What kind/brand of paint should be used on the rubber front bumpers. I picked up a donar at the D & G to experiment with, but I just used Home Depot rattle cans.

Also; how should the bumper be preped before taking it to the painter ?

Helo Mech made this cool sticker to go with the paint scheme..Thanks Robert !

hey........ NICE sticker...

Wat!?! Yu meen yu dont lik ze original German paint with ze original german flag for ze original german car? Wat ar yu sinking about?

Is there special paint already made up for the rubber application; or, is an additive used ? I've heard both now. Need to hear from someone who has experience...

There is special paint for Rubbers bumpers they sell it at auto paint shops. Yes there is an additive for the special paint.

Bob

Is it available in rattle cans ? Gonna need yellow, red, and black.

you need something that flexes.....

didnt krylon come out with a paint designed for plastics and 'non rigid' surfaces?

call your body shop.

Go to Senik paint in Costa Mesa.

Senik Paint Co. (Costa Mesa). 1985 Placentia Ave. Costa Mesa, CA 92627

They can make you up any color and kind of paint you can think of.....

And put it in an aerosol can for you...

DONE...!!!!

And yes it is a special paint with a flex agent added for poly, rubber, FG. and CF parts.

I think you can also go to "Color Me Custom" on the net and get it via your computer.... Least you could a couple of years ago....

Clayton

If you are just trying to get the bumpers black again try Griots Garage they have a bumper renewer that works pretty good.....easy to use.

The is a additive that you add to the paint that makes it very flexible.

BUT, at Tri-City Auto Paint Suppy here you can get any paint/mixture/color put into a rattle can. Goes for about $8 a can. Just repainted my moms rear bumper for her with the rattle can. I ordered two cans. I was pleasently surprised when one can gave 1 tack coat and 3 good coats. It's a big bumper too, Buick. Figure 1 can per bumper.

That would be the easiest, check with your local Auto Paint Supply Shops.

Good Luck, Don

t's a rubber piece guys. Yep, there are paints that "claim" to be flexible, but only for a couple of years out of the sun & heat. Doesn't work long term & you'll wind up spending more than it you just preserved what you have.

Buddy of mine did it with a 944 Turbo many years ago. Man, it looked great in monochromatic white - for a year. Then it started peeling, cracking & looking like fecal matter.

Don't mess with Mother Nature.

Thanks Clayton,

That the place I was trying to remember. I drop by on way home from office this week.

I'm experimenting with a couple of color schemes for the rubber bumpers on the '75. Since they fell out of favor, there are plenty to experiment with.

why not use it to make a fiberglass female mold? then make new "caps" out of FG. im sure one of the local boat shops would be able to help ya. then paint em any color you want

Good Idea !

Pat Garvey quote

"Buddy of mine did it with a 944 Turbo many years ago. Man, it looked great in monochromatic white - for a year. Then it started peeling, cracking & looking like fecal matter".

Not to rain on your friend, but it sounds to me like he didn't prep very well. If that was true of all the flex additives, then the bumpers on my RS America should really be in bad shape, they're 14 years old white. Anyone that has done any paint will tell you that 90-95% of the job is prep, shooting the paint is the easy part.

I've been using flex additives for 20+ years, never had a problem with them as long as I read the instruction and prepped correctly.

Later, Don

Thanks Don,

What is the proper prep procedure ? Especially since these rubber bumbers get siliconed weekly.

Well, it was 20 years ago. Technology my have come up to snuff. A prof shop did his. They REALLY did look cool....for a while.

If these parts have been "regularly" siliconed, you can forget about paint adhering. Don't ask me how I know!

Your "PREP" is specific to the product you are using. Read the data that comes from the material manufacturer and prep to those specs and those specs only.

Unless you KNOW the product well... IMHO...Don't make shit up on application or prep...!!!!!

Also Pat made a great statement when he was iterating about silicone.

Because NO typical paint coatings stick to silicone. The stuff is like Teflon.

When painting a part that has been prodigiously coated with silicone in the past. The painter is stuck with one of two alternatives. (that I know of)

Either take the part down to base material, then prime and paint.

Or add silicone to the paint material to make it silicone compatible.
The problem with adding silicone to the paint is that silicone additive
(Like SMOOTHY) breaks down the paint more rapidly than without the additive. And flattens the color.
.
Silicone + UV = premature material breakdown.

The above is just my experience. Yours may be different.

Clayton

Went over to Senik Paint Co in Costa Mesa after work today. Explained what I was going to do and got tips on preperation, etc.

The rubberized paints can't be put into rattle cans because the solvents are incompatible--that's ok. I think there is a small paint gun available locally.

Great store, really helpfull, and lots of stuff it you are going to do any serious paint work.

Jim