some non-isocyanate 2k clears out there on the market, which can be sprayed in the open air with an organic vapours cartridge mask. Still require a spraygun/compressor combo though.
What was your budget in mind for buying all this stuff? You may well find a local bodyshop or SMART repairer will sort you out a professional result on a Saturday morning for less than you'd have paid to get your aerosols, airbrushes and lacquer bought in.
Tol
With a clear-over-base finish, only the clearcoat is exposed to the elements. So, provided that the paint you clear over is a) properly applied with good adhesion to the primer, b) fully cured, c) properly keyed and prepared for the clear and d) compatible with the clear,
then it will make essentially no difference if the paint itself was activated (ie a 2 pack paint) or one pack. It will benefit from the protection of the 2k clear regardless.
With a professionally-prepared custom aerosol, and then a suitable clearcoat, you should be fine.
I would suggest that neither of the items of spray equipment you have linked to are suitable for spraying a 2-pack clear onto an entire bumper. IMHO, spraying on that scale would require a compressor-driven spraygun, or at the very least a spot repair/touchup gun. In addition, 2k lacquer is nasty stuff. The one you have linked to in your message requires a full air-fed mask - which in turn requires a compressor. Messing around with isocyanates (present in 2k hardeners) without extensive protective equipment can quickly and permanently damage your respiratory system.
If you don't have the equipment and experience to spray 2k safely, don't spray it at all. It's genuinely not worth it.
There are 1k clears from respectable automotive paint manufacturers, which won't be as durable as 2k, but will still give a decent finish. However, again, they really require a decent size gun, and a compressor as an air source. Alternatively, there are some non-isocyanate 2k clears out there on the market, which can be sprayed in the open air with an organic vapours cartridge mask. Still require a spraygun/compressor combo though.
What was your budget in mind for buying all this stuff? You may well find a local bodyshop or SMART repairer will sort you out a professional result on a Saturday morning for less than you'd have paid to get your aerosols, airbrushes and lacquer bought in.
Tol
Hi Tol, thank you very much for the reply, I had suspected that much of what you have said would be the case, I was thinking of spending around £150 maybe £200, which I guess would get me a proffesional job done, but I'm more interested in learning how to do it myself and if I make a mess of it on attempt one then if I have the equipment I can always re-do it, or take it to a proffesional if I really can't do a reasonable job (incidentally what are the problems with using these smaller airbrushes with two pack paints, or is it more to do with the size of the bumper?) I really didn't want to have to buy a bulky compressor, so was hoping to get away with aerosol driven items, having achieved a reasonable finish with these last time around, but it just didn't last very long. Can you recommend where I might buy some two pack lacquer, that I can use in a well ventilated space without resorting to the use of full breathing gear? Thanks again for the advice!
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