Originally Posted by
RAZ_76
A lot cheaper.
The dealer will probably paint the front bumper for about 350 or so. For your project to come out looking good, specially up close where detail is noticed, you will need a bunch of stuff. For someone that wants to paint you don't seem like you did your homework enough. You are going to have to do a lot of searching and understanding what it takes to paint, not just ask questions. Getting the supplies is the easy part. If you get a JDM bumper, you will have to sand down the clear coat on it, fill holes and scratches, sand some more. Have to be able to feel by hand where you sand to make sure you don't have uneven spots. There's a lot to it then just buying equipment and spraying. I've been doing this for 15 years and I'm still learning some things. Ask your self these questions, have you painted anything with a spray-gun before?? Don't say I have with a can because it is totally different. If you never done this then I'm going to be the honest one of the bunch and tell you that your first project will look like ass. Take a class if you plan to do this or read lots of books but I will tell you this right now that after you read all them books and you have a basic understanding of what you need to do, now the hard part comes in, now you have to actually do it and if you miss a step while doing it, something will come out shitty, or if you don't mix some chemicals right, your project will fail. There are certain PSIs that will be needed for this type of painting. These are things you will need to read up on. I cant really tell you how to do it because everyone has their own style. I suggest buying a used bumper and practice and practice until you get it right. Or you could just paint it like you think it should be done and have it not match the rest of the body like some cars we see here on TGC and other forums and be the type that is satisfied with that. I personally am a perfectionist, i take my time in what I do because I love this, that's another pointer for you dude, you must like it. If you don't like it, it wont come out good. Body work is a skill that not very many perfect. There are a lot of body man out there but only small percentage of them are really good. So with that said, before you go buy all those tools and have your project frustrate an upset you, ask yourself if this is really something you want to do? This is not like painting interior pieces that are tinny and all you do is sand lightly and paint with a can. A bumper is like a car, get the prepping done right and the paint will lay down good too. Prepping is the most important. Good luck, my post is not to stop your project but simply to make sure you understand whats involved to do it the right way. If I were you, unless you plan on painting a bunch of stuff in the future, have it done by someone at a shop. It will be much cheaper for you.