Hi everyone, It is my first time painting body parts. I have a replacement fender and front bumper, both used. They have a few scratches and other minor things, but the paint on the parts looks nice and shiny. It's just the wrong color. I came up with a spray painting plan from watching several tutorials, but I want to double check it with more experienced prius owners and maybe hear any tips anyone may have. I obviously don't expect this paint job to look extremely professional. Just decent. I would first sand the part thoroughly with 800 grit sand paper, apply one layer of urethane primer of the right color, wait about fifteen minutes for it to dry, and sand the part again if it is not very smooth. Then I would clean the surface with wax remover and/or alcohol, and then apply the paint. I would apply three layers, giving them about ten minutes in between so each layer is still slightly humid before applying the next, and finally I would apply three layers of clear coat. While painting I'll use a respirator, do it outdoors on a sunny day, be careful, etc., etc. Does this plan sound like it could work? Is there anything that I would be overdoing or that I'm missing? I am wondering also if the cleaning step right before applying the paint has to be done with both wax remover and alcohol or if only alcohol would be fine. I appreciate all input. Thank you! Thanks very much.
Not my area of expertise at all, but... I believe that it is necessary to add something to the paint that goes on the bumper to make it more flexible. Expect bugs to not only get stuck in the paint, but some may actually be attracted to it. I painted our mailbox once and a cloud of little flies appeared out of nowhere and committed mass suicide on it. If you are going to use 2K clear coat be aware that you need a chemical grade respirator and, ideally, a bunny suit with gloves. Look at the pictures here, for instance: Specialized PPE Protects Automotive Paint Shop Workers | Liberty Safety Adjust your expectations. If you go into this expecting it to turn out like a professional paint job you are likely to be disappointed. If you want it to look "good enough" from 20 ft. away you can probably achieve that. Figure out the costs for all of the materials and equipment you would need. Ask several paint shops what they would charge to do the fender and bumper (when you have already done the prep work, like sanding it, or stripping it to the metal.) If the two numbers are close have the pros do it. Before painting do a test assembly. Verify that it all goes together the way you want.
are you going to use spray cans? because it will not be a perfect match. I'll start with 600 followed by 800 when sanding the parts. Primer sprayed only on parts that has no paint on it. Wax and grease remover can do the job in cleaning, no need for alcohol. Don't paint on direct sunlight since paint will dry up quickly and you'll get tiger stripes (not that good looking) Paint indoors to avoid bugs, dust and anything carried by the wind (if possible avoid windy day) Poly-urethane clear coat use needs a proper respirator which you could buy cheap in Harbor Freight (protect your lungs) I've switched to using a proper HVLP spray and used Oreilly to match the paint (not 100% match due to age) Spray cans work if you look at it at a distance.
