Painting Bumper

[Greg1985]

I am getting my pumper painted tomorrow both the front and the rear. my mechanic advised me that if i paint the rear its gone be really hard to match up the silver on the bumper with the silver on the body, is that true?...Mechanic told me that if i want the best looking results to match the car would be to paint a little bit of the quarter panel. what do you guys think i should do?

[Lexusfreak]

Can you post pics of the bumper? What is the problem with the paint to begin with?

[George_Jetson]

In order to paint a "plastic" bumper, they need to mix additives to the paint in order to make it more flexible. This makes it a little harder to match the paint. But if you are taking your car to a decent paint shop, they would be able to give you better advice than a mechanic. Body and paint work require a different skill set than mechanics so although your mechanic may be good, he is probably not the best source of information on paint.

[Greg1985]

Can you post pics of the bumper? What is the problem with the paint to begin with?

Sorry i dont have any pictures of the bumper. but it started pealing in the front after someone hit the car so its a little scratched up. and for me the paint does not match( just the way i baught it)

[Greg1985]

In order to paint a "plastic" bumper, they need to mix additives to the paint in order to make it more flexible. This makes it a little harder to match the paint. But if you are taking your car to a decent paint shop, they would be able to give you better advice than a mechanic. Body and paint work require a different skill set than mechanics so although your mechanic may be good, he is probably not the best source of information on paint.

I went to the body shop i had my car done there before it was a black 1995 toyota corolla. the job was very good. The body shop owner told me that lexus has a hard to match paint and if i would want to see showroom quality i would need to paint the quarter panels a little with clearcoat

[SW03ES]

Take it to another bodyshop...this guy doesn't know what he's talking about.

A good shop can match the paint...

[rlx101]

agreed. last thing you want is messed up bumber color AND quater panel!

Take it to another bodyshop...this guy doesn't know what he's talking about.

A good shop can match the paint...

[cduluk]

Paint can settle differently on plastic than it does on metal if not done properly. It requires careful planning for the right primer and right temperatures to get it right.

A lot of time you'll see a new car with a bumper that seems to be of a different shade than the adjacent areas. It's probably because the fenders and bumper were painted by two different companies... but usually it's because the body and bumpers are painted in different ways.

A lot of times shops will heat up a surface before they paint (to prevent running and quicken dry time). Remember metal heats up quicker than plastic does. So put a car in a heat booth for 30 mins- by the end, the metal will be HOT while the plastic might only be warm. Paint them both and the paint will settle less on the metal than it does on the plastic. This will yield a different finish.

If the same primers are used on both surfaces and if the temperatures of both surfaces are the same, the paint should match perfectly though.

What i think your mechanic is talking about is what's called "blending".

If your shop is using different paint than what the manufacturer used, it might be a little different- most often in the size of particles (whether it be more fine or course) or color in general. When a body shop guy plugs in the cars paint code into their paint manufacturers computer, it will spit out 3 different versions (combinations of different paints they have) of that color. A Lexus built in Japan might use different paint than a Lexus built in Canada. It's up to the body shop people to decide which combination matches the one used on your car- based on how fine the particles are or what shade it is.

It's very possible a body shop guy won't be able to match it 100%. So they completely paint the bumper, and "blend" or "mist" the surrounding areas of the adjacent quarter panels so you won't be able to see the difference (where one panel meets the newly painted bumper).

But if they play with the combinations a little they should be able to find a color that's spot on.

[kevinwang]

Paint can settle differently on plastic than it does on metal if not done properly. It requires careful planning for the right primer and right temperatures to get it right.

A lot of time you'll see a new car with a bumper that seems to be of a different shade than the adjacent areas. It's probably because the fenders and bumper were painted by two different companies... but usually it's because the body and bumpers are painted in different ways.

A lot of times shops will heat up a surface before they paint (to prevent running and quicken dry time). Remember metal heats up quicker than plastic does. So put a car in a heat booth for 30 mins- by the end, the metal will be HOT while the plastic might only be warm. Paint them both and the paint will settle less on the metal than it does on the plastic. This will yield a different finish.

If the same primers are used on both surfaces and if the temperatures of both surfaces are the same, the paint should match perfectly though.

What i think your mechanic is talking about is what's called "blending".

If your shop is using different paint than what the manufacturer used, it might be a little different- most often in the size of particles (whether it be more fine or course) or color in general. When a body shop guy plugs in the cars paint code into their paint manufacturers computer, it will spit out 3 different versions (combinations of different paints they have) of that color. A Lexus built in Japan might use different paint than a Lexus built in Canada. It's up to the body shop people to decide which combination matches the one used on your car- based on how fine the particles are or what shade it is.

It's very possible a body shop guy won't be able to match it 100%. So they completely paint the bumper, and "blend" or "mist" the surrounding areas of the adjacent quarter panels so you won't be able to see the difference (where one panel meets the newly painted bumper).

But if they play with the combinations a little they should be able to find a color that's spot on.

^Agreed. I had my trunk repainted and had a pay a little more because of haters. Spend the extra cash, get it blended.