production painters...bumper question...additives

[Roothawg]

I have a buddy that wants me to shoot some color on a late model bumper. He brings me a Certifit cover and it looks like ABS plastic. I have no idea what to prep it with.
I have done the old rubber bumper covers but never anything like this. Any additives to make it stick? I haven't unboxed it fully to verify but it sure looks like ABS to me.

[MercMan1951]

Scuff it first with a red scotch brite pad. Scuff the hell out of it. Wipe it down real good with some wax and grease remover. Spray some vinyl prep on it it you wish for a little better adheasion. Seal it with normal sealer. You paint it like normal, using a base/clear system. You can add flex additive to the clear if you wish, but I was told by the PPG rep that the flex agent dries out after 48 hours. It's designed to allow you to twist and bend the bumper during re-assembly, after painting. It serves no purpose otherwise, and won't protect from impacts or rock damage.

Basically, you can't prep it ehough with the scotch brite. And you HAVE to make sure you use wax and grease remover before beginning any paint work. The only bumpers I ever saw peel (I must have done hundereds of the new bumper covers) peeled in an area that didn't get scuffed enough.

I'm sure somebody out there in HAMB land will say that I wasn't doing SOMETHING right...but I worked in a production shop. I never saw the cars again for warrantee work, so I must have been doing something right-

[ckdesigns]

Generally you can just scuff with like gray scotchbrite, seal it and put on some color there is flex agent that could be added but most urethanes are flexible enough. Hope that helps.Chris

[earl schieb]

Bulldog(tm) adhesion promoter.....AFTER washing with hot soapy water, scotchbrite scuff and a second washing.

Works for us....

mid-tenn mike

[Tinbender]

Yep wash first, wax and grease remover, or even beter, denatured alcohol wash, then scuff. The only bumpers that are really a problem are TPO. Most are marked on the inside somewhere. If your unsure hit the inside with a DA on spin with some 80 grit TPO will smear and melt. If that happens bake it first, then wash, and prep, and use the adheasion promotor

[Roothawg]

Bake it...dang this is a freebie. I knew I should've told him I didn't know how to paint.