Sc400Jimmy

I guys,

I have a beautiful 92 sc400 with original pearl jade paint (the dark green). My car paint looks good, everything on the car is OK. However, for some strange reason the bumpers look really bad and faded (perhaps oxidized?).

I've tried to use a clay bar on it, wax it with different waxes over the past year, and even tried using 3m rubbing compound on it. Nothing seems to work, if anything the rubbing compound seems to have taken moret paint from it.

I'm thinking about buying a 2oz bottle of touch up paint from automotivetouchup.com that seems to have my exact color.

My question is, do you all recommend this? It's not the entire bumper, just large parts of it. The front bumper being much worse than the back.

Do you have any ideas at all on how in the world to get the bumpers to look as nice as the rest of the car? Please no responses about getting the bumpers painted. I unfortunately am not in a position to do that. I was hoping for your expertise.

Thank you

oldManTan

they just need a repaint. there's cans of paint on ebay for 30 bucks that will match your paint exactly, just get the code from your door sticker, should be like 3 or 2 letter/number combo. mine's 4K9 for example for sandstone beige. i bought the can, haven't used it yet. i'll post pictures next week once i do because it's finals week and i can't touch my car until im done lol. rule for myself. you'll need
320, 600, and 1000/1500 grit sand paper for prepping and fnishing,
some primer/ primer filler,
body filler if you have cracks or chunks missing,
the paint,
clear coat/ blending clear.

check out my build thread in my sig, i'm doing lots of body work on my car

Sc400Jimmy

That's awesome, I'll definitely take a look. I'd love to see how it turns out for you. I've never painted a car, etc, but since it's just the bumper, you think it can just be painted on or will I need to buy/rent a compressor for it?

Also, so there's nothing else I can really do for it then right, it really is just painting it that will resolve this issue?

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

If it's just the clear coat, you can salvage it pretty easily. Wet sand it down until you have the bad clear out of there, then spray on a few coats of Dupli-Color "Perfect Match" clear and you'll hardly be able to tell the difference.

If the paint needs refreshing, things get significantly tougher... I had to do some of both, because my trunk lid and spoiler had significant paint loss from the clear being beyond shot. Dupli-Color's 6P2 is labeled Classic Green Pearl and is listed as the correct color for Royal Jade Pearl in their catalog. It's pretty close, but I suck at painting and didn't accomplish quite the right color depth.

AutoZone carries the Dupli-Color line. I'm sure you can find it elsewhere, too. Or alternative brands.

Sc400Jimmy

Thanks for the advice, it does seem like it's the clear coat layer.

When you day wet sand it down, what sand paper do you recommend, or what grit

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

Use automotive wet/dry sand paper. I usually start with a higher grit just to get a sense of how quickly it's going to cut through. You can go to a lower grit if it doesn't do anything easier than you can repair damage from cutting too deep, too quick. 300-600 grit is probably going to be your best bet for areas where the clear is still intact, and 1000-2000 for areas where it's mostly gone.

Keep rinsing the sand paper regularly and wipe down the area you're working on with a wet sponge so you can see how it's progressing. When green color starts washing away, proceed carefully because you're down to the last bit of clear.

mak89

iTrader: (6)

There is a cutting compound/polish called Buff Magic that I use for detailing boats that have hazy gel coats. I use this with a cutting pad. I've also used it on hazy clear coats and had great results. Depending how bad you might need to wetsand with 1200, 1500, 2000 then hit it. I bought it at West Marine