Anyone had their bumper repainted? What did it cost you?

Frank

 

A bumper repaint from a really reputable shop will run from 300-400 provided there is no damage. Figure around 100 in materials and the rest labor plus the chrome stripe if your car has one. Just make sure the bumper is removed and not painted on the car. Also ensure that the old paint is removed. A friend of mind had his bumper painted 3 times from a so called nice shop because 1) They did not strip old paint causing several chips 2) Did not use adhesive additive causing chips.

I always recommend looking at cars that have already been painted by the shop. They normally have them outside curing and this will give you an idea of the shops ability. Listening to them does little unless you can dazzle them with your painting knowledge as I have yet to come across any mechanic or paint shop that said they were not good.

BTW, I do all of my painting.

Hope that helps
Lee

 

OK

So how do you "remove" the old paint? Sand? Strip?

Frank

 

Sand. Takes a while but better to do it right

 

Pearlpower

Is the Paint on my lexus "White Pearl" a 3 step process?

Frank

 

OH OH!

You have pearl?

Pearl is the most difficult paint to match, especially the white. in fact most would say impossible to match exactly to the rest of the car.
A really good shop will blend it into other panels.
2 coats is difficult enough to match up. 3 adds immense complexity to the formula. I know, my GS4 was pearl white. Yes it is a 3 step process. A tough 3 step process.
Not saying a bumper repaint will not match, just very tough. I was able to match my rear bumper after much mixing and painting.
Figure this. Air pressure, paint mix, distance gun is from surface, number of layers all change the color of the paint.
Find a good shop and let us know how it goes.

Good paint shop is tough to find. My inlaw had their RX330 in Crown Lexus for a fender repaint. Whoever did the work screwed it up. I pointed out several areas of mistakes. Hopefully it was fixed properly the 2nd time around.
Lee