Repainting diving board front bumper, help please

[IS300E30]

The car is an 87 325i.

I want to repaint the front bumper with a quality and oem look spray paint.

No gouges in front bumper. The front bumper has been repainted before a while ago. All I want to do is sand it down and repaint it to the stock front bumper look.

Please advise me on what grit sand paper I should start with, finish with. What specific spray paint would look best and give the oem look and finish.

[Holland]

What color are you trying to accomplish with the bumper? Color match?

I've always had good results using 400 grit wet/dry paper.

[IS300E30]

What color are you trying to accomplish with the bumper? Color match?

I've always had good results using 400 grit wet/dry paper.

400 grit to start with and finish with?

The color I am going for is fresh from factory oem black color and oem finish.

The rear bumper, rest of all the trims all over the car is not faded at all. Just the front bumper.

[AndrewBird]

Early model bumpers came from the factory anodized clear aluminum, not black. Unless you mean the black bumper trim?

[IS300E30]

Early model bumpers came from the factory anodized clear aluminum, not black. Unless you mean the black bumper trim?

Yes, that is exactly what I meant. I am referring to the black bumper trim.

I am looking to repaint the black bumper trim.

[Holland]

Yes, that is exactly what I meant. I am referring to the black bumper trim.

I am looking to repaint the black bumper trim.

400 will be fine. Scuff it with 400, clean, and use SEM trim black or SEM euro trim black for a more glossy look. If you wish to use a primer, I would go with a flex primer and wet sand with 400 before applying color.

[AndrewBird]

I would start by stripping off all the old paint and starting from scratch. I highly recommend this stuff:



Used it lots and it works great. Wear gloves and possibly a respirator. The stuff does not mess around.

After stripping, wash thoroughly with soap and water. Unless there are gouges/scratches, don't bother sanding. All you will do is rough up the surface and cause more work. If you do sand, be sure to wash the trim after sanding. I also like to wipe it down with acetone or solvent right before painting. Keeping everything CLEAN is the key here.

Use a paint intended for plastic. I generally use Krylon Fusion, others like SEM trim paint, but it's kind of spendy. I like to lay down as many coats as needed for complete coverage, plus one more. Be careful not to apply too much on each coat or you will get runs. Too little and the paint won't wet out and you will end up with patchy spots.

If you need to fill in any gouges in the trim, filler primer works well for anything up to 1/6" deep. Any more and you will want to use some kind of filler. A lot of people go to the trouble of using flexible primer, but I've found regular primer seems to work fine. Just be careful when putting the trim back on when you are done that you don't twist or bend it excessively.

Filler can be tricky. Bondo tends to not stick well and can separate from the plastic over time and cause issues. Plastic epoxy sticks well and is less likely to separate, but doesn't blend with the plastic well. Filler primer can be used for this though. If you do use epoxy, rough the plastic up well with 80 grit first so the epoxy has something to stick to. Use as little as need and no more. Sand any and all extra filler off before priming.

In the end, the more time you spend on it, the better it will come out. Everything I talked about isn't required, but the more you put in, the more you will get out.

Another option is buying new trim. I believe all of it is available new.