Painting 91 Cappuccino Brown Coupe

[kevinnc]

I have a 91 cb coupe and i scuffed my paint on the front bumper down to the plastic, its over about a 9 square inch area on the corner and i want to paint it to look like new. I found http://www.automotivetouchup.com/cho.../buypaint.aspx <that website and i wanna know what necessary steps i need to take before i go at this Keep in mind i want it looking as clean as possible. But im on painting the affected area, not the whole bumper. My color code is YR501M-3. Any help appreciated!

[AgentHydra]

I'm no expert but I don't think just painting it the stock color will give you very good results due to the rest of your paint being 20 years old.

If you take it to a body shop they will be able color match the old paint so it blends in, though likely at a higher cost.

[harrisso1]

Since you are only interested in painting the bumber i think it would be a wonderful time to DYI. The hardest part would be color matching the factory paint. There are DYI auto paint tutorials all over the web. Basically you sand, prime, paint and repeat or something like that.... A professional shop wouldnt charge much though. I paid 200 to have my entire front end resrayed on 1 of my cars. It was a black car though, you may get a deal because with small jobs like that they typically dont use a booth or other materials.

[kevinnc]

bump! anybody ever mess with this site?

[Quashish]

well idk about all that nonsence ...

DYI.

it seems you figured out your paint code was on the inside door jamb. so your code is either YR501M or YR501M-3.

if you want to Do It Yourself, you can go ahead and get the matching rattle can of your paint. just make sure you sand down the bumper paying special attention to the scraped part. i would go down to like 600 or 800 grit, if the scrapes are deep then you can fill it with some bondo just be sure you mix it well, prime the whole thing, then use the matching paint using even long sweeping sprays to get an even coat. then you can clear. i dont think you would want to get more involved in it than that. it probably wont match 100%, but yah. if you want to do it right you'll take the bumper off before you paint it.

either that or pay someone to do the work where they could blend it. i doubt you willl get a discounted price because its just your bumper. any proffesional will use a booth no matter what. i guess its worth asking though.

[kevinnc]

well idk about all that nonsence ...

it seems you figured out your paint code was on the inside door jamb. so your code is either YR501M or YR501M-3.

if you want to Do It Yourself, you can go ahead and get the matching rattle can of your paint. just make sure you sand down the bumper paying special attention to the scraped part. i would go down to like 600 or 800 grit, if the scrapes are deep then you can fill it with some bondo just be sure you mix it well, prime the whole thing, then use the matching paint using even long sweeping sprays to get an even coat. then you can clear. i dont think you would want to get more involved in it than that. it probably wont match 100%, but yah. if you want to do it right you'll take the bumper off before you paint it.

either that or pay someone to do the work where they could blend it. i doubt you willl get a discounted price because its just your bumper. any proffesional will use a booth no matter what. i guess its worth asking though.

Thanks for a legitimate response, now if i were to do this would i sand down to black plastic? or just break the clear on the oem paint?

[Quashish]

Light scuff on the whole bumper so paint grabs. But depending on how bad the scratches are if they need to be filled then I would go deeper in that area alone. As long as you primer the whole piece. Hope that makes sence. Pictures would help too

[JixCer]

Thanks for a legitimate response, now if i were to do this would i sand down to black plastic? or just break the clear on the oem paint?

if it was me id sand all the way down so you dont spray over old paint. or if you just dont want the scuffs showing and don't want to deal with the whole bumper, you can sand a lil bit more than the scuffed area and blend it with the rest of the bumper

[Quashish]

Its going to be impossible to "blend" it together at home. Especially if you haven't painted alot of things. He is either going to have a darker spot of new paint against a faded bumper, or one shade of color on the whole bumper against the faded fenders which might need a second glance to notice its even that much different.

Blending paint after an accident isn't easy at all. If a car comes in for a fender repair and paint. It gets work on the hood, bumper cover, and probably some of the door. Its not like photo shop. It takes real work.

[harrisso1]

Its going to be impossible to "blend" it together at home. Especially if you haven't painted alot of things. He is either going to have a darker spot of new paint against a faded bumper, or one shade of color on the whole bumper against the faded fenders which might need a second glance to notice its even that much different.

Blending paint after an accident isn't easy at all. If a car comes in for a fender repair and paint. It gets work on the hood, bumper cover, and probably some of the door. Its not like photo shop. It takes real work.

I agree, If you want it to look as close to stock as possible i would have it done professionally or acquire the tools myself and take a stab at it without cutting any corners. But im telling you if its just the bumber a shop will not charge you that much, im willing to bet between $150-250... add a little premium because of the "cappuchino brown" color. I rattle can job may make it better than it already is but it still wont look close to being factory unless you take some real time and do it right. If you get a quote from auto body shop and its $250 then that may be a better bargain than paying for materials and taking hours out your day to dyi. Ive been cheap before and wasted hella time trying to dyi thinking i was saving money.. I would get a quote first and go from there.

[Quashish]

Dyi??

[AAPOQ]

DO YOURSELF IT! Said Yoda...
JK,JK, but really though, Paint the whole bumper for best results. You will be happier with the finished product.

[Black&Gold]

unless you have experience in painting, i would let a shop do it if i want a good color match.

[deevergote]

Having it professionally done really is the only way to ensure it's done correctly. If you have to make a thread like this asking how, you clearly don't have the experience and technique necessary to pull off a DIY blending job. After 20 years of exposure to the elements, your paint will NOT match the original color. It will be a few shades lighter, which means the touch up paint will be very obvious.

A good shop can colormatch, but having it done right comes at a price.
My advice would be to do some research on your local Maaco shops. They usually run a sale this time of year, and you could get a $500 paintjob for $250 (you'll need to pay a bit extra for prep work for it to look good... so expect $600 or so...) However, you'll get the WHOLE CAR painted, and it'll look damn good. Trust me... I've done this myself!
Maaco shops are all independently owned, though. Some are much better than others. If you don't like the looks of the shops near you, and wouldn't mind traveling 2 hours south or so, the Maaco in Turnersville, NJ does very good paint work (just don't go to them for cut/weld rear quarter repairs... they botched mine twice! Paint was great, but the welding sucked.)