early model, bumper surroundings, bumper, tuck, valence, trim etc...

[mbonanni]

So In the near future I plan to tuck my bumpers. I have seen pics where the bumpers are painted black and tucked, I think it looks great and is what I am going for. What my main problem will be is my trim, bumper surroundings, etc are faded.

My bumper surroundings are rough, they have a sparkle to them...Has anyone ever painted them and had good results?

Is bumper trim a hard rubber or plastic? if plastic.. should be easy to paint, if rhard rubber.. how do I prep/paint?

I plan to use Dupli Color Gloss Black as it is supposed to be a direct match for schwarz.

here is a pic for inspiration.



Any advice is welcome.

[mikeb23ft]

That looks awesome. There is a specific product for painting the trim I'm sure someone will chime in with the specific name. Do you have any more pics of that car? I have lachsilber, which I don't think would look as good, but should be sick with Schwartz.

[mbonanni]

I thought I knew were sopme were but I forgot ): I know it is an admins car, janderson or something.

I just pm'd him to ask if he had more pics, and some Q's.

[CW325]

Im pretty sure everyone uses SEM trim paint but I just used the cheap stuff from walmart and it turned out good.

[mbonanni]

My biggest concern here is, How did everyone prep their trim?

That nasty rough sparkle is so odd. I guess just start from like 800 and go down till it is smooth? or less then 600?

[CW325]

I just painted mine but I guess you can sand them to make it smooth.

[SwiftE30]

i will be doing this now. That look has convinced me to tuck my stock metal bumpers and paint them.

[mbonanni]

Sweet! post up pictures.

I am going to be doing this once I can source some of the right paint.

**What color code Dupli Color Gloss Black matches the Schwarz?**

[PeteD]

Take the pieces of, sand them smooth, prime them, sand again, make sure it's smooth and then trim black it. Comes out like new/better than new.

[PeteD]

Also, I wouldn't tuck your bumper in as much as the one in the picture. It will look better if you leave an inch or so over hang. There will more than likely be an ugly gap between the valence and the bumber (you can see it in the picture posted); leaving an inch over hang helps hide this (one way to take care of it, but you should really get it flush some how).

[mbonanni]

thanks man!

Im waiting to find a store near me that carries duplicolor gloss black.

[khalild]

I did this on my old 325is. Just break everything down, then prep/paint. Can be finished completely on a Saturday/Sunday depending on curing/finishing tastes & times. I used sem trim paint ($13 a can) on the bumper/trim and duplicolor primer/gloss black ($6 a can) on the bumper shrouds. Both hold up pretty well.

[Insane E30]

i'm in the same boat, i've tucked my bumpers, want to paint them black, problem with the surrounds are they are wavy as hell. i'm guessing there isn't anyway to "attach" them to the bumper to help flatten them out is there? anyone tried?

[PeteD]

i'm in the same boat, i've tucked my bumpers, want to paint them black, problem with the surrounds are they are wavy as hell. i'm guessing there isn't anyway to "attach" them to the bumper to help flatten them out is there? anyone tried?

The waves are tough to fix. Try lots of autobody glue, or buy some trim and fill the gaps or add it to the edge of the black part to hide the wave and shrink the gap.

[Insane E30]

i've thought about some type of epoxy or glue, its was between that or some screws then bondo over it...ghetto yes, but cheap and will get the job done for what i want...

would like to see other people's progress or pics