BXProject

Well i took the plunge, my spare front bumper went off for a respray today. The man asked me when i wanted it ready for, apparently second week in August is possible, as is Friday! They haven't got much work on, and it's only costing £100. I've seen a lot of there work before and there surprisingly good. Better than the muppets that turn up in a van and see how much over spray they can get all over the car.

So will you be putting it on for this weekend?

That's not a bad price really
It would take around 10 of those little can kits Citroen sell you, one colour, one clear. and from cit that's £19 or £190 for enough to do the job yourself.

You don't get overspray with the mobile crews if you take the thing off and set it up for them

Just a bumper shaped outline on the pavement?

Spraying is something where my attempts are best described as functional. Was quite impressed with the rest of the new paintwork on Jazz, so a pro sprayed bumper should finish it off nicely.

functional, love it.

So long as you take plenty of time, spraying from a can seems pretty straight forward on narrow or small parts. I figured i probably could spray the bumper, but at that price, why bother.

I've found the rattle cans from Citroen NEVER match the colour of the car, though from something someone was saying on BXC it sounds like they might have changed the paint mix at some point? Either way the nice man at Jawells paints in Coventry seems to get a perfect mix every time! And at half the cost of a citroen can!

A pro sprayed bumper is one thing, but i'll need the wings, bonnet, roof, tail gate, doors and sill covers doing next!

mat_the_cat wrote:So will you be putting it on for this weekend?

I doubt it TBH. In my limited experience, it's good to give newly painted fibre glass a week or two for the paint to cure. I also need to make up and glue on the retaining brackets, and source some black rubber infills (it was a silver bumper with red infills, which i broke when removing

Vanny wrote:A pro sprayed bumper is one thing, but i'll need the wings, bonnet, roof, tail gate, doors and sill covers doing next!

so that would be a total respray then

pretty much

And if i'm going to get a full respray, i'm not gonna spray a rusty shell, i'll have the thing acid etched, welded up, improved and repaired, probably put a cage in and then paint her. IE it's not going to happen!

I used Plasticote in satin black for the sills and the upper door frames, just rubbing down enouigh for a key, masking carefully and waiting for a warm calm day. It came out very well but I put a thin coat of clear over it after 48 hrs.

Plasticote also do a clear plastic primer which I used on the front bumper, the spoiler and the top edge and just round the sides of the tailgate.

The only reason I used Cit paint was it is a perfect match to blend with the original, where you sre not covering the whole panel.
The BX panels don't need stripping, they are well painted really. Just key them to take the top surface of, mainly to remove all traces of polish. 3 light coats of primer, a dose of fine wet and dry (wet) and then 3 top coats the colour of choice finally a good coat of clear after preferably 72 hours but 48 will do in summer.
I used to have a compressor with all the bits for spraying and have abit of experience but with good technique you can achieve excellent results with cans

Any thoughts on where to get black inserts from?

I took them off the original bumper because they where peeling, i always intended to put them back on, but they've become lost. The bumper i've had resprayed had red ones (one of which i snapped trying to get off the bumper) and they look a bit naff when the rest of the inserts are black.

Need to sikaflex the mounts back onto the bumper too, but can only seem to find one of the 6 i should have!

bugger, I have some red ones, I think, but not black,although... I'm sure you can buy strip stuff in the correct profile, just cant remember where from now.. leave it with me, it'll come to me..

Can probably sort you some mounts, I'm sure I have some attached to a bumper!

dont take the brackets off the bumper too soon, i know i have plenty, just need to find them.

I thought someone on one of the forums had bought the inlay before, but i can't find the thread in a search, nor can i find the people that might supply it. I can get a very close shape in rubber, but it really needs to be in plastic!

Edgware Motor Rubber & Trim
Tel: 020 8950 4694 Fax: 020 8950 6557
Email: Sales@rubbertrim.co.uk

Think I bought some stufff rom them/ He's a Paki or an Indian or summat, Got just about every trim there was, if it the same bloke

Vanny wrote:dont take the brackets off the bumper too soon, i know i have plenty, just need to find them.

Gave up looking, bought air shears, made new ones out of half mm galv sheet;

Making curly waste bits with my £12 air shears;



And making some holes;



Which goes onto the plastic bit like this;




Just need to drill some big holes and glue them on!

ha! I did much the same on the diesel, only without air shears, flash bastard!