painting the rubber bumpers

[Black MX-5]

thoughts on this?

Wouldn't the paint chip/flake off rather easily?

Anyone have any good/bad experiences with this?

I don't know if it's somethin i'm interested in yet, but just lookin at options.

Pics are appreciated too!

 

[lawguy]

Every modern car has painted, flexible plastic bumpers, why not a B?

If the surface is good, 3M pads (maybe more sanding if the surface isn't so good) and flex additive in the paint are the way to go.

 

[Guest]

The person who owned the car before me painted the bumpers (74 extended type), with what appears to be ordinary paint from a spray bomb. It looks fantastic, hasn't chipped ect. The only down side is I wasn't aware of what he had done, and one coat of dry wash took paint off at a great rate. I guess any paint will work, I am just not sure how to seal it so it doesn't come off when washing and waxing (I removed the 4 extensions until I can solve the problem). Hopefully I can get an idea from others also

 

[adam90009]

talk to aerog heck help you out

 

[Tom Rynne]

I am offering both original replica rubber bumpers and a modified design which allows use of the older grill. These are fiberglass and easily painted either original or body color.


Team Liebre

[ 04-24-2004: Message edited by: Tom Rynne ]</p>

 

[Bruce Bowker]

There a few pictures of painted bumper cars on this fourm and they look great. In one post someone explained how additives are far better now and the paint will adhere.

 

[aerog]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Black MX-5:

Wouldn't the paint chip/flake off rather easily?<hr></blockquote>

No. Prep the materials properly and use the right paint and they'll last quite awhile. Here's a webpage with some info - in addition to the tips there be aware there are specific primers designed for flexible plastics, and a material called "Bulldog Adhesion Promotor" that should be looked into also.

Still, that doesn't mean it'll last forever. The original bumper material is relatively thin in spots (sometimes) and very pliable. My paint is over 10 years old and is starting to show age. It isn't flaking in the least but I have several spots with stress cracks. In those areas you might think about doubling the material with fiberglass or foam just to give it a little body.

Include as part of the prep sanding and filling to make smooth - mine look like glass for the most part.

Personally I think painted bumpers look great on some colors - like my dark metallic red for example - while a yellow or white looks very good with the contrasting black bumpers. On the other hand some people think you've committed mortal sin by painting what was once intended to be black, but we've already covered that

Here's what mine looks like:

[ 04-25-2004: Message edited by: aerog ]</p>

 

[huck6]

aerog, beautiful B! The paint doesn't just cover-up the bumpers, it really adds to the car as a whole. I wonder, how do midgets fair with painted bumpers? Has anyone ever seen one?

 

[aerog]

Thanks --- Here's another one from our Member's gallery by "Klutz":

 

[aerog]

re: Midget

I faked one. This orange midget is really, really nice by the way. The faked colored bumpers don't really help much because (personally) I think the black goes with the color pretty well already, plus the lower portion of the car was black which also makes the black from the bumpers flow.

Anyhow, here it is:

Before

Faked