Spraying black bits on a Bravo

[John Mason]

Hi,

This is an additional question to the post below about spraying the black trim.

I can't see the point of taking off the black bits then spraying them then putting them back on. Ideally I would want to do this, but dont want to pay spraying prices!

Can't I just mask off the area then spray the black bits myself with my desired colour? Anything I need to know like primer or whether its going to crack?

Thanks

John

 

[Daz155HGT]

I wouldn't advise spraying them while there on your car.

just make sure you get paint that will spray onto plastic/rubber, otherwise when they expand with heat, they will crack.

Why don't you spray your door handles at the same time.

Daz

 

[Alan]

Re: Re: Spraying black bits on a Bravo

Take them off otherwise it will just be a cock up!

 

[Anonymous]

Re: Re: Re: Spraying black bits on a Bravo

hi,

Ok thanks for the input.

Why will it be a cock up if I leave it on, surely if I mask it correctly and spray it, I have nothing to worry about?

If I do take them off, how do I stick the trim back on? And how hard is it to take them off in the first place?

Thanks

John

 

[Alan]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Spraying black bits on a Bravo

i don't know how they are fitted but trust me, take them off. first of all you really need to sand them down to get a good finish and get all the dirt off. Can you do that without rubbing any of the paint off? Then you need to mask a lot of the car off! The paint will spread and if your not careful you will end up with drops all over the rest of the car. Then to spray them on the car you have to do it outside or in an open garage, what if the wind blows the dust up the side of the car? job ruined! Then what if theres a run? it could get behind the tape and if not what if it runs past the tape and on the bodywork underneath?

Trust me, put the extra effort in and take them off, it'll be worth it in the long run!

 

[John Mason]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Spraying black bits on a Bravo

Hi,

Ok excellent, that q answered!

But:

Do I need to prime?

Do they come off easily?

How do i stick em back on?

Thanks

John

 

[Alan]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Spraying black bits on a Bravo

i think they are stuck on with sticky pads, so i guess just get some new sticky pads to put it back on! I always prime it so that your starting with a nice, light, even colour to spray over. Getting a good finish with paint is quite an art so i always try to make it as easy as i can for myself! A paint job can make or break the looks of your motor and any mods you do! Make sure you give it a light rub between coats with fine wet and dry and clean all the dust off before you put the next coat on!

Show us when it's done

 

[Martin]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Spraying black bits on a Bravo

You cannot just spray onto platsic/rubber parts, they need a special primer. They also need to be spotlessly clean otherwise the primer will just fall off.
Trust me I have had 3 front bumpers on my HGT. The original one started flaking withing 6 months. So Fiat ordered a new bumper, resprayed it and fitted it. This one only lasted 3 months before flaking, so third bumper was ordered and sprayed. This one lasted 2 years but once it flaked it was aweful. I took it straight to the paintshop that did it rather than Fiats. The guy was really apologetic, he said that he really doubted it was his fault and explained that the bumpers come from Fiat already primed, he just put the top coat on. He then asked if he could peel some more paint off, it didn't matter cos the bumper was half red half black. He said that if the pait was red underneath it was his fault, if it was black it was fiats fault. Guess what, it was Black, the primer was coming away from the bumper, not the paint off the primer. It's because they are not prepeared properly.
He said that he would get Fiat to authorise him to remove the bumper and strip it right back to the plastic and he would prime it himself.
It's been O.K since then. I do jet wash the car and that would show up any flakiness in the bumper.

So after all that waffle, make sure if you do it, the bits are spotless before you prime them. If you can't clean them enough, buy new ones and get the professionals to do it. If you do it and they start flaking off it will look worse than them not being colour coded.