Rear bumper repaint

UGKkllr · 05-18-09, 07:36 AM

So Im gettin closer to buying my UL ls430 but one thing I noticed with most of the ones I find for sale is that the rear bumper is usually all knicked up. So my question is , if I buy one that needs a respray on the rear bumper is it gonna cost me alot more to paint becuz the backup sensors on the bumper? Do they need to be removed when the bumper gets painted or do they get paited right over ? I know it seems like a silly question but its a factor when chosing my next car, I gotta factor that into the purchase price. Whats a bumper respray usually cost on an ls430 for a high end shop anyways? I know the place I went to get my 2gs Junction Produce replica wing prepped and painted charged me around 350 or so. I was thinkin 400-500 for a good place maybe ? How much does a whole body kit or lip kit usually cost to get prepped and painted assuming its a good quality kit with minimal prep work involved? Thanks guys

AlexusAnja · 05-18-09, 08:25 PM

The sensors are safe to paint over, but if you don't want the crud on the edges to look wrinkles after the paint over, I would ask the paint shop to remove the sensors, then paint. A nice professional job with paint, wet sand, paint, and clear coat... around $800 for a real perfect job that you won't regret. If something to just cover the nicks and look nice, you can get away with a $400-500 job.

Just have to look around. I'm up north, so can't refer any VA places.

Vpanin · 11-06-09, 11:14 AM

Be careful of the shop that you choose. Lexus paints their cars in some complex fashion. It is hard to match the paint exactly

DDLexus · 11-06-09, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vpanin

Be careful of the shop that you choose. Lexus paints their cars in some complex fashion. It is hard to match the paint exactly

Agree! I had my silver SC430 painted 3 times and was not impressed. Took it to 2 different places. Metallic paint is tough. I also looked at a few Pearl White LS430s before getting my Black one, that is a really hard color to match. 3 step paint process. Just adding too thick of a clear will make a noticeable difference.

Vpanin · 11-06-09, 12:54 PM

I dont even think the dealer knows how to paint it right. My cars bumper was painted by the dealer... at night the difference in the shade really stands out

toantran99 · 11-06-09, 05:53 PM

Had my hood repainted, can't compare it to the factory look. It has like a matte finish.

Jim_Chow · 11-06-09, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vpanin

Be careful of the shop that you choose. Lexus paints their cars in some complex fashion. It is hard to match the paint exactly

It's the pearl that's tricky. I had custom bumpers painted to match my LX. The painter said it was tricky. At first, they got the wrong paint (discovered when they sprayed sample paint cards), as there were two kinds available. I had to leave the original front bumper there so they could match it. The painter said it was time consuming since he has to first spray two coats of base on 3 paint cards, then spray one card with one coat of midcoat pearl, another card w/ 2 coats of pearl on the second, 3 coats of pearl on the third. Let them cure (a few minutes since it's epoxy urethane), then pick the one that identically matches the car's paint. Then spray the bumper. Metallic is easier, as you just have to spray the basecoat and blend, then spray the clearcoat and blend.