[Wheres My Key?]

I just wanted to get everyone's idea on how to go about painting their m3/mtech front's rear's and side skirts. I've ordered side skirts and got it test fitted with good fitment, but shop prices are charging a lot for paint.

I have a friend who said to use dupli-color universal black and a clear coat, and he swears it'll blend. My car is black sapphire metallic.

For those of you who painted your parts yourselves, what was your process?

[NJ Krish]

Why the hell would you not use the original paint?

http://www.expresspaint.com/automoti...20&resetSess=Y

There was a DIY somewhere here of the front bumper being painted at home. The most stressful part I think that was stated was letting the paint set/bake in and took a long time.

The bumper Idk If I would do it at home and especially not with universal paint when you can get the paint that matches your car easily. Side skirts I'd say would not be that hard to do at home if you have a good set up.

[Wheres My Key?]

Originally Posted by NJ Krish

Why the hell would you not use the original paint?

http://www.expresspaint.com/automoti...20&resetSess=Y

There was a DIY somewhere here of the front bumper being painted at home. The most stressful part I think that was stated was letting the paint set/bake in and took a long time.

The bumper Idk If I would do it at home and especially not with universal paint when you can get the paint that matches your car easily. Side skirts I'd say would not be that hard to do at home if you have a good set up.

Thanks for this! I think that's why shop prices are so expensive, because it's $80/hr and it would take a few hours. So I'm being charged for literally time passing. I'll be ordering the spray cans from that website!

[Game]

I assure you if you don't know what you're doing, this will be a disaster.

[NJ Krish]

Originally Posted by Wheres My Key?

Thanks for this! I think that's why shop prices are so expensive, because it's $80/hr and it would take a few hours. So I'm being charged for literally time passing. I'll be ordering the spray cans from that website!

NP try to search for the DIY I think it was on these forums and he does it in his garage with the cans. But said you have to extra careful and take your time.

[EzequielR]

Originally Posted by Game

I assure you if you don't know what you're doing, this will be a disaster.

Listen to this guy!

[bimmette]

I'm nervous for you. I think it's much harder than it looks. Please post pics of results whether good or bad. Good luck!

[SUHleen]

Painting really is not the hard part, it is the prep work that needs to be done correctly. And frankly, if you have never done it before, I would put money on it not being done correctly. And if the bumper says it is already "primed", that is not true. No matter if you get a bumper straight from BMW or aftermarket, 90% of the time it will need primed or some type of prep work.

Once the prep work is done, doing the actual spraying is not THAT bad if you have a big air compressor, an air/water seperator, and a REAL paint gun (not some walmart, Autozone, Harbor Freight special). Then, you still need some type of paint booth that has ventillation and some type of blower. Not just for your own health, but for the health of the paint job. Otherwise, your bumper will look like it has the herp with all the dust particles landing in the paint.

If you look around, I'm sure you can find a shop that will do the paint work for around $200-400 for just the bumper, that seems to be somewhat standard... You live in LA, car shops should be a dime a dozen! For all the time you are going to spend, money in paint/materials, and then the frustration you are going to go through when you see the final outcome, I would say just cough up the money and have it done right. Or, plasti dip your whole car and if it looks good, then maybe, MAYBE rethink possibly attempting this haha

[headhunterz]

It will probably look like shit. Save your money and time and get it done properly the first time at the shop lol

[cmotzner]

Watch some videos on you tube

[Wheres My Key?]

Originally Posted by SUHleen

Painting really is not the hard part, it is the prep work that needs to be done correctly. And frankly, if you have never done it before, I would put money on it not being done correctly. And if the bumper says it is already "primed", that is not true. No matter if you get a bumper straight from BMW or aftermarket, 90% of the time it will need primed or some type of prep work.

