Painting bumper?

[thedon_1]

I scraped my bumper on a metal garage frame and the paint literaly peeled of the bumper.

[URL=http://img68.imageshack.us/my.php?ima][/URL]

It doesn't look too bad, but really want to get it fixed, what would be the best way to go about this is?

I have never had to get anything resprayed before.

Thanks

[Anatol]

Post in the regional forum for your particular area, in here, and maybe in general gassing, asking for recommendations for local repairers to you.

The damage you show is perfectly suited for SMART repair, (in my professional opinion!) and shouldn't require a full panel repaint with a compentent technician. This service might be offered by a local SMART repair specialist, or a bodyshop may have an in-house SMART repair facility. You may wish to run a mile from anyone who tells you the entire bumper needs repainting or replacing, or that the colour match will be so poor as to require 'blowing in' to adjoining panels - or at least get second (and further!) opinions.

Shop around for price quotes and combine that with the recommendations/warnings you get from people with local experience. Ignore blanket 'use/don't use' advice that doesn't apply to the particular individual and operation you'd be choosing.

HTH

Tol

[Alex@POD]

My amateurish opinion is that you won't have to respray several panels for color match, because the two pieces won't be parallel, so the light will always show them a different color. Same goes for going around the back of the bumper I think, the curve will hide any slight difference in match...

Professionals feel free to object, please!

[wildoliver]

I run a resto business and do a lot of bodyshop work, that will smart repair, but I would use a bodyshop not a smart repairer as you will get a better long term repair.

Depending how bothered you are it would not be a hard one for you even to do yourself, using basic items.

And no it doesn't want a full panel paint or blending in to surrounding bodywork.

[Anatol]

wildoliver said:

you will get a better long term repair.

Disputed. Many SMART repairers will be using techniques and paint systems at least as durable in the long term as bodyshops (if not identical), and their focus on small area, properly finish-matched repairs is likely to mean a harder-to-spot, smaller repair.

That of course leaves aside the sweeping, blanket nonsense of the 'bodyshop repairs will be better long term repairs than SMART repairs' - one bodyshop's repair can in no way be equated with another's, and the same is true of SMART repairs. Go with recommendations as to individuals.

I also run a bodywork repair and customisation business, FWIW.

Tol

Edited by Anatol on Saturday 2nd September 22:36

[wildoliver]

My judgement is based on the work I get to see that has been attempted by smart repairers, Obviously I get the ones that have gone wrong, however also whenever we start to respray over smart repairs we find it increases labour massively, as for some reason the smart repairers tend to not flat the paint very well thus meaning the new paint does not key very well, resulting in flaking after a year or so, if you run a bodyshop I'm sure you can also imagine what a pain it is flatting down unstable substrate.


If you can find a good smart repairer great, but I think you will have better results from going to a decent bodyshop that can show you their work.

[Anatol]

wildoliver said:

Obviously I get the ones that have gone wrong,

With that as your data set, it's not surprising that you have the opinion you do. There's obviously no way of measuring the number of perfectly satisfactory, durable repairs that you never see.

wildoliver said:

smart repairers tend to not flat the paint very well

Every smart repairer is different, as is every bodshop tech. I have had to refinish more than a few repairs completed by 'traditional' bodyshops according to the customer, that were failing, some of them quite young repairs, for a variety of reasons. That is no justification for saying that 'bodyshop repairs tend to fail early'. Similarly I've had to refinish a fair number of SMART repairs that have failed for a variety of reasons. That says nothing about how 'SMART repairers' work - they're simply not a homogenous group all making the same mistakes.

You seem to have forgotten that there are some shockingly poor bodyshops out there. Suggesting that just because someone runs a traditional bodyshop they are somehow more competent is a mistake.

There are plenty of fixed site cosmetic repairers out there who only do small and medium area repairs. So are they a bodyshop by virtue of their fixed location (and hence 'good' by your reckoning) or just a SMART repairer with a roof over their head (and hence won't key their paintwork up properly)?

You can't generalise, which was the point of my original post on the thread. Not between one bodyshop and another, not between one SMART repairer and another, and not between bodyshops and SMART repairers.

Tol

[thedon_1]

OK, when you talk about SMART repair, what does that mean, the manufacturer SMART?

Also, what wpuld i need to fix this my self?

Thanks

[Anatol]

SMART just stands for Small/Medium Area Repair Techniques.

It's a development of traditional resprays that relies on a good colour and finish match to blend a repair of just the damaged area into good paintwork, without repainting the entire panel, and/or adjoining ones, to disguise the new finish.

It's generally a lower-overhead business model than maintaining full bodyshop facilities. So while a SMART repairer can't take on anything like the variety of jobs that a bodyshop can, the repairs they can do (generally meaning no new panels required, not bonnets or roofs, etc etc) they can offer at significantly lower cost.

It being cheaper to set up in, and a newer discipline, the numbers of people setting up in it without much industry background or a proven system of quality repairs behind them means that quality can be more variable than with bodyshops. It's been around over a decade now, though, and there are plenty of very highly skilled technicians, including several with years of bodyshop work behind them too. Some bodyshops have noticed a drop in calls for them to repair small damage as SMART repairers have sprung up in their catchment area, which may have coloured their perception of the SMART repair phenomenon as a whole. Other bodyshops employ in-house SMART repair technicians to deal with suitable repairs, and still others farm appropriate work out to contractors.

As for what you'll need to do this repair yourself - first of all, it being a metallic paintjob, a high level of skill/relevant experience would be a good start! You could try the following, but very much at your own risk:

Thoroughly clean the entire panel.
Use a pre-paintwork cleanser to remove all traces of wax/silicone/polish or other contaminants.
Scuff the panel down with an appropriate grit paper (determined by the primer and paint you're using's intructions)
Reprofile the damage using abrasives and/or fine filler (this step requires a good deal of experience, and if you get it wrong you may well not know until you've finished).
Prime the panel to ensure quick and even paint coverage. Follow the primer instructions carefully.
Paint the panel with a paint that matches not only the manufacturer and colour, but the particular batch of paint used on the bumper (which is likely to be different to the one used on the metal panels). Follow the paint instructions carefully.
Lacquer the paint, following all instructions. When fully set, rub any texture out of the finish with a superfine/mirrorfine paper, and polish to restore the gloss.

As you can see, there's quite a lot of kit and several stages required. Buying everything you need from Halfords can actually cost quite a bit more than getting a SMART repair done professionally!

Good luck and have fun,

Tol