Fixing a bumper scrape is an art in itself, which is a good thing as most cars need this service performed at least once. Aaron Baird owns West Coast Recon, a mobile automotive reconditioning company based in southern California, and gives a step-by-step guide of how this is carried out.
Fixing a bumper scrape is probably 80% of what I do. This is kind of my target job because every single car in southern California will need to have this procedure done at some point or another.
The way I fix a bumper scrape is I first I tape off and mask off the area that I am going to be fixing. That includes any kind of trim on the bumper that is not the color of the bumper and any surface you do not want your paint to get on. It is similar to masking off the interior of a car for dyeing, though it is a bit more technical, as your tape line needs to be perfect or the job will not turn out looking good.
Once you have done that, before you do any kind of sanding, you want to look up the color code of the vehicle you are working on and make sure you can locate it and it is something you can fix. If you cannot locate the color code, you are in a bit of trouble as it will be harder to find the right color to match.
Sanding the Damaged Area
After that, you sand the damaged area. Usually that is with a DA, or dual action sander, which is kind of like a rotating sander that sands evenly. At that point, you determine whether or not you need to fill anything, whether there are gouges in a plastic bumper or whatever. If so, you need to smooth all those out.
Once you have accomplished that, you need to sand out your fill repair, making sure that it is nice and smooth, then prepare to apply the primer. You apply two to three coats, making sure that the damaged sanded area is all covered. Then let it dry and sand it all down so it is a nice, smooth, beautiful surface.
Scuffing the Surface
Then every other surface you will paint on needs to be scuffed, so that every surface you are preparing to be spray painted with a clear coat is ready to receive it. Then you mix the paint using the vehicle’s color code. I have an iPhone and the paint company I buy colors from has all the mixtures online. So I punch the code in, the mixture comes up, and I mix it in my truck. I have 75 paint colors called toners, and I can mix any color for any car in the world with those colors.
Once I have mixed the color, I stir it up, making sure there is a perfect match. Then I strain it into the HVLP (High Volume Low Pressure) paint gun, straining out the impurities. Then I apply several light coats of paint. You need to make sure you cannot see your primer anymore and then you blend out the edges so that it’s all uniform and looks all the same, with no color differential.
Applying the Clear Coat
Once you have blended the paint and the color match is good, then the last step is to clean out your gun and mix your clear coat, which is the hardener and a reducer. You strain that into the gun and apply two medium coats of clear coat.
After you have accomplished that, you blend your edge with the existing coats. Let it dry for 20 minutes and then take your masking tape off and make sure what you have done matches perfectly. If it does, you’re done.