Once the prep work is done, doing the actual spraying is not THAT bad if you have a big air compressor, an air/water seperator, and a REAL paint gun (not some walmart, Autozone, Harbor Freight special). Then, you still need some type of paint booth that has ventillation and some type of blower. Not just for your own health, but for the health of the paint job. Otherwise, your bumper will look like it has the herp with all the dust particles landing in the paint.

If you look around, I'm sure you can find a shop that will do the paint work for around $200-400 for just the bumper, that seems to be somewhat standard... You live in LA, car shops should be a dime a dozen! For all the time you are going to spend, money in paint/materials, and then the frustration you are going to go through when you see the final outcome, I would say just cough up the money and have it done right. Or, plasti dip your whole car and if it looks good, then maybe, MAYBE rethink possibly attempting this haha

I'll probably have LTMW do it down the road. Better safe than sorry. I was just trying to save a couple hundred dollars, haha, but now after you listed the equipment, I might as well spend the money on a professional than buying stuff I'll most likely use once. I would like to learn though, so I'm probably just going to do a bumper repair on my daily driven car instead.

Thanks everyone for your input!

[///Mposter]

You need to prep the bumper by scuffing with green pad. Then apply bulldog adhesion promoter. (Primer is optional if bulldog is the first coat ) Spray your base coat ( color code) then clear. It's recommended to add bulldog to the base and clear for extra flex. You will need at least a pint of base color which will be reduced by 1:1 with urethane grade reducer . You need a quart of clear and a 1/2 pint of activator . Clear coat is either 2:1 or 4:1 ratio. You need to pay special attention to flash times and cure times. Very important for first timers. Set a clock inbetween coats and walk away and have a beer.

[///Mposter]

It can be done and get a "glass-mirror " finish. Requires some slight 2000 grit and polish at the end. You can see the reflection of the items .

[xxxjecxxx]

Dont do it yourself. You will waste your time and money.

Go back and read the first line until you understand

Shop around and let a shop do it.

[mbanks21]

I painted my own bumper but I've also been detailing for 15 years so I'm used to wetsanding and buffing, etc. I wouldn't mind starting someone on a sideskirt or spoiler but wouldn't recommend doing a bumper if your'e just starting out unless you're prepared to pay a professional extra to undo what you did.

[phubar]

Don't listen to the naysayers, sometimes I wonder if the people that always say "dont do it, you will f it up" own a shop or something and are afraid some DIY'er is gonna put them out of business I had never painted a bumper and I'm actually very impatient and terrible at painting anything. I read a lot and prepped properly, I had a friend keep me in check and setup an alarm on my phone for every coat so I wouldn't rush it and mess it up.

I had a automotive supply shop (where the body shops get their products from) mix professional grade paint and urethane and put it in rattle cans for me, I used 4 cans total and 1 can of urethane clear coat, ran me around $100 for everything. Pics below show from prepping to base coat to clear coat and I have yet to wetsand and buff (letting paint cure).

Do yourself a favor and get matching paint, I'm sure there might be some paint out there that might be a close match but for a little bit more you can get professional grade matching paint ($20 or less per premixed spray can) anything else wont look good, as always when DIY'ing there is a risk the final product might not be as good as it can be if you were paying a pro but if you use something else other than matching quality paint you are increasing those odds even more, but you are free to do as you wish.

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[mlifxs]

I'd be too chicken to paint the entire part. Kudos to the poster above.

Do the naysayers have the same concern about repair? My jet black driver's side skirt got curbed (I did it at a bank drive through ouch) and have a long scrape on the bottom half of the skirt as well as some bumper scrapes. I could sand out dozens of love bug remains as well. Any thoughts?

[glachhman2]

Could be worth a try if you have a lot of free time.

[supergoat]

Luckily Black is a very easy color to match as most paint shops do just use a universal black. If you know what you are doing you can do it at home, but you would do well to practice on something other than your new car part first.

[phubar]

^^ somewhat true for BSM, BSM has pearl and some other colors.

Just got done wet sanding and buffing, looks perfect, not bad for just over $100 and 8 or so hours of labor + I learned a lot!