Hey all -- Yesterday afternoon my precious Maxima was hit while I was sitting at a stoplight (the fool behind me decided that nearly an inch of ice was no deterant, let's accelerate into a red light! ). We exchanged insurances (and words..) and everything, and I went along on my way. Now he was driving an SUV, so it was decently high off the ground. The only thing that happened was it scratched my rear bumper pretty good in a few places. So, instead of bothering the insurance for it, knowing the replacement bumper wouldn't ever look as good anyway...I stopped by the Napa today and grabbed some good sandpaper and some Bondo. I spent the night Bondo-ing and sanding down the gashes until they were nice, flat, and smooth. I let everything dry for an hour after the last layer, and came back out with the included touch-up paint in hand, ready to paint. Well, my fear came true: that amount of touch-up paint looked like ****. So, I Googled Nissan touch-up paint and came up with a few things. First, a spray-paint from here. Then, I found the factory touch-up paint from here. I also found some different offerings here. So, which of these would be the best choice, or should I go with something completely different? The car's information is: 2000 Nissan Maxima. Color Code: QT1 (Icelandic Pearl) Thanks, I hope I can get my car's bumper back to normal!
In all honesty, they should all be identical. What they are doing is mixing up to a "colour recipe". Your biggest problem is if your paint doesn't have the pearl mixed in (ie has a pearl layer over the top of the basecoat). This is very hard to get right and you normally do a whole pannel(s) in one go to get an even looking coat. EDIT. What included paint? - with the car? If you bother your insurance company it won't actually cost you anything as it's not your fault. Also a professional will get a better finish than you will.
Small touch-up tips from a professionnal : 1 : sand & bondo up the bumper ( done ) 2 : always apply the original manufacturer's pain, or equivalent product ( Max Meyer, Sikkens, PPG, choose what you like ) in large quantities ( you have to leave a small bump of paint for finishing purposes ) 3 : sand out uneveness with real fine sand paper ( 1000 grit mini for starters, wet work, then 1500 & 2000 to clean up ) 4 : use some 3000-4000 grit equivalent buffer, clean up, then apply clear coat in excess once again 5 : sand ou the excess clear using the same method as above 6 : don't forget to use fine buff on the whole bumper to mask the application of new pain on the old bumper ( paint ages ) - start with 3000 grit equivalent, finish with 5000-7000 grit equivalent. this should give you near perfect finish - you could also give your car a fresh look while you're at it did I mention that in NO CASE you should hurry ? sanding should be light handed, and paint/clear coat has to set for at least a day - unless you want to screw them up
my best mate sprays cars for a living and he says paint is never the same color, as when they mix it they don't clean the paint tanks out so if they've been spraying black cars then red cars the first few red cars will be a little darker, for each "factory" color they have about half a dozen color swabs to match up with the car then they mix the paint and spray, So in short if you do it with rattle cans from anywhere you've got about a 1 in 6 chance that you've got a "factory color" car In short is you want a proffessional job take it to a proffessional!! and if it's not your fault someone else will pay for it anyway! (and shouldn't this be in the car forum??)
Thanks, this was exactly what I was looking for. Just a simple guide on a relatively easy way to get it looking nice again. So, as far as paint goes, I can just use the included touch-up paint? (if I have enough). But, to layer it on nice and thick. Awesome, thanks a bunch!
theres so many auto stores or paint stores that would match your colour, a mate of mine just walked into a good auto/paint store and said i need a colour to match that outside, they mixed a spray can there and then, also kept all the details of the colour mixture for next time!
Really? Hmm..that's interesting. Now I have to find a good paint shop near me...would a chain like Sherwin-Williams or the like be able to, or somewhere like Home Depot (a DIY chain)? Or, do I need to search for good, custom-paint specializing stores? Thanks for this though!
definetly have your car looked at by a shop. Its usually free (just ask for an estimate. Even if you want todo everything yourself, you will have a parts list. I was re ended a year ago and there were only a few scratches but there was some damage done underneath the bumper (which i didnt see) but thankfully the auto shop guy saw it. So instead of getting $300 from the others guy insurance (how much it costs to repaint a bumper) i was able to get $900
Well I went ahead and took the car in (seemed to be what everyone said, and I figured what the hell) and they checked everything out. They said that it looked fine, just the scratches. They checked the mounts to make sure I wouldn't dump the bumper the next time I hit a speed bump, and said everything was hunkey-dorey. Then, they said it would cost $1200 to replace the bumper?! Seemed a bit high to me, but it wont be me paying. Still, the only thing that I am afraid of is that the bumper paint wont quite match. This happened to an older car of mine, and it looked horrible forever. So, I'll finish painting it, clearcoating it, see if it looks good. If not, I'll just take it in and have them replace it. Thanks to everyone though!
well i know a little about this because i helped my friend fix some dents in the back of his car you know plastic modeller site would be helpful as its a similar technique. rough up the surface, apply bondo, smooth with up to 300 grit sandpaper. Apply your automotive primer, then spray on your color.. MAKE SURE ITS LAQUER PAINT !!!! you can by pass the primer if you want to cut down on the amount of work and size of work you wan to do, but it wont turn out as good. Apply top coat and then buff with your choice of wax
Yeah, I thought about wet-sanding it, but as of now it's -13 F here, and only getting colder...I think I'm gonna have to wait to paint this thing, or else the paint is going to end up freezing instead of drying, and it won't look good at all. I may just have to go around with some orange spots on my bumper for a bit
